Country Foundations

Iceland

Constitution in force since 1944, 4,089 words. Rights measured for 2023.

Declared
67%
mean across compared rights
Practiced
86%
mean across compared rights
Gap
+19%
delivers more than promised
Executive respects constitution
78%
V-Dem, measured directly

The rights ledger

Each row compares what the constitution declares against what is measured in practice. The two values are always shown together — a gap on its own is easy to misread.

Declared in the constitutionPracticed (measured)Falls short / exceeds
0255075100Right to life — declared 0%, practiced 95%, gap +95%Right to life0%95%+95%Freedom from torture — declared 100%, practiced 100%, gap ±0%Freedom from torture100%100%±0%Freedom from slavery and forced labour — declared 100%, practiced 79%, gap −21%Freedom from slavery and forced labour100%79%−21%Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) — declared 100%, practiced 82%, gap −18%Freedom from arbitrary detention (ha…100%82%−18%Right to a fair and public trial — declared 100%, practiced 83%, gap −17%Right to a fair and public trial100%83%−17%Presumption of innocence — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Presumption of innocenceno practice measure100%——Right to legal counsel — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to legal counselno practice measure0%——Protection from self-incrimination — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from self-incriminationno practice measure0%——Protection from double jeopardy — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from double jeopardyno practice measure0%——Due process of law — declared 0%, practiced 80%, gap +80%Due process of law0%80%+80%Trial by jury or lay participation — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Trial by jury or lay participationno practice measure0%——Freedom of expression — declared 100%, practiced 78%, gap −22%Freedom of expression100%78%−22%Freedom of the press — declared 100%, practiced 76%, gap −24%Freedom of the press100%76%−24%Freedom of thought and conscience — declared 100%, practiced 80%, gap −20%Freedom of thought and conscience100%80%−20%Freedom of religion — declared 100%, practiced 89%, gap −11%Freedom of religion100%89%−11%Separation of religion and state — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Separation of religion and stateno practice measure0%——Academic freedom — declared 0%, practiced 69%, gap +69%Academic freedom0%69%+69%Freedom of assembly — declared 100%, practiced 85%, gap −15%Freedom of assembly100%85%−15%Freedom of association — declared 100%, practiced 92%, gap −8%Freedom of association100%92%−8%Right to petition government — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to petition governmentno practice measure0%——Right to form and join trade unions — declared 50%, practiced 93%, gap +43%Right to form and join trade unions50%93%+43%Right to vote and universal suffrage — declared 0%, practiced 86%, gap +86%Right to vote and universal suffrage0%86%+86%Right to privacy — declared 100%, practiced 98%, gap −2%Right to privacy100%98%−2%Freedom of movement — declared 100%, practiced 97%, gap −3%Freedom of movement100%97%−3%Right to asylum — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to asylumno practice measure0%——Right to own property — declared 88%, practiced 97%, gap +10%Right to own property88%97%+10%Equality before the law — declared 100%, practiced 89%, gap −11%Equality before the law100%89%−11%Right to education — declared 100%, practiced 78%, gap −22%Right to education100%78%−22%Right to health care — declared 0%, practiced 92%, gap +92%Right to health care0%92%+92%Right to shelter or housing — declared 0%, practiced 65%, gap +65%Right to shelter or housing0%65%+65%Independent judiciary — declared 0%, practiced 85%, gap +85%Independent judiciary0%85%+85%Right to bear arms — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to bear armsno practice measure0%——decl.prac.gap

· marks a right with no provision in that country’s constitution. Scores run 0–100; practiced values are V-Dem indicators normalized across all country-years.

Promise and practice over time

The declared line steps when the constitution changes. The practiced line moves when behaviour does. The distance between those two moments is the part worth looking at.

Declared (the text)Practiced (measured)The text changed
050100195019752000

Mean across the 23 rights measured on both sides, 1944–2023. Vertical marks show years when the constitutional text changed enough to move the declared score.

Promised, but not delivered

  • Freedom from slavery and forced labour −21%
  • Freedom of expression −22%
  • Freedom of the press −24%
  • Freedom of thought and conscience −20%

Delivered, though never promised

  • Right to life +95%
  • Due process of law +80%
  • Academic freedom +69%
  • Right to vote and universal suffrage +86%

Declared internationally

A constitution is only one place a country makes promises. These are the nine core UN human rights treaties.

Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR)ratified 1979
Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (ICESCR)ratified 1979
Racial Discrimination (ICERD)ratified 1967
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)ratified 1985
Convention against Torture (CAT)ratified 1996
Rights of the Child (CRC)ratified 1992
Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)ratified 2016
Enforced Disappearance (CPED)signed only
Migrant Workers (ICMW)no action

Compare with

AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAngolaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAzerbaijanBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBeninBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBulgariaBurkina FasoBurma/MyanmarBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusDemocratic Republic of the CongoDenmarkDjiboutiDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGabonGeorgiaGhanaGreeceGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyana

Data generated 2026-08-08.