Freedom Score in Iceland
Iceland: Freedom Score was 95 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Freedom Score in Iceland, 2002–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for freedom score in Iceland is 95, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 5.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, freedom score in Iceland peaked at 100 in 2003 and was at its lowest, 94, in 2018.
Iceland ranks 17th of 197 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Freedom Score in Iceland, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 98 | — |
| 2003 | 100 | +2.0% |
| 2004 | 100 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 100 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 100 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 100 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 100 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 99 | -1.0% |
| 2010 | 99 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 99 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 100 | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 100 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 99 | -1.0% |
| 2015 | 100 | +1.0% |
| 2016 | 97 | -3.0% |
| 2017 | 95 | -2.1% |
| 2018 | 94 | -1.1% |
| 2019 | 94 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 94 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 94 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 94 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 94 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 95 | +1.1% |
| 2025 | 95 | +0.0% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 95 is above the median for high income countries, which is 90, 1.1× the median. (66 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 95 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 87.5, 1.1× the median. (52 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 99.62 | 98 | 100 | 8 |
| 2010s | 97.7 | 94 | 100 | 10 |
| 2020s | 94.33 | 94 | 95 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More social development data for Iceland
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 8,459 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 1 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0216 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is freedom score in Iceland?
- Freedom score in Iceland was 95 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest freedom score recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 100 in 2003.
- What is the lowest freedom score recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 94 in 2018.
- How does Iceland rank for freedom score?
- Iceland ranks 17th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is freedom score rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iceland data come from?
- The figures come from Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Freedom Score. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Freedom House’s freedom score captures the extent of free and fair elections, political pluralism and participation, a functioning government, freedom of expression and association, the rule of law, and personal autonomy. Higher scores indicate more freedom.