Wealth and income percentiles in Iceland
How much net worth or income does it take to be in the top 10% or top 1% in Iceland? Model estimates for 0.3 million adults aged 20+, reference level 2025.
Net worth thresholds in Iceland
Net worth is private assets (property, deposits, securities, business ownership) minus debt, per adult. Thresholds show the minimum net worth needed to belong to each group.
| Group of adults | Threshold, ISK | Threshold, USD |
|---|---|---|
| Median (top 50%) | ISK 14,400,000 | USD 115,000 |
| Top 10% | ISK 157,000,000 | USD 1,250,000 |
| Top 5% | ISK 251,000,000 | USD 2,000,000 |
| Top 1% | ISK 668,000,000 | USD 5,330,000 |
| Top 0.1% | ISK 2,790,000,000 | USD 22,300,000 |
| Average (mean) | ISK 73,400,000 | USD 586,000 |
Income thresholds in Iceland
Income is a harmonized pre-tax economic income per adult used for cross-country comparison. It is broader than wages and includes capital income, pensions and some imputed components.
| Group of adults | Threshold, ISK | Threshold, USD |
|---|---|---|
| Median (top 50%) | ISK 10,500,000 | USD 83,600 |
| Top 10% | ISK 22,100,000 | USD 176,000 |
| Top 5% | ISK 31,700,000 | USD 253,000 |
| Top 1% | ISK 74,000,000 | USD 590,000 |
| Top 0.1% | ISK 244,000,000 | USD 1,950,000 |
| Average (mean) | ISK 14,000,000 | USD 112,000 |
Iceland in a global context
Iceland has <0.01% of the world’s adults. About 46.7% of them are in the world’s top 10% by net worth and 13.1% are in the global top 1%. By income, the shares are 83.2% and 10.7%.
The median adult in Iceland is in the global top 12.6% by net worth and the global top 4.2% by income. Iceland is home to about 0.07% of the world’s top 1% by net worth.
Data quality and sources
Scores run from 1 (strong direct national source coverage) to 5 (mainly modelled).
| Measure | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Net worth | 5 | Statistics Iceland provides a mean for tax-family assets and liabilities, but no direct percentile distribution is incorporated. The main curve remains donor-based. |
| Income | 3 | Statistics Iceland provides official register median and mean for 2025, but the full distribution is not imported. With only a few moments, the curve must be modelled. |
- Statistics Iceland: liabilities and assets from tax registers 2025
- Statistics Iceland: income based on tax registers 2025
The calculator also offers a national source track for Iceland based on official national statistics (Advanced options → Comparison basis). National tracks use their own definitions and are not added to the global total.
Amounts are converted at fixed exchange rates of 2025-12-31; they do not adjust for purchasing power. Thresholds in the extreme top are modelled and uncertain.
Frequently asked questions
How much net worth do you need to be in the top 1% in Iceland?
About ISK 668,000,000 in net worth (assets minus debt) per adult, according to the WealthPercentile model for 2025. The top 10% starts at about ISK 157,000,000.
What is the median income in Iceland?
The median adult in Iceland has a broad pre-tax economic income of about ISK 10,500,000 a year. This measure is broader than wages: it includes capital income and some imputed components, so it is higher than a typical payslip.
How many adults in Iceland are in the global top 1%?
About 13.1% of adults in Iceland are in the world’s top 1% by net worth, and 10.7% by income.
How reliable are these numbers?
They are model estimates. The data-quality score for Iceland is 5/5 for net worth and 3/5 for income, where 1 means strong direct source coverage and 5 means mainly modelled.