Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in Iceland
Iceland: Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required was 22.6% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in Iceland, 2003–2022
Source: Harvard Medical School Program in Global Surgery and Social Change (PGSSC), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of people at risk.
Analysis
In 2022, share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in Iceland stood at 22.6%. That is the lowest value across all 20 years on record.
That represents a change of down 11.7% on the previous year and down 57.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in Iceland peaked at 56.0% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 22.6%, in 2022.
That places Iceland 47th out of 134 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 20 years of available data.
Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % of people at risk | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 48.6% | — |
| 2004 | 47.1% | -3.1% |
| 2005 | 43.5% | -7.6% |
| 2006 | 36.4% | -16.3% |
| 2007 | 33.3% | -8.5% |
| 2008 | 40.2% | +20.7% |
| 2009 | 49.2% | +22.4% |
| 2010 | 56.0% | +13.8% |
| 2011 | 54.0% | -3.6% |
| 2012 | 53.3% | -1.3% |
| 2013 | 51.2% | -3.9% |
| 2014 | 49.8% | -2.7% |
| 2015 | 45.2% | -9.2% |
| 2016 | 38.4% | -15.0% |
| 2017 | 31.8% | -17.2% |
| 2018 | 29.2% | -8.2% |
| 2019 | 30.7% | +5.1% |
| 2020 | 31.6% | +2.9% |
| 2021 | 25.6% | -19.0% |
| 2022 | 22.6% | -11.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 42.6% | 33.3% | 49.2% | 7 |
| 2010s | 44.0% | 29.2% | 56.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 26.6% | 22.6% | 31.6% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More population data for Iceland
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate -0.4984 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate -5.08 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate -0.4984 % change on previous year (2100)
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate -0.2688 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 05 - Demographic estimates 408.78 Persons (2050)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population 0.4806 Percent per annum (2030)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -0.6617 % change on previous year (2100)
- World population growth -0.5% (2100)
- Population density 3.6 people per km² (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 13,661 people (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in Iceland?
- Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in Iceland was 22.6% in 2022, according to Harvard Medical School Program in Global Surgery and Social Change (PGSSC), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 56.0% in 2010.
- What is the lowest share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.6% in 2022.
- How does Iceland rank for share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required?
- Iceland ranks 47th out of 134 countries with data for 2022.
- Is share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 57.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iceland data come from?
- The figures come from Harvard Medical School Program in Global Surgery and Social Change (PGSSC), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 20 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Catastrophic expenditure is defined as direct out-of-pocket payments for surgical and anaesthesia care exceeding 10% of total income.