Iceland: Prosperity gap (average shortfall from a prosperity standard of $28/day)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2019, Iceland's prosperity gap (average shortfall from a prosperity standard of $28/day) fell 14.3% on 2018 (from 0.7 to 0.6).

Across the 15 yearly changes before that (2004 to 2018), the average change was +0.9% and a typical year strayed about 14.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.1 standard deviations below 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 40% in 2018 and the biggest yearly fall was 16.7% in 2016. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2010 to 2019 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.02 a year. A straight line explains 37% 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.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

Closest to Iceland in the 2019 ranking

• North Macedonia — 1st of 2: 2.9

What this measures

The average shortfall from a prosperity standard of $28 per day (adjusted for differences in purchasing power parity across countries). It is measured as the average factor by which incomes fall short of $28.

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

All 17 values

Prosperity gap (average shortfall from a prosperity standard of $28/day) in nearby economies

• Albania — 2.5 (2020)
• Armenia — 3.6 (2024)
• Austria — 0.8 (2023)
• Belarus — 1.6 (2020)
• Belgium — 0.5 (2023)
• Bulgaria — 1.4 (2023)
• Croatia — 1.1 (2023)
• Cyprus — 0.6 (2023)
• Czechia

More poverty data for Iceland

• Income share held by second 20% — 14.3% (2019)
• Income share held by third 20% — 17.9% (2019)
• Income share held by fourth 20% — 22.2% (2019)
• Income share held by highest 20% — 36.3% (2019)
• Income share held by highest 10% — 22.4% (2019)
• Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income (%) — 6.3% (2019)
• Income share held by lowest 10% — 3.7% (2019)
• Income share held by lowest 20% — 9.4% (2019)
• Poverty headcount ratio at $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) (% of population) — 0.1% (2019)
• Poverty gap at $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) (%)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Iceland's prosperity gap (average shortfall from a prosperity standard of $28/day)?

0.6 in 2019, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2003?

It is down 14.29% from 0.7 in 2003 (0.96% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 0.8 in 2011 and the lowest 0.5 in 2016.

Is the latest change in prosperity gap (average shortfall from a prosperity standard of $28/day) unusual for Iceland?

In 2019, Iceland's prosperity gap (average shortfall from a prosperity standard of $28/day) fell 14.3% on 2018 (from 0.7 to 0.6). Across the 15 yearly changes before that (2004 to 2018), the average change was +0.9% and a typical year strayed about 14.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SI.SPR.PGAP, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are mostly from the Luxembourg Income Study database. 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.

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