Municipal waste recycling rate in Iceland
Iceland: Municipal waste recycling rate was 21.31 Percentage in 2014. ▲ Rising
Municipal waste recycling rate in Iceland, 1995–2014
Source: OECD (2018) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in Percentage.
Analysis
Iceland recorded 21.31 Percentage for municipal waste recycling rate in 2014.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 14.9% on the previous year and up 48.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, municipal waste recycling rate in Iceland peaked at 25.04 Percentage in 2013 and was at its lowest, 5.86 Percentage, in 1995.
That places Iceland 23rd out of 31 countries with data for 2014, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 16 years of available data.
Municipal waste recycling rate in Iceland, year by year
| Year | Percentage | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 5.86 Percentage | — |
| 1996 | 7.58 Percentage | +29.4% |
| 1997 | 6.78 Percentage | -10.5% |
| 1998 | 9 Percentage | +32.7% |
| 1999 | 11.07 Percentage | +23.0% |
| 2000 | 12.64 Percentage | +14.2% |
| 2001 | 13.66 Percentage | +8.1% |
| 2002 | 14.1 Percentage | +3.2% |
| 2003 | 14.39 Percentage | +2.0% |
| 2008 | 17.3 Percentage | +20.3% |
| 2009 | 15.64 Percentage | -9.6% |
| 2010 | 15.59 Percentage | -0.4% |
| 2011 | 20.29 Percentage | +30.2% |
| 2012 | 23.85 Percentage | +17.5% |
| 2013 | 25.04 Percentage | +5.0% |
| 2014 | 21.31 Percentage | -14.9% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 21.31 Percentage is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 26.24 Percentage, 81% of the median. (27 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 21.31 Percentage is below the median for high income countries, which is 26.13 Percentage, 82% of the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 8.06 Percentage | 5.86 Percentage | 11.07 Percentage | 5 |
| 2000s | 14.62 Percentage | 12.64 Percentage | 17.3 Percentage | 6 |
| 2010s | 21.21 Percentage | 15.59 Percentage | 25.04 Percentage | 5 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More environment data for Iceland
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 3.89 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.587 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.47 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.8549 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate -1.93 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is municipal waste recycling rate in Iceland?
- Municipal waste recycling rate in Iceland was 21.31 Percentage in 2014, according to OECD (2018) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest municipal waste recycling rate recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 25.04 Percentage in 2013.
- What is the lowest municipal waste recycling rate recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.86 Percentage in 1995.
- How does Iceland rank for municipal waste recycling rate?
- Iceland ranks 23rd out of 31 countries with data for 2014.
- Is municipal waste recycling rate rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 48.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iceland data come from?
- The figures come from OECD (2018) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Municipal waste recycling rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Municipal (including household) waste recycling rates, measured as the percentage of total waste generated that is recycled.