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 21,500,000 | USD 176,000 |
| Top 10% | ISK 252,000,000 | USD 2,060,000 |
| Top 5% | ISK 361,000,000 | USD 2,960,000 |
| Top 1% | ISK 755,000,000 | USD 6,180,000 |
| Top 0.1% | ISK 2,440,000,000 | USD 20,000,000 |
| Average (mean) | ISK 92,200,000 | USD 755,000 |
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 11,600,000 | USD 95,300 |
| Top 10% | ISK 22,000,000 | USD 180,000 |
| Top 5% | ISK 28,300,000 | USD 231,000 |
| Top 1% | ISK 51,300,000 | USD 420,000 |
| Top 0.1% | ISK 153,000,000 | USD 1,260,000 |
| Average (mean) | ISK 13,400,000 | USD 110,000 |
Iceland in a global context
Iceland has <0.01% of the world’s adults. About 52.3% of them are in the world’s top 10% by net worth and 16.3% are in the global top 1%. By income, the shares are 85.1% and 10.2%.
The median adult in Iceland is in the global top 9.2% by net worth and the global top 3.1% by income. Iceland is home to about 0.09% of the world’s top 1% by net worth.
Data quality and sources
The curves for Iceland are built from the World Inequality Database’s 127-percentile estimates (2026 update), which combine tax records, surveys and national accounts; where a country has few direct sources, WID fills gaps from similar countries. The score shows how much direct national data stands behind the estimates, from 1 (strong direct national sources) to 5 (mainly imputed). The notes describe the national sources we have reviewed.
| Measure | Score | National data reviewed |
|---|---|---|
| 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 advanced tool also offers national source tracks for Iceland based on official statistics (Advanced options → Comparison basis). They use their own definitions and are not added to the global total.
Amounts are converted at fixed exchange rates of 2026-10-09; 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 755,000,000 in net worth (assets minus debt) per adult, according to the WealthPercentile model for 2025. The top 10% starts at about ISK 252,000,000.
What is the median income in Iceland?
The median adult in Iceland has a broad pre-tax economic income of about ISK 11,600,000 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 16.3% of adults in Iceland are in the world’s top 1% by net worth, and 10.2% 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.