Iceland: High-technology exports (% of manufactured exports)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Iceland's high-technology exports (% of manufactured exports) rose 10.55 percentage points on 2023 (from 43.42% to 53.97%).

Across the 16 yearly changes before that (2008 to 2023), the average change was −1.08 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 8.52 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.4 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 14.61 percentage points in 2019 and the biggest yearly fall was 19.82 percentage points in 2008. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is upward, about 3.03 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 76% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 54.06% for 2027. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2022 to 2024 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 8.01%, against 10.2% for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2024, Iceland had the 6th highest value of the 119 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Iceland in the 2024 ranking

• Hong Kong SAR, China — 2nd of 119: 75.57%
• Singapore — 3rd of 119: 59.43%
• Malaysia — 4th of 119: 58.63%
• Ireland — 6th of 119: 53.52%
• Malta — 7th of 119: 45.18%
• Kazakhstan — 8th of 119: 42.2%

What this measures

High-technology exports are products with high R&D intensity, such as in aerospace, computers, pharmaceuticals, scientific instruments, and electrical machinery.

Limitations: The indicator is based on data reported by countries to COMTRADE. The export values presented in the World Development Indicators represent Gross Exports less Re-Exports. The values may be impacted in cases of reporting errors or missing data, for example if countries do not report Re-Exports for one or more periods.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 18 values

High-technology exports (% of manufactured exports) in nearby economies

• Albania — 1.53% (2024)
• Andorra — 21.43% (2023)
• Armenia — 23.64% (2024)
• Austria — 18.45% (2024)
• Azerbaijan — 2.91% (2024)
• Belarus — 6.02% (2021)
• Belgium — 19.83% (2024)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 6.16% (2024)
• Bulgaria — 13.43% (2024)
• Croatia

More infrastructure data for Iceland

• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 68,518 (2024)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 17.42 (2024)
• Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 37,800 (2023)
• Air transport, freight (million ton-km) — 191.91 (2023)
• Air transport, passengers carried — 4.34 million (2023)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 475,724 (2024)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 120.93 (2024)
• Patent applications, residents — 38 (2024)
• Patent applications, nonresidents — 5 (2024)
• Individuals using the Internet (% of population)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Iceland's high-technology exports (% of manufactured exports)?

53.97% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2007?

It is down 6.74 percentage points from 60.71% in 2007. The highest value was 60.71% in 2007 and the lowest 15.39% in 2012.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator TX.VAL.TECH.MF.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), uri: comtrade.un.org, publisher: UN Statistics Division; World Integrated Trade Solution system (WITS), World Bank (WB), uri: https://wits.worldbank.org/ Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.