Share of electricity generation from hydropower in Iceland

Iceland: Share of electricity generation from hydropower was 70.7% in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
70.7%
Change on year
down 0.7%
World rank
28th
of 213 countries
All-time high
95.5%
in 1985
All-time low
68.4%
in 2020
Years of data
40
1985–2024

Share of electricity generation from hydropower in Iceland, 1985–2024

0204060801001985200420241985: 95.5 %1986: 94.7 %1987: 94.3 %1988: 94.3 %1989: 94.1 %1990: 93.4 %1991: 93.9 %1992: 94.8 %1993: 94.5 %1994: 94.5 %1995: 94 %1996: 93.2 %1997: 93.2 %1998: 89.5 %1999: 84.1 %2000: 82.7 %2001: 81.8 %2002: 82.8 %2003: 83.2 %2004: 82.7 %2005: 80.7 %2006: 73.3 %2007: 69.9 %2008: 75.3 %2009: 72.8 %2010: 74.7 %2011: 73.5 %2012: 70.6 %2013: 70.9 %2014: 70.5 %2015: 73 %2016: 72 %2017: 72.8 %2018: 69.5 %2019: 68.9 %2020: 68.4 %2021: 70 %2022: 70.2 %2023: 71.2 %2024: 70.7 %

Source: Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for share of electricity generation from hydropower in Iceland is 70.7%, measured in 2024.

That represents a change of down 0.7% on the previous year and up 0.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of electricity generation from hydropower in Iceland peaked at 95.5% in 1985 and was at its lowest, 68.4%, in 2020.

Iceland ranks 28th of 213 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 40 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 94.6% 94.1% 95.5% 5
1990s 92.5% 84.1% 94.8% 10
2000s 78.5% 69.9% 83.2% 10
2010s 71.6% 68.9% 74.7% 10
2020s 70.1% 68.4% 71.2% 5

Countries ranked near Iceland

  1. 25 Guinea 74.4% compare
  2. 26 Burundi 73.5% compare
  3. 27 Cameroon 72.0% compare
  4. 29 Angola 70.6% compare
  5. 30 Colombia 69.2% compare
  6. 31 North Korea 62.7% compare

See the full ranking of 215 places →

More energy & mining data for Iceland

All data for Iceland →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of electricity generation from hydropower in Iceland?
Share of electricity generation from hydropower in Iceland was 70.7% in 2024, according to Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of electricity generation from hydropower recorded in Iceland?
The highest recorded value was 95.5% in 1985.
What is the lowest share of electricity generation from hydropower recorded in Iceland?
The lowest recorded value was 68.4% in 2020.
How does Iceland rank for share of electricity generation from hydropower?
Iceland ranks 28th out of 213 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of electricity generation from hydropower rising or falling in Iceland?
Over the last ten years it is up 0.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Iceland data come from?
The figures come from Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of electricity generation from hydropower. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 40 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Share of electricity generation from hydropower
Unit
%
Source
Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
215 places, 6,588 data points, 1920–2025
Last refreshed

Measured as a percentage of total electricity produced in the country or region.