Highest Salaries in Iceland: 2.8 Times as High as Lowest Ones

By international standards, the distribution of income in Iceland is relatively equal, but not quite as equal as in the rest of the Nordic countries, mbl.is reports, referring to a document published Friday by ASÍ, the Icelandic Confederation of Labor.

The employment participation rate in Iceland is high, as is the rate of the working age population.

When calculating income distribution, a comparison is made between the highest and lowest 10 percent income brackets, that is, the monthly salaries of full-time employees.

According to a statement from ASÍ, in Europe, the highest earners have income twice to five times that of the lowest earners.

In Nordic countries other than Iceland, that figure is the lowest among European countries: the monthly salaries of the highest earners are 2.1 to 2.7 times those of the lowest earners. In Iceland, that number is 2.8 — slightly higher than in other Nordic countries.

“Contrary to common claims, income distribution in our country is not more compact than in neighboring countries, but comparable to what it is in Nordic countries,” ASÍ’s statement reads. “Countries with solid labor contracts have a more compact income distribution than the average in Europe and more equality. Iceland belongs to that group,” the statement concludes.