The real value of total assets owned by individuals in Iceland grew by 5.3% in 2023, with total assets reaching ISK 12.284 trillion [€85 billion / $90 billion], Statistics Iceland reports. Most of this increase came from rising property values. Debt levels rose by 5.7%, although they decreased by 2.8% in real terms.
5.3% growth in real personal wealth
According to Statistics Iceland, the total assets of individuals in Iceland reached ISK 12.284 trillion [€85 billion / $90 billion] in 2023, up from ISK 10.728 trillion [€74 billion / $78 billion] in 2022. This figure represents all the assets owned by individuals, including real estate, bank accounts, and investments. After adjusting for inflation (which accounts for rising prices over time) this represents a 5.3% increase, indicating real growth in personal wealth.
As noted by Statistics Iceland, real estate made up ISK 9.659 trillion [€67 billion / $71 billion] of this total, reflecting a 15.5% increase from the previous year, suggesting that most of the wealth increase came from rising property values.
Total debt, on the other hand, amounted to ISK 3.150 trillion [€22 billion / $23 billion] in 2023, compared to ISK 2.980 trillion [€21 billion / $22 billion] in 2022. This is a 5.7% rise in debt, though when adjusted for inflation, represents a 2.8% decrease.
Median asset worth of ISK 9.9 million
On average, each taxpayer had assets worth ISK 48.4 million [€334,000 / $353,000], with a median of ISK 9.9 million [€68,310 / $72,270].
This means that while the average wealth is quite high, half of the population holds less than ISK 9.9 million in assets, indicating some wealth inequality. (As a refresher on high-school maths, the median is the middle value in a set of numbers, meaning that half of the data points are below the median, and half are above it; the median is not affected by extremely high or low numbers).
As noted by Statistics Iceland, inequality was relatively low in Iceland in 2022 compared to other European countries.
Average debt, on the other hand, was ISK 12.4 million [€85,560 / $90,520], with a median of ISK 600,000 [€4,140 / $4,380], meaning that while many people have significant debts, half of the population owes less than ISK 600,000.
Lastly, overall equity – the difference between assets and debts – grew from ISK 7.748 trillion [€53 billion / $57 billion] in 2022 to ISK 9.134 trillion [€63 billion / $67 billion] in 2023, driven primarily by assets growing faster than debts.
