Aims and purposes
In a policy statement issued by the government of Katrín Jakobsdóttir in November 2017 it says as follows:
The government will commence collaboration with local authorities on the creation of a Services Map
which shows public availability of all general services in both the public and private sectors so as
to provide a clearer conspectus and thereby provide a basis for measures to ensure residents in Iceland
with access to services and reduce cost disparities.
Production
A proposal for the creation of the Services Map was included in the Regional Plan for the years 2018-2024.
The Ministry of Transport and Local Government appointed the Icelandic Regional Development Institute to see
to the implementation of the project and work commenced in the first half of 2018. It was clear from the outset
that data would need to be entered and updated regularly on an interactive map if it was not to become rapidly
out of date since services and their locations are constantly changing.
Information is thus the central feature of the map, its basis and contents, and so work on the map has revolved
largely around getting institutions to record the information that concerns them in a systematic fashion so
that it can be read into the map and updated automatically.
The initial compilation of data for the Services Map, completed in 2020, has been followed by constant updates
of the materials since services change and move location, new service elements are added and others discontinued.
Results are therefore best served by maintaining strong and effective working relations with the individuals,
companies and institutions involved. The Icelandic Regional Development Institute invites suggestions,
comments and corrections to the map. To do so, please click on the Comments tab.
Up to the present, the map has been produced using consultancy and data purchased from the following institutions:
Landmælingar Íslands (National Land Survey of Iceland), Alta ehf consultants, Capacent and Creditinfo, plus
Þjóðskrá Íslands (Registers Iceland), Hagstofa Íslands (Statistics Iceland) and Ríkisskattstjóri (Directorate of Internal Revenue).
Underlying data
The data collected by the Icelandic Regional Development Institute can be downloaded by going to the
download page of the Services Map.
The map shows various data from other parties and users will then have to turn to them. Enquiries regarding further
access to data should be addressed to kort@byggdastofnun.is
Search and...
On the options panel to the left is a tab for suggestions for improvements to the map. To change the background map,
select Background map format. To find particular services, click on the arrow on the tab for service category, e.g.
Shops, etc. This opens a list of service types. Checking, for example, Fuel stations brings up a symbol where such
services can be found. You can zoom in on the location of the fuel station and clicking the symbol brings up links in a
panel on the left of the screen with details of the website of the relevant company/institution and further details of its operations.
