Freedom of expression during each prime minister's tenure
Every prime minister since 1991, ranked by how the freedom of expression changed from their first day in office. Politare shows what happened during a tenure; it does not claim the office-holder caused it.
| # | Prime minister | In office | Total | Per year | Chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Davíð Oddsson | 30 Apr 1991 – 15 Sep 2004 from 1991 | +0.7 points 1991 → 2004 | +0.1 points/yr | |
| 2 | Geir Haarde | 15 Jun 2006 – 1 Feb 2009 | +0.7 points 2005 → 2008 | +0.2 points/yr | |
| 3 |  Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir | 1 Feb 2009 – 23 May 2013 | −0.9 points 2008 → 2012 | −0.2 points/yr | |
| 4 |  Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson | 23 May 2013 – 7 Apr 2016 | −1.6 points 2012 → 2015 | −0.5 points/yr | |
| 5 |  Katrín Jakobsdóttir | 30 Nov 2017 – 9 Apr 2024 | −2.7 points 2017 → 2023 | −0.5 points/yr |
Sorted by total, highest first. Every row is indexed to the last count complete before the first day in office ("from" marks a start that had to move because that count had no data, or because the period cut it); Levels are per cent changes, rates are differences in points; "per year" compounds levels and divides rates. Tenures with under 12 months, or under three observations, are left out. points, 0 to 100, V-Dem's 0 to 1 index times 100 · V-Dem Institute, V-Dem dataset v16 (v2x_freexp_altinf): the freedom of expression and alternative sources of information index, the press, academic and private speech and the media's independence, as V-Dem's country experts rate them, with V-Dem's confidence interval; the 0 to 1 index times 100 · Iceland data · as of Oct 2026.