01Key Takeaways
- Iceland imported $9.47 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 1.80% from $9.64 billion in 2022, a modest pullback after several years of growth.
- Mineral fuels led every import category at 13.21% ($1.25 billion), since Iceland has no domestic oil or gas production of its own.
- Inorganic chemicals ranked fifth at 7.22% ($683.93 million), largely alumina that Iceland's own aluminum smelters need since the country has no bauxite deposits.
- Norway supplied 11.56% of imports, worth $1.10 billion, Iceland's largest single source.
025-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $6.6B | $5.7B | $7.8B | $9.6B | $9.5B |
03Top Import Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norway | $1.1B | 11.6% |
| 2 | Germany | $836.8M | 8.8% |
| 3 | China | $826.6M | 8.7% |
| 4 | Netherlands | $724.5M | 7.7% |
| 5 | United States | $716.4M | 7.6% |
| 6 | Denmark | $566.2M | 6.0% |
| 7 | Sweden | $408.0M | 4.3% |
| 8 | United Kingdom | $375.5M | 4.0% |
| 9 | Italy | $274.2M | 2.9% |
| 10 | France | $265.8M | 2.8% |
04Top Import Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes | $1.3B | 13.2% |
| 2 | Vehicles other than Railway or Tramway Rolling-Stock, and parts and accessories thereof | $1.1B | 11.9% |
| 3 | 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 | $1.1B | 11.8% |
| 4 | Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Parts thereof | $1.0B | 10.7% |
| 5 | Inorganic Chemicals; Organic or Inorganic Compounds of Precious Metals, of Rare-Earth Metals, of Radioactive Elements or of Isotopes | $683.9M | 7.2% |
| 6 | Furniture; Bedding, Mattresses, Mattress Supports, Cushions and similar Stuffed Furnishings; Lamps and Lighting Fittings, not elsewhere specified or included; Illuminated Signs, Illuminated Name-plates and the like; Prefabricated Buildings | $277.8M | 2.9% |
| 7 | Plastics and Articles thereof | $251.1M | 2.7% |
| 8 | Articles of Iron or Steel | $250.0M | 2.6% |
| 9 | Pharmaceutical Products | $238.7M | 2.5% |
| 10 | Optical, Photographic, Cinematographic, Measuring, Checking, Precision, Medical or Surgical Instruments and Apparatus; Parts and Accessories thereof | $238.7M | 2.5% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
Fuel and Alumina Reveal What Iceland's Renewable Economy Still Needs to Import
Iceland imported $9.47 billion worth of goods in 2023. Mineral fuels led every category at 13.21% of the total, worth $1.25 billion. Despite generating nearly all its electricity from renewable hydro and geothermal power, Iceland has no domestic oil or gas production, so it imports essentially all the fuel used to power its cars, fishing vessels, and planes. One of the largest consumers of that imported fuel is Iceland's fishing fleet, though even there consumption has been falling. Iceland's fishing fleet has cut its oil consumption by nearly 35% since 1990 and stopped using heavy fuel oil entirely in 2019. Better vessel efficiency and cleaner marine fuel standards get much of the credit, trimming the fuel import bill even as the fleet keeps working the same waters and landing roughly the same catch each season.
Vehicles ranked second at 11.87% ($1.12 billion), and electrical machinery followed closely at 11.76% ($1.11 billion). Machinery and mechanical appliances added 10.75% ($1.02 billion), a category that covers everything from construction equipment to the specialized machinery used at the smelters and fish-processing plants. Inorganic chemicals took 7.22% ($683.93 million), a category that includes the alumina Iceland's aluminum smelters need to keep running. Iceland has no bauxite deposits of its own, so a trade-press analysis found the country imports well over a million and a half tonnes of alumina a year to keep its three smelters running, with Australia the leading supplier. That dependency mirrors the aluminum export story from the other side of Iceland's trade ledger. Cheap, clean electricity turns imported raw material into one of the country's biggest export earners. It is a division of labor that only makes economic sense because Iceland's power costs so much less than the alumina itself does.
Furniture, lighting, and prefabricated buildings added 2.93% ($277.85 million), and plastics and articles thereof contributed 2.65% ($251.10 million). Iron or steel articles took 2.64% ($249.96 million), and pharmaceutical products and optical, photographic, and medical instruments rounded out the top ten at 2.52% ($238.69 million) each.
Norway Is Iceland's Largest Single Import Source
Norway supplied 11.56% of Iceland's imports in 2023, worth $1.10 billion, the largest single source, likely reflecting Norwegian oil, gas, and other North Sea energy products feeding Iceland's fuel needs. Germany followed at 8.84% ($836.78 million), and China took 8.73% ($826.64 million). Together, these top three suppliers made up 29.13% of total import value, a far less concentrated picture than the export side of Iceland's trade, where a single market absorbs more than a third of everything sold abroad.
Netherlands added 7.65% ($724.50 million), and United States contributed 7.56% ($716.37 million). Denmark took 5.98% ($566.23 million), and Sweden added 4.31% ($408.01 million), both close Nordic trading partners. United Kingdom contributed 3.96% ($375.47 million). Italy took 2.90% ($274.18 million), and France closed out the top ten list at 2.81% ($265.83 million).
Imports Eased Slightly in 2023 After a Sharp Post-Pandemic Rebound
Iceland's import total climbed for three straight years before easing slightly in 2023. It stood at $6.58 billion in 2019, then fell to $5.70 billion in 2020 as the pandemic curtailed trade and travel. It rebounded sharply to $7.84 billion in 2021, then jumped further to $9.64 billion in 2022 as energy prices spiked across Europe. The 2023 total of $9.47 billion, down 1.80% year over year, marks only a modest pullback rather than a sharp correction.
That small dip is a far gentler move than the 8.05% drop in Iceland's export total over the same year. Imports cover a broader mix of goods than the two commodities, aluminum and fish, that dominate what Iceland sells abroad, which naturally smooths out swings on the import side. Energy prices likely eased Iceland's fuel import bill somewhat in 2023, much as they did across Europe, but the country's ongoing need for vehicles, machinery, and alumina kept the overall import total close to its 2022 level rather than falling sharply. A small, open economy like Iceland's tends to import a fairly steady mix of goods year to year. Most of what shows up in these categories, fuel, vehicles, machinery, and industrial raw materials, supports basic infrastructure and industry. That kind of demand doesn't shrink much just because global prices move, which helps explain why the import side of Iceland's trade held up better than the export side did in 2023.