Share of primary energy from low-carbon energy in Iceland
Iceland: Share of primary energy from low-carbon energy was 84.7% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of primary energy from low-carbon energy in Iceland, 1965–2025
Source: Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017); U.S. Energy Information Administration (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of primary energy from low-carbon energy in Iceland is 84.7%, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.5% on the previous year and down 0.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of primary energy from low-carbon energy in Iceland peaked at 89.8% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 9.3%, in 1966.
Iceland ranks 1st of 80 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 61 years of available data.
Share of primary energy from low-carbon energy in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1965 | 10.1% | — |
| 1966 | 9.3% | -8.4% |
| 1967 | 10.1% | +9.0% |
| 1968 | 9.8% | -2.7% |
| 1969 | 13.2% | +34.5% |
| 1970 | 20.7% | +56.3% |
| 1971 | 20.6% | -0.4% |
| 1972 | 21.8% | +6.2% |
| 1973 | 23.4% | +7.0% |
| 1974 | 23.8% | +1.8% |
| 1975 | 25.5% | +7.3% |
| 1976 | 26.6% | +4.3% |
| 1977 | 26.8% | +0.7% |
| 1978 | 26.6% | -1.0% |
| 1979 | 29.9% | +12.7% |
| 1980 | 32.7% | +9.2% |
| 1981 | 37.4% | +14.5% |
| 1982 | 43.1% | +15.1% |
| 1983 | 44.6% | +3.5% |
| 1984 | 43.7% | -2.1% |
| 1985 | 43.1% | -1.2% |
| 1986 | 45.0% | +4.4% |
| 1987 | 45.1% | +0.2% |
| 1988 | 45.5% | +0.9% |
| 1989 | 44.4% | -2.3% |
| 1990 | 43.8% | -1.3% |
| 1991 | 44.4% | +1.3% |
| 1992 | 42.3% | -4.8% |
| 1993 | 43.0% | +1.8% |
| 1994 | 43.3% | +0.7% |
| 1995 | 43.9% | +1.3% |
| 1996 | 44.9% | +2.3% |
| 1997 | 45.9% | +2.2% |
| 1998 | 52.8% | +15.1% |
| 1999 | 60.6% | +14.8% |
| 2000 | 62.7% | +3.3% |
| 2001 | 65.2% | +4.0% |
| 2002 | 64.5% | -1.1% |
| 2003 | 64.6% | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 64.1% | -0.9% |
| 2005 | 66.2% | +3.4% |
| 2006 | 72.2% | +9.0% |
| 2007 | 77.0% | +6.7% |
| 2008 | 78.8% | +2.4% |
| 2009 | 81.0% | +2.8% |
| 2010 | 85.7% | +5.7% |
| 2011 | 86.3% | +0.8% |
| 2012 | 87.3% | +1.2% |
| 2013 | 86.9% | -0.5% |
| 2014 | 86.6% | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 85.4% | -1.5% |
| 2016 | 84.1% | -1.5% |
| 2017 | 83.2% | -1.1% |
| 2018 | 83.7% | +0.6% |
| 2019 | 85.6% | +2.3% |
| 2020 | 89.8% | +4.9% |
| 2021 | 87.9% | -2.1% |
| 2022 | 85.8% | -2.4% |
| 2023 | 85.9% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 85.2% | -0.8% |
| 2025 | 84.7% | -0.5% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 84.7% is above the median for high income countries, which is 18.3%, 4.6× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 84.7% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 19.0%, 4.5× the median. (39 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of primary energy from low-carbon energy in Iceland changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | +56.3% | 13.2% | 20.7% |
| 1969 | +34.5% | 9.8% | 13.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 10.5% | 9.3% | 13.2% | 5 |
| 1970s | 24.6% | 20.6% | 29.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 42.5% | 32.7% | 45.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 46.5% | 42.3% | 60.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 69.6% | 62.7% | 81.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 85.5% | 83.2% | 87.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 86.6% | 84.7% | 89.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More climate change data for Iceland
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 16.80 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 462.45 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 110.24 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 352.21 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 0.416 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 12.58 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 92.86 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 92.86 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 0.3504 kt (2050)
- Synthetic Fertilizers — Emissions (CO2eq) 92.72 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of primary energy from low-carbon energy in Iceland?
- Share of primary energy from low-carbon energy in Iceland was 84.7% in 2025, according to Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017); U.S. Energy Information Administration (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of primary energy from low-carbon energy recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 89.8% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of primary energy from low-carbon energy recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.3% in 1966.
- How does Iceland rank for share of primary energy from low-carbon energy?
- Iceland ranks 1st out of 80 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of primary energy from low-carbon energy rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iceland data come from?
- The figures come from Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017); U.S. Energy Information Administration (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of primary energy from low-carbon energy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 61 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Measured as a percentage of total energy supply.