Starting a business: Minimum capital in Iceland
Iceland: Starting a business: Minimum capital was 7.4% in 2019. ▼ Falling
Starting a business: Minimum capital in Iceland, 2003–2019
Source: World Bank. Measured in % of income per capita.
Analysis
Iceland recorded 7.4% for starting a business: minimum capital in 2019.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 10.4% on the previous year and down 53.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, starting a business: minimum capital in Iceland peaked at 19.0% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 6.7%, in 2018.
Iceland ranks 30th of 191 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 17 years of available data.
Starting a business: Minimum capital in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % of income per capita | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 19.0% | — |
| 2004 | 18.3% | -3.7% |
| 2005 | 17.1% | -6.6% |
| 2006 | 15.9% | -7.0% |
| 2007 | 14.1% | -11.3% |
| 2008 | 13.6% | -3.5% |
| 2009 | 15.8% | +16.2% |
| 2010 | 12.0% | -24.1% |
| 2011 | 12.6% | +5.0% |
| 2012 | 11.5% | -8.7% |
| 2013 | 10.5% | -8.7% |
| 2014 | 9.3% | -11.4% |
| 2015 | 8.4% | -9.7% |
| 2016 | 7.6% | -9.5% |
| 2017 | 6.8% | -10.5% |
| 2018 | 6.7% | -1.5% |
| 2019 | 7.4% | +10.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 16.3% | 13.6% | 19.0% | 7 |
| 2010s | 9.3% | 6.7% | 12.6% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More private sector data for Iceland
- Merchandise trade 46.9% (2025)
- Food imports 11.1% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 71.1% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 10.94 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 46.9% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 14.0% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 7.17 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 18,264 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1858 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 3.33 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is starting a business: minimum capital in Iceland?
- Starting a business: minimum capital in Iceland was 7.4% in 2019, according to the World Bank.
- What is the highest starting a business: minimum capital recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 19.0% in 2003.
- What is the lowest starting a business: minimum capital recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.7% in 2018.
- How does Iceland rank for starting a business: minimum capital?
- Iceland ranks 30th out of 191 countries with data for 2019.
- Is starting a business: minimum capital rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 53.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iceland data come from?
- The figures come from the World Bank, published as part of Starting a business: Minimum capital (% of income per capita). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 17 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
The paid-in minimum capital requirement re?ects the amount that the entrepreneur needs to deposit in a bank or with a third-party before registration or up to three months after incorporation. It is calculated as percentage of income per capita. Any legal limitation of the company’s operations or decisions related to the payment of the minimum capital requirement is recorded. In case the legal minimum capital is provided per share, it is assumed 5 shareholders own the company and the legal minimum capital is multiplied by 5 shares. If an economy requires a minimum capital but allows businesses to pay only a part of it before registration, only this part is recorded.