Iceland flag Iceland: Economic and Political Overview

Foreign trade figures of Iceland

Foreign Trade in Figures

Iceland has always been open to international trade, with trade representing 94% of its GDP (World Bank). Most restrictions on foreign exchange transactions and cross-border movement of domestic and foreign currency for both businesses and households were lifted to stimulate foreign trade. However, barriers to trade and market entry still exist, including the adoption of EU product standards and regulations, high tariffs on most agricultural products from outside the EU, restrictions on the import of certain products like raw meat due to phytosanitary regulations, and difficulty in obtaining financing for joint ventures. Traditional sectors like fishing drive the dynamism of the country's exports, with more than 40% of national exports consisting of fishing products. In 2023, aluminium products made up 34.2% of total exports, the largest share among manufactured goods. Marine products accounted for 37.6%, down 2% from the previous year, with fresh fish and frozen fillets contributing 9.4% and 8.9%, respectively. On the other hand, raw and consumable goods accounted for the largest share of import value at 26%, followed by investment goods at 23.8%, transport equipment (14.7%), and fuel and lubricants (13.2%), while food and beverages accounted for 9% of total imports (data Statistics Iceland).

According to data from Statistics Iceland, in 2023, the country’s main export destinations were the Netherlands (35.9% of total exports), the U.S. (9.7%), the United Kingdom (8.6%), France (6.4%), and Norway (5.8%). Imports primarily originated from Norway (11.6%), Germany (8.8%), China (8.7%), the Netherlands (7.7%), the U.S. (7.5%), and Denmark (6%). 78% of all exports went to EEA countries, against 62% for imports.

In 2023, Iceland exported USD 6.6 billion worth of merchandise (down by 30.1% year-on-year) and imported USD 9.4 billion (marking a 1.3% increase). However, Iceland is a net service exporter, with USD 6.6 billion in exports compared to USD 4.5 billion in imports in 2023 (+19.3% and +8.9% y-o-y, respectively - data from the WTO). According to the latest figures from Statistics Iceland for the year 2024, goods exports reached ISK 958.4 billion, up by 2.1% compared to the previous year; whereas imports totalled ISK 1.356 billion (+3.8%). During the same period, the trade in services recorded a surplus of ISK 261.7 billion, down from ISK 295 billion in 2023.

 
Foreign Trade Values 20192020202120222023
Imports of Goods (million USD) 6,5675,6977,8179,5919,464
Exports of Goods (million USD) 5,2234,5825,9877,3896,609
Imports of Services (million USD) 3,5582,2012,9024,1524,523
Exports of Services (million USD) 5,6832,5053,5055,5846,662

Source: World Trade Organisation (WTO) ; Latest available data

Foreign Trade Indicators 20192020202120222023
Foreign Trade (in % of GDP) 82.968.076.391.586.8
Trade Balance (million USD) -838-591-1,047-1,463-2,093
Trade Balance (Including Service) (million USD) 1,125-287-444-31178
Imports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) -9.1-20.619.920.0-1.1
Exports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) -5.3-30.714.822.16.3
Imports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) 39.134.739.045.843.2
Exports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) 43.733.337.345.743.6

Source: World Bank ; Latest available data

Foreign Trade Forecasts 20242025 (e)2026 (e)2027 (e)2028 (e)
Volume of exports of goods and services (Annual % change) 0.63.83.23.13.1
Volume of imports of goods and services (Annual % change) 1.22.22.42.62.7

Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook ; Latest available data

Note: (e) Estimated Data

 
International Economic Cooperation
Iceland is a member of the European Economic Area (EEA) Agreement.

The country has signed a large number of multilateral and bilateral agreements.

 

Main Partner Countries

Main Customers
(% of Exports)
2023
Netherlands 35.8%
United States 9.7%
United Kingdom 8.7%
France 6.4%
Norway 5.7%
See More Countries 33.6%
Main Suppliers
(% of Imports)
2023
Norway 11.6%
Germany 8.8%
China 8.7%
Netherlands 7.7%
United States 7.6%
See More Countries 55.7%

Source: Comtrade, 2025. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.

 
 

Main Products

6.8 bn USD of products exported in 2023
Unwrought aluminiumUnwrought aluminium 30.7%
Fish fillets and other fish meat, whether or not...Fish fillets and other fish meat, whether or not minced, fresh, chilled or frozen 16.4%
Fish, fresh or chilled (excl. fish fillets and...Fish, fresh or chilled (excl. fish fillets and other fish meat of heading 0304) 6.3%
Frozen fish (excl. fish fillets and other fish...Frozen fish (excl. fish fillets and other fish meat of heading 0304) 6.3%
Fish, fit for human consumption, dried, salted or...Fish, fit for human consumption, dried, salted or in brine; smoked fish, fit for human consumption, whether or not cooked before or during the smoking process; flours, meals and pellets of fish, fit for human consumption 4.3%
See More Products 36.0%
9.5 bn USD of products imported in 2023
Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous...Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals (excl. crude); preparations containing >= 70% by weight of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparations, n.e.s.; waste oils containing mainly petroleum or bituminous minerals 12.3%
Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally...Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons, incl. station wagons and racing cars (excl. motor vehicles of heading 8702) 8.0%
Artificial corundum, whether or not chemically...Artificial corundum, whether or not chemically defined; aluminium oxide; aluminium hydroxide 6.5%
Carbon electrodes, carbon brushes, lamp carbons,...Carbon electrodes, carbon brushes, lamp carbons, battery carbons and other articles of graphite or other carbon, with or without metal, of a kind used for electrical purposes 5.8%
Automatic data-processing machines and units...Automatic data-processing machines and units thereof; magnetic or optical readers, machines for transcribing data onto data media in coded form and machines for processing such data, n.e.s. 3.1%
See More Products 64.2%

Source: Comtrade, 2025. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.

 
 

To go further, check out our service Import-Export Flows.

 

Main Services

6.6 bn USD of services exported in 2023
46.65%
30.55%
7.64%
7.54%
2.99%
1.32%
1.12%
0.78%
0.76%
0.35%
0.32%
4.5 bn USD of services imported in 2023
35.18%
20.78%
19.31%
10.90%
4.98%
2.31%
1.83%
1.69%
1.43%
0.86%
0.48%
0.27%

Source: United Nations Statistics Division, 2024. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.

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Latest Update: May 2025