Self-employed, male (% of male employment) in Iceland
Iceland: Self-employed, male (% of male employment) was 17.2% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Self-employed, male (% of male employment) in Iceland, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
Iceland recorded 17.2% for self-employed, male (% of male employment) in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.5% on the previous year and down 24.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, self-employed, male (% of male employment) in Iceland peaked at 27.1% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 17.2%, in 2025.
That places Iceland 148th out of 187 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Self-employed, male (% of male employment) in Iceland, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 27.1% | — |
| 1992 | 25.7% | -5.1% |
| 1993 | 24.3% | -5.6% |
| 1994 | 25.6% | +5.4% |
| 1995 | 25.6% | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 25.0% | -2.2% |
| 1997 | 24.4% | -2.2% |
| 1998 | 24.7% | +1.1% |
| 1999 | 24.5% | -0.9% |
| 2000 | 24.3% | -0.7% |
| 2001 | 24.1% | -1.1% |
| 2002 | 24.2% | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 23.1% | -4.7% |
| 2004 | 22.9% | -0.7% |
| 2005 | 23.3% | +1.7% |
| 2006 | 23.1% | -0.8% |
| 2007 | 22.4% | -2.8% |
| 2008 | 22.1% | -1.5% |
| 2009 | 22.3% | +0.9% |
| 2010 | 22.6% | +1.2% |
| 2011 | 22.7% | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 22.9% | +0.9% |
| 2013 | 22.8% | -0.2% |
| 2014 | 22.7% | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 22.7% | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 22.2% | -2.3% |
| 2017 | 21.7% | -1.9% |
| 2018 | 21.3% | -1.8% |
| 2019 | 21.0% | -1.7% |
| 2020 | 21.1% | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 22.2% | +5.3% |
| 2022 | 21.8% | -1.9% |
| 2023 | 19.5% | -10.4% |
| 2024 | 17.2% | -11.8% |
| 2025 | 17.2% | -0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 25.2% | 24.3% | 27.1% | 9 |
| 2000s | 23.2% | 22.1% | 24.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 22.3% | 21.0% | 22.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.8% | 17.2% | 22.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More work & labour data for Iceland
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.4964 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.4501 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.5492 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.37 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.2312 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 373.77 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 16.3 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 169.5 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 193.08 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 362.58 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is self-employed, male (% of male employment) in Iceland?
- Self-employed, male (% of male employment) in Iceland was 17.2% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest self-employed, male (% of male employment) recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 27.1% in 1991.
- What is the lowest self-employed, male (% of male employment) recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.2% in 2025.
- How does Iceland rank for self-employed, male (% of male employment)?
- Iceland ranks 148th out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is self-employed, male (% of male employment) rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 24.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iceland data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Self-employed, male (% of male employment) (modeled ILO estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Self-employed workers are those workers who, working on their own account or with one or a few partners or in cooperative, hold the type of jobs defined as a "self-employment jobs." i.e. jobs where the remuneration is directly dependent upon the profits derived from the goods and services produced. Self-employed workers include sub-categories of employers, own-account workers and members of producers' cooperatives and contributing family workers.