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Taxable wages in the cultural and creative industries amounted to 50 billion ISK in 2024 and had increased by 5.6% from the previous year, when the total taxable wages were 47.5 billion ISK. In comparison, the increase in taxable wages for the whole labour force was 7.1%.
In 2024, operating revenue in cultural and creative industries was approximately 179 billion ISK and increased about 6.0% from 2023 when it was about 169 billion ISK. In 2024 prices, the increase was about 0.1%.
In 2025, 12,900 people aged 16–74 were employed in the cultural and creative industries, which corresponds to 5.7% of the Icelandic labour market, according to Statistics Iceland’s Labour force survey. This share decreased by 15.2% from the previous year, when the ratio was at 6.7%. Over a ten‑year period, the number of people employed in the cultural and creative industries has decreased by just…
In the third quarter of 2025, libraries lent from their collections to about 16% of residents in Iceland. This share was similar to the same quarter a year earlier, when it was 16.4%. These figures are among new statistics from Statistics Iceland on library borrowers for the period 2023–2025.
The total revenue in external trade services in cultural and creative industries was 19.6 billion ISK in 2024. Audio-and visual services had by far the highest amount of revenue, 13.1 billion ISK. Information services had 5.7 billion ISK, and copyright payments had 761.9 million ISK. Architectural services did not have any available data for the years 2023 and 2024 and therefore are not included…
Approximately 3.3 million guests visited museums and related activates in Iceland in 2023 compared with 3.2 million guests the year before, which equates to a 2.3% increase. In both years, most museum visits were in the Capital region, about 1.9 million.
Total taxable wages for culture and creative industries in 2023 were just under 47.5 billion ISK and increased by 5.5% from 2022, when the total taxable wages were 45 billion ISK, or by 2.5 billion ISK. In comparison, the total taxable wages for all fields increased by 13.1%.
Operating revenue in the culture and creative industries was approximately 168 billion ISK for the year 2023 and increased about 9.8%, or 15 billion ISK, from 2022, when it was approximately 153 billion ISK. When adjusting for inflation, the increase was about 1%.
Publication of updated culture indicators about enterprises 2023, which was scheduled today 20 October 2025, has been postponed until further notice.
Two new religious organisations were recognised in Iceland in 2023, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and Parish of St. Bartholomew the Apostle. Figures have been updated.