Economy of Iceland
The economy of Iceland is small and subject to high volatility. In 2011, gross domestic product was US$12 billion, but by 2018 it had increased to a nominal GDP of US$27 billion. With a population of 387,000, this is $55,000 per capita, based on purchasing power parity (PPP) estimates. The 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis produced a decline in GDP and employment that has since been reversed entirely by a recovery aided by a tourism boom starting in 2010. Tourism accounted for more than 10% of Iceland's GDP in 2017. After a period of robust growth, Iceland's economy is slowing down according to an economic outlook for the years 2018–2020 published by Arion Research in April 2018.
Currency | Icelandic króna (ISK, kr) |
---|---|
Calendar year | |
Trade organisations | EFTA, EEA, OECD, WTO |
Country group | |
Statistics | |
Population | 387,758 (1 January 2023) |
GDP |
|
GDP rank | |
GDP growth |
|
GDP per capita |
|
GDP per capita rank | |
GDP by sector |
|
9.8% (March 2023) | |
Population below poverty line |
|
25.2 low (2017, Eurostat) | |
| |
Labour force |
|
Labour force by occupation |
|
Unemployment |
|
Average gross salary | 553,000 ISK / €4,000 month |
388,000 ISK / €2,800 month | |
Main industries | tourism, fish processing; aluminum smelting; geothermal power, hydropower; medical/pharmaceutical products |
External | |
Exports | $9.775 billion (2021 est) |
Export goods | fish and fish products (42%), aluminum (38%), agricultural products, medicinal and medical products, ferro-silicon (2015) |
Main export partners |
(2019) |
Imports | $10.234 billion (2021 est.) |
Import goods | refined petroleum, aluminum oxide, carbon/graphite electronics, cars, packaged medicines (2019) |
Main import partners |
(2021) |
FDI stock |
|
$857 million (2017 est.) | |
Gross external debt | $21.7 billion (31 December 2017 est.) |
Public finances | |
40% of GDP (2017 est.) | |
+1.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.) | |
Revenues | 10.39 billion (2017 est.) |
Expenses | 10.02 billion (2017 est.) |
Economic aid | c. $40 million (0.24% GDP, 2015 budget) |
Moody's Investors Service
| |
$6.567 billion (31 December 2017 est.) | |
Iceland has a mixed economy with high levels of free trade and government intervention. However, government consumption is less than other Nordic countries. Hydro-power is the primary source of home and industrial electrical supply in Iceland.
In the 1990s Iceland undertook extensive free market reforms, which initially produced strong economic growth. As a result, Iceland was rated as having one of the world's highest levels of economic freedom as well as civil freedoms. In 2007, Iceland topped the list of nations ranked by Human Development Index and was one of the most egalitarian, according to the calculation provided by the Gini coefficient.
From 2006 onwards, the economy faced problems of growing inflation and current account deficits. Partly in response, and partly as a result of earlier reforms, the financial system expanded rapidly before collapsing entirely in a sweeping financial crisis. Iceland had to obtain emergency funding from the International Monetary Fund and a range of European countries in November 2008. The economy has since rebounded, beginning in 2010.