Travel services (% of commercial service exports) in Iceland
Iceland: Travel services (% of commercial service exports) was 46.0% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Travel services in Iceland, 1976–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service exports.
Analysis
In 2025, travel services in Iceland stood at 46.0%.
The figure is up 0.6% on the previous year and up 23.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, travel services in Iceland peaked at 47.3% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 8.9%, in 1976.
Iceland ranks 86th of 198 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Travel services (% of commercial service exports) in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 8.9% | — |
| 1977 | 9.2% | +3.7% |
| 1978 | 9.0% | -2.2% |
| 1979 | 9.1% | +1.3% |
| 1980 | 11.1% | +22.0% |
| 1981 | 9.5% | -15.2% |
| 1982 | 9.9% | +4.9% |
| 1983 | 10.7% | +7.7% |
| 1984 | 13.8% | +29.7% |
| 1985 | 13.7% | -0.9% |
| 1986 | 18.0% | +31.5% |
| 1987 | 21.5% | +19.1% |
| 1988 | 26.8% | +24.8% |
| 1989 | 28.8% | +7.6% |
| 1990 | 34.7% | +20.4% |
| 1991 | 31.9% | -8.2% |
| 1992 | 31.3% | -1.9% |
| 1993 | 28.4% | -9.1% |
| 1994 | 27.6% | -3.0% |
| 2009 | 20.7% | -25.0% |
| 2010 | 18.8% | -9.4% |
| 2011 | 22.0% | +17.1% |
| 2012 | 24.9% | +13.6% |
| 2013 | 27.2% | +9.2% |
| 2014 | 32.7% | +20.1% |
| 2015 | 37.3% | +13.8% |
| 2016 | 44.4% | +19.1% |
| 2017 | 47.1% | +6.2% |
| 2018 | 47.3% | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 46.6% | -1.6% |
| 2020 | 23.3% | -50.0% |
| 2021 | 35.6% | +52.8% |
| 2022 | 41.0% | +15.0% |
| 2023 | 44.0% | +7.5% |
| 2024 | 45.7% | +3.8% |
| 2025 | 46.0% | +0.6% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 46.0% is above the median for high income countries, which is 27.1%, 1.7× the median. (72 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 46.0% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 20.5%, 2.2× the median. (51 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 9.1% | 8.9% | 9.2% | 4 |
| 1980s | 16.4% | 9.5% | 28.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 30.8% | 27.6% | 34.7% | 5 |
| 2000s | 20.7% | 20.7% | 20.7% | 1 |
| 2010s | 34.8% | 18.8% | 47.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 39.3% | 23.3% | 46.0% | 6 |
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)
- Commercial service imports 5.94 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 46.9% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 14.0% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 7.17 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 8.21 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 18,264 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is travel services in Iceland?
- Travel services in Iceland was 46.0% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest travel services recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 47.3% in 2018.
- What is the lowest travel services recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.9% in 1976.
- How does Iceland rank for travel services?
- Iceland ranks 86th out of 198 countries with data for 2025.
- Is travel services rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 23.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iceland data come from?
- The figures come from Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Travel services (% of commercial service exports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Travel services cover goods and services for own use or to give away acquired from an economy by nonresidents during visits to that economy, or acquired from other economies by residents during visits to these other economies. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service exports which are commercial services provided by residents to non-residents.