Iceland has 1 city in the top 1000 and is the leading startup hub in Western Europe.
Iceland’s startup scene saw an increase in 2023 and jumped 9 spots from the previous year, outranking Poland.
The Icelandic startup ecosystem is impressive, especially considering the country’s small population. A harsh climate compels Iceland to build strong physical infrastructure, which has fostered an innovative spirit born from necessity. Icelandic entrepreneurs are also compelled to have a global focus from the beginning, given the country’s small consumer market. In addition, Iceland values education, and the nation is well known for high literacy rates and skilled tech workers.
Iceland developed the entrepreneurial spirit of its population and shifted from the traditional employment model towards the gig economy, even in the IT sector, which offers much more flexibility.
The government’s initiatives reflect Iceland’s culture of innovation. For instance, The Icelandic Centre for Research (RANNÍS) promotes public awareness of research and innovation, education, and culture in Iceland. As well, government organizations which specifically support startups, such as Startup Iceland and Startup Reykjavik, do an excellent job of connecting local startups with foreign investors. The efforts of these organizations are supported with favorable legislation and one of the lowest tax rates in Europe, as well as incentives for R&D and green energy. Likewise, Iceland’s public sector incentives offer foreign investors favorable legislation for investments, along with the Golden Investor Visa.
Iceland’s small population may be seen as a challenge, but the country’s position between North America and Europe means fast travel times to massive consumer markets. Iceland is on a mission to increase innovation and competitiveness, and we are convinced that this approach will prove beneficial for its startup scene.
Understand our ranking methodology and get the latest insights on the startup ecosystems of 100 countries and 1000 cities around the world!
Iceland is ranked within the top 40 startup ecosystems globally.
Iceland’s startup scene is best represented in Health, Energy & Environment, and in and Foodtech.
2023 National Rank & Change | City | Global Rank & Change | Total Score | Quantity Score | Quality Score | Business Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st 0 | 141st + 68 | 5.027 | 00.00 | 00.00 | 00.00 |
On our map, you can explore a total of 43 startups for Health.
In Western Europe, Iceland's Energy & Environment is in top 16. Iceland has a concentration of about 27 of the region's total Energy & Environment startups that are represented on our map.
Iceland's Foodtech is ranked 17th in the world. Our database contains 17 for this industry.
Join Now! Startup Ecosystem Development is a dynamic topic that requires keeping up with the most innovative policies, developments, and practices in the global startup scene. To bring startup ecosystem developers around the world together and help them to network and share knowledge, we decided to launch the StartupBlink Ecosystem Development Community on Slack. In […]
Download the Barcelona and Catalonia Report Ecosystem Report
Download the Global Startup Ecosystem Index Unlock the full list of Influencers with the StartupBlink Pro Purchase Now Key Insights: US Entrepreneurs are in a much better position to become influencers The United States has 130 influencers, representing 80% of all influencers globally, mainly hailing from major cities such as San Francisco, New York, […]