Turnover increased moderately in most industries in May and June of 20251 compared with the same months in 2024. Turnover increased most in vehicle sales and retail trade but contraction was in manufacture of base metals and technology. In addition, turnover fell slightly in fisheries and the tourism industry. Of the twelve largest sectors of the economy turnover growth exceeded inflation (4,0%) in only three.
Turnover in the tourism industry decreased by roughly 1% to total nearly 188 billion ISK. Results varied within the industry but most notable was 39% growth in physical well-being activities and over 20% in passenger transport on both land and sea. Turnover also increased by nearly 8% in food and beverage activities and roughly 7% in accommodation. On the other hand, significant contraction was in passenger transport by air where turnover decreased by roughly 12%. Furthermore, there was approximately 5% decrease at travel agencies (9% in services in connection with domestic trips and 4% in relation to trips abroad).
Turnover in the technology sector amounted to 101 billion ISK and decreased by roughly 5% during the period of May to June 2025. Contraction was in most areas with turnover decreasing most in information service activities (data processing, hosting, etc.) (-57%). Turnover also decreased by roughly 20% in manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products. Little growth in service activities related to information technology, specifically computer programming (3%), worked positively on the overall result but did little to offset the significant decreases in other industries.
Turnover in real estate amounted to 29 billion ISK in May and June which was roughly 3% increase year over year. Growth was evenly distributed among the main areas of the industry with rent revenue from commercial real estate always being the primary source of turnover. Growth was similar in the construction industry or nearly 3% with turnover totalling 118 billion ISK. Most of the growth was due to specialised construction activities (7%) but 1% contraction was in construction of buildings.
Turnover in the main export industries declined moderately in May and June compared with the same months in 2024. In manufacturing of base metals there was 8% drop from a year earlier as the price of aluminium was modestly lower and the Krona significantly stronger. However, overall quantity exported was considerably higher or by roughly 10%. Turnover in fisheries also fell by roughly 2% year over year. Significant growth in aquaculture (49%) weighed against the drop such that the overall turnover for fishing, aquaculture and fish processing rose by 2% to 86 billion ISK.
Sale of motor vehicles increased significantly again as turnover in wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles grew by 16% in March and April with 19% growth in vehicle sales, specifically. In retail trade there was also decent growth, or approximately 7%, where turnover increased by 8% in supermarkets and grocery stores and roughly 31% at pharmacies. On the other hand, turnover fell by 1% in hardware stores and nearly 3% in clothing and footwear stores. Lastly, turnover in wholesale trade increased by only 3% as wholesale trade of fuel fell by 14%.
About the data
Data for turnover according to VAT reports is preliminary. All numbers are in nominal terms unless otherwise specified. Inflation was 4.0% during the period of May-June 2024 to May-June 2025.
Due to undergoing analysis of data for the industry manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations it is not possible to release numbers for that industry and the industry group high and medium-high technology manufacturing. Furthermore, data for high and medium high technology manufacturing (and knowledge intensive high technology services) along with total numbers (total and total excluding agriculture and forestry) excludes turnover from the pharmaceutical industry. This applies to data going back to 2008.
Revisions: At the time of our last press release for the period March-April 2025 VAT-turnover was estimated to have been 1,168,3 billion ISK (+5.6%). Following a review with more data available the turnover is estimated to have been 1,172.3 billion ISK (+6.0%). This publication for May-June 2025 does not include numbers for agriculture during this period, specifically “Crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities” and “Forestry and logging” since data from farmers is generally reported biannually (and included in turnover for May-June and November-December) and filing deadlines happen later than in other industries. Consequently, data for the sum category “Total” is also not included for May-June 2025 until all numbers have been reported. However, data is published for “Total excluding agriculture and forestry”.
1 Many farmers report VAT biannually, in accordance with paragraph 31 of the VAT-laws and have longer reporting deadlines. Data on VAT-turnover in these activities during the first half of 2025 are not yet available.
Statistics
All economic activities
The tourism industry