Freedom in Iceland
Where Iceland sits on every statistic this site carries, each against the countries the same source covers. Iceland has a figure for 53 of 60 indicators.
Personal
What a person may say, believe, publish, join and where they may go.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freedom of expression | 0.846 | 2025 | 40 of 163 |
| Freedom of association | 0.917 | 2025 | 6 of 163 |
| Civil liberties | 0.950 | 2025 | 7 of 163 |
| Freedom from political violence | 0.989 | 2025 | 1 of 163 |
| Equal protection of rights | 0.905 | 2025 | 20 of 163 |
| Academic freedom | 0.756 | 2025 | 60 of 163 |
| Media censorship effort | 2.849 | 2025 | 10 of 163 |
| Harassment of journalists | 0.464 | 2025 | 83 of 163 |
| Media self-censorship | 1.121 | 2025 | 46 of 163 |
| Universal right to vote | 1.000 | 2025 | 63 of 167 |
| Legal rights for women | 100.0 | 2023 | 9 of 164 |
| Women can get a passport as men do | 1.000 | 2023 | 64 of 164 |
| Access to justice for women | 1.000 | 2025 | 21 of 163 |
| Access to justice for men | 1.000 | 2025 | 25 of 163 |
| Civil liberties score | 57.0 | 2025 | 16 of 167 |
| Political rights score | 38.0 | 2025 | 25 of 167 |
Economic
What a person may own, trade, earn and keep.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trade openness | 82.5% | 2025 | 57 of 125 |
| Government spending as a share of GDP | 32.1% | 2023 | 49 of 79 |
| Foreign investment inflows | -0.5% | 2025 | 79 of 87 |
| Regulatory quality | 75.8 | 2024 | 18 of 169 |
| GDP per capita | $68.1K | 2025 | 11 of 157 |
| GDP growth | 1.3% | 2025 | — |
| Inflation | 4.1% | 2025 | — |
| Unemployment | 3.6% | 2025 | 56 of 163 |
Digital
What a person may read, send and encrypt online, and who is watching.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet use | 98.2% | 2024 | 7 of 154 |
| Fixed broadband subscriptions | 37.5 | 2024 | 24 of 134 |
| Mobile subscriptions | 120.9 | 2024 | 65 of 134 |
Government
How power is held, checked and abused.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral democracy | 0.807 | 2025 | 26 of 163 |
| Liberal democracy | 0.720 | 2025 | 25 of 163 |
| Rule of law | 0.983 | 2025 | 11 of 163 |
| Judicial checks on government | 0.955 | 2025 | 10 of 163 |
| Legislative checks on government | 0.792 | 2025 | 49 of 157 |
| Political corruption | 0.014 | 2025 | 4 of 163 |
| Civil society participation | 0.874 | 2025 | 28 of 163 |
| Women’s political empowerment | 0.883 | 2025 | 32 of 163 |
| Voice and accountability | 81.8 | 2024 | 14 of 170 |
| Control of corruption | 84.9 | 2024 | 10 of 170 |
| Government effectiveness | 83.3 | 2024 | 12 of 169 |
| Political stability | 86.5 | 2024 | 4 of 170 |
Society
Health, schooling, safety and who takes part.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Human Development Index | 0.972 | 2023 | 1 of 165 |
| Life expectancy | 82.8 | 2024 | 15 of 170 |
| Health spending | 8.7% | 2023 | — |
| Health costs paid out of pocket | 14.7% | 2023 | 40 of 164 |
| Maternal mortality | 3.0 | 2023 | 10 of 167 |
| Women in parliament | 46.0% | 2025 | 8 of 156 |
| Women in the workforce | 70.0% | 2025 | — |
| Fertility rate | 1.56 | 2024 | — |
| Urban population | 94.2% | 2025 | — |
| Refugees who left | 0.0 | 2024 | 2 of 168 |
| Population | 392.4K | 2025 | — |
Environment
Energy, emissions and access to power.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| CO₂ emissions per person | 8.52 | 2024 | 145 of 165 |
| Renewable energy use | 82.4% | 2021 | 12 of 169 |
| Access to electricity | 100.0% | 2024 | 37 of 169 |
What is missing
7 of the 60 statistics here have no figure for Iceland in the year they were last ranked. Coverage differs by source: an indicator missing here is one its producer does not publish for Iceland, not a zero. Who publishes what