Nurses — Health and social employment in Iceland

Iceland: Nurses — Health and social employment was 31.78 Per 1 000 inhabitants in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
31.78 Per 1 000 inhabitants
Change on year
up 2.7%
World rank
1st
of 24 countries
All-time high
31.78 Per 1 000 inhabitants
in 2025
All-time low
29.19 Per 1 000 inhabitants
in 2016
Years of data
10
2016–2025

Nurses — Health and social employment in Iceland, 2016–2025

01020302016202020252016: 29.2 Per 1 000 inhabitants2017: 29.3 Per 1 000 inhabitants2018: 29.2 Per 1 000 inhabitants2019: 29.2 Per 1 000 inhabitants2020: 29.5 Per 1 000 inhabitants2021: 29.6 Per 1 000 inhabitants2022: 29.5 Per 1 000 inhabitants2023: 30.1 Per 1 000 inhabitants2024: 30.9 Per 1 000 inhabitants2025: 31.8 Per 1 000 inhabitants

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Per 1 000 inhabitants.

Analysis

In 2025, nurses — health and social employment in Iceland stood at 31.78 Per 1 000 inhabitants. That is the highest value across all 10 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.7% on the previous year and up 8.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, nurses — health and social employment in Iceland peaked at 31.78 Per 1 000 inhabitants in 2025 and was at its lowest, 29.19 Per 1 000 inhabitants, in 2016.

Iceland ranks 1st of 24 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

Nurses — Health and social employment in Iceland, year by year

Annual values for Nurses — Health and social employment in Iceland, 2016 to 2025.
Year Per 1 000 inhabitants Change
2016 29.19 Per 1 000 inhabitants
2017 29.27 Per 1 000 inhabitants +0.3%
2018 29.19 Per 1 000 inhabitants -0.3%
2019 29.22 Per 1 000 inhabitants +0.1%
2020 29.47 Per 1 000 inhabitants +0.9%
2021 29.61 Per 1 000 inhabitants +0.5%
2022 29.51 Per 1 000 inhabitants -0.3%
2023 30.1 Per 1 000 inhabitants +2.0%
2024 30.94 Per 1 000 inhabitants +2.8%
2025 31.78 Per 1 000 inhabitants +2.7%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 29.22 Per 1 000 inhabitants 29.19 Per 1 000 inhabitants 29.27 Per 1 000 inhabitants 4
2020s 30.23 Per 1 000 inhabitants 29.47 Per 1 000 inhabitants 31.78 Per 1 000 inhabitants 6

Countries ranked near Iceland

  1. 2 Norway 29.13 Per 1 000 inhabitants compare
  2. 3 Luxembourg 22.33 Per 1 000 inhabitants
  3. 4 Finland 21.14 Per 1 000 inhabitants compare

See the full ranking of 31 places →

More work & labour data for Iceland

All data for Iceland →

Frequently asked questions

What is nurses — health and social employment in Iceland?
Nurses — health and social employment in Iceland was 31.78 Per 1 000 inhabitants in 2025, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest nurses — health and social employment recorded in Iceland?
The highest recorded value was 31.78 Per 1 000 inhabitants in 2025.
What is the lowest nurses — health and social employment recorded in Iceland?
The lowest recorded value was 29.19 Per 1 000 inhabitants in 2016.
How does Iceland rank for nurses — health and social employment?
Iceland ranks 1st out of 24 countries with data for 2025.
Is nurses — health and social employment rising or falling in Iceland?
Over the last ten years it is up 8.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Iceland data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Nurses — Health and social employment. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Nurses — Health and social employment in Iceland. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 24 August 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/nurses-health-and-social-employment/iceland/

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About this data

Indicator
Nurses — Health and social employment
Unit
Per 1 000 inhabitants
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
31 places, 714 data points, 1980–2025
Last refreshed

This dataset provides data on the number of nurses by status (ie. practising nurses, professionally active nurses, and nurses licenced to practice) and category (ie. Professional nurses and associate professional nurses). Practising nurses provide services directly to patients. Professionally active nurses include practising nurses and other nurses for whom their education is a prerequisite for the execution of the job. A nurse licensed to practice has completed a programme of nursing education and is qualified and authorised in his/her country to practice nursing. They include practising and other (non-practising) nurses. Professional nurses assume responsibility for the planning and management of the care of patients, including the supervision of other healthcare workers, working autonomously or in teams with medical doctors and others in the practical application of preventive and curative measures. Associate professional nurses generally work under the supervision of, and in support of implementation of healthcare, treatment and referrals plans established by medical, nursing and other health professionals. Please refer to the Sources and Methods for detailed country-specific information.