01Key Takeaways
- Iceland exported $6.81 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 8.05% from $7.40 billion in 2022, as global aluminum prices cooled from a 2022 peak.
- Aluminium led every category at 35.66% ($2.43 billion), produced using the country's abundant renewable hydro and geothermal power.
- Fish and crustaceans followed closely at 33.83% ($2.30 billion), Iceland's other cornerstone export industry.
- The Netherlands absorbed 35.84% of exports, worth $2.44 billion, largely reflecting its role as a European aluminum trading hub.
025-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $5.2B | $4.6B | $6.0B | $7.4B | $6.8B |
03Top Export Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Netherlands | $2.4B | 35.8% |
| 2 | United States | $660.9M | 9.7% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | $592.4M | 8.7% |
| 4 | France | $437.4M | 6.4% |
| 5 | Norway | $391.2M | 5.7% |
| 6 | Germany | $327.4M | 4.8% |
| 7 | Spain | $268.1M | 3.9% |
| 8 | Denmark | $191.7M | 2.8% |
| 9 | China | $148.6M | 2.2% |
| 10 | Poland | $148.6M | 2.2% |
04Top Export Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aluminium and Articles thereof | $2.4B | 35.7% |
| 2 | Fish and Crustaceans, Molluscs and other Aquatic Invertebrates | $2.3B | 33.8% |
| 3 | Optical, Photographic, Cinematographic, Measuring, Checking, Precision, Medical or Surgical Instruments and Apparatus; Parts and Accessories thereof | $349.1M | 5.1% |
| 4 | Residues and Waste from the Food Industries; Prepared Animal Fodder | $295.6M | 4.3% |
| 5 | Iron and Steel | $237.2M | 3.5% |
| 6 | Animal or Vegetable Fats and Oils and their Cleavage Products; Prepared Edible Fats; Animal or Vegetable Waxes | $234.9M | 3.5% |
| 7 | Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes | $166.6M | 2.4% |
| 8 | Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Parts thereof | $123.3M | 1.8% |
| 9 | Preparations of Meat, of Fish or of Crustaceans, Molluscs or other Aquatic Invertebrates | $107.0M | 1.6% |
| 10 | Electrical Machinery and Equipment and parts thereof; Sound Recorders and Reproducers, Television Image and Sound Recorders and Reproducers, and Parts and Accessories of such Articles | $71.0M | 1.0% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
Aluminum and Fish Together Anchor Nearly All of Iceland's Exports
Iceland exported $6.81 billion worth of goods in 2023. Aluminium and articles thereof led every category at 35.66% of the total, worth $2.43 billion. It is produced almost entirely using the country's abundant renewable electricity rather than fossil fuels. Rio Tinto's ISAL smelter near Reykjavík produces roughly 210,000 tonnes of aluminum billets a year, running on electricity that is 100% renewable, supplied by the national power company Landsvirkjun, and helping make Iceland the world's tenth-largest aluminum producer despite a population of only around 400,000. Iceland's other two smelters, Norðurál's plant at Grundartangi and Alcoa's Fjarðaál plant in the east, add further capacity. Together, the three plants make aluminum an industry built specifically around the country's cheap, clean electricity, something few other aluminum-producing nations can match at this scale relative to their overall economy.
Fish and crustaceans followed closely at 33.83% ($2.30 billion), an industry with roots stretching back centuries and still managed today through a strict, quota-based fisheries system. Brim, one of Iceland's largest fishing companies, holds statutory quotas covering cod, haddock, saithe, redfish, halibut, and pelagic species like capelin and mackerel, fished by an eight-vessel fleet of trawlers and freezer ships. That quota system caps how much of each species boats can legally bring ashore each season, a structure credited with helping Iceland avoid the stock collapses that hit some other North Atlantic fishing grounds decades ago. Together, aluminum and fish accounted for close to seven in every ten export dollars in 2023, a concentration few other export economies come close to matching.
Optical, photographic, and medical instruments added 5.13% ($349.06 million), and food-industry residues and prepared animal fodder, largely fishmeal and fish oil byproducts, contributed 4.34% ($295.65 million). Iron and steel took 3.48% ($237.19 million), and animal, vegetable, and microbial fats and oils added 3.45% ($234.94 million). Mineral fuels contributed 2.45% ($166.56 million). Machinery added 1.81% ($123.30 million), meat and fish preparations took 1.57% ($106.98 million), and electrical machinery closed out the top ten categories at 1.04% ($70.97 million).
The Netherlands Absorbs More Than a Third of Iceland's Exports
Netherlands absorbed 35.84% of Iceland's exports in 2023, worth $2.44 billion, by far the largest single market. That figure likely reflects Rotterdam and Amsterdam's role as major European trading and transshipment hubs for aluminum, rather than final Dutch consumption of Icelandic goods. Metal shipped to a Dutch port for onward trading or refining can register as a Dutch import even though it ultimately ends up used or resold elsewhere in Europe, a pattern common to countries with major commodity ports. United States followed at 9.71% ($660.90 million), and United Kingdom took 8.70% ($592.42 million), both markets with a long history of importing Icelandic seafood directly. Together, these top three markets made up 54.25% of total export value.
France added 6.43% ($437.44 million), and Norway contributed 5.75% ($391.21 million), a fellow North Atlantic fishing nation and frequent trading partner despite also being a competitor in the same seafood markets. Germany took 4.81% ($327.35 million). Spain added 3.94% ($268.07 million), and Denmark contributed 2.82% ($191.66 million). China took 2.18% ($148.65 million), and Poland closed out the top ten list at 2.18% ($148.62 million).
Exports Pulled Back in 2023 After a Post-Pandemic Peak
Iceland's export total climbed for three straight years before pulling back in 2023. It stood at $5.23 billion in 2019, then fell to $4.58 billion in 2020 as the pandemic hit both aluminum demand and Iceland's export-oriented fishing industry. It rebounded to $5.97 billion in 2021, then surged to $7.40 billion in 2022 as aluminum prices spiked amid the broader post-pandemic commodity boom. The 2023 total of $6.81 billion, down 8.05% year over year, marks the first annual decline in this five-year window.
That pullback lines up with global aluminum prices cooling off from their 2022 peak. Iceland's export total moves closely with the price its smelters can fetch for their output, rather than with the physical volume produced, which tends to stay far more stable from year to year since the same three smelters run close to capacity most of the time. Fish export values can swing with global seafood prices and catch quotas too, though aluminum's outsized share of the total makes metal prices the bigger swing factor in any given year. A small, commodity-heavy economy like Iceland's is always going to see its export figures move more with global prices than with anything happening domestically.