Iceland: education in numbers
Pre-primary enrolment is 95.1% (2020), 36th of 176 in the world and 20th of 51 in Europe & Central Asia. Primary enrolment is 98.2% (2023), 114th of 191 in the world and 39th of 53 in Europe & Central Asia. Primary completion is 98.6% (2023), 48th of 168 in the world and 19th of 47 in Europe & Central Asia.
Education: Iceland in detail
Latest reported value, world rank and rank within Europe & Central Asia; values around 2000, 2010, 2020; group and world columns are World Bank aggregates.
| Indicator | Latest | World rank | In region | ~2000 | ~2010 | ~2020 | 10-year change | Region | Income group | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary enrolmentPre-primary enrolment, % gross | 95.1%2020 | 36/176 | 20/51 | 85.1% | 96.3% | 95.1% | −1.2 ppsince 2010 | 78.3% | 83.8% | 60.9% | |
| Primary enrolmentPrimary school enrolment, % gross | 98.2%2023 | 114/191 | 39/53 | 99.1% | 98.8% | 98.6% | −0.6 ppsince 2013 | 99.9% | 99.8% | 102.2% | |
| Primary completionPrimary completion rate, % of age group | 98.6%2023 | 48/168 | 19/47 | 99.7% | 99.1% | 98.4% | −0.6 ppsince 2013 | 98.1% | 97.8% | 88.0% | |
| Secondary enrolmentSecondary school enrolment, % gross | 108.9%2023 | 25/176 | 14/53 | 109.0% | 108.8% | 110.5% | −13.1 ppsince 2013 | 103.3% | 103.2% | 77.3% | |
| Lower secondary completionLower secondary completion rate, % of age group | 97.8%2023 | 41/168 | 20/50 | 99.2% | 97.8% | 98.0% | −0.8 ppsince 2013 | 91.9% | 95.6% | 77.9% | |
| Tertiary enrolmentTertiary enrolment, % gross | 76.5%2023 | 40/172 | 24/52 | 45.9% | 78.5% | 74.6% | −1.9 ppsince 2013 | 84.9% | 82.0% | 43.6% | |
| Out-of-school childrenChildren out of school, % of primary school age | 1.8%2023 | 113/178 | 19/51 | 0.9% | 1.2% | 1.4% | +0.6 ppsince 2013 | — | 2.5% | — | |
| Pupils per teacherPupils per teacher, primary | 10.12015 | 161/173 | 40/48 | · | 9.72011 | · | — | 14.9 | 14.0 | 23.4 | |
| Education spendingPublic spending on education, % of GDP | 7.3%2022 | 14/184 | 2/49 | 6.4% | 6.9% | 8.6% | −0.3 ppsince 2012 | 4.6% | 4.7% | 3.6% | |
| Education, % of budgetEducation spending, % of government expenditure | 15.7%2022 | 50/179 | 7/49 | 14.3% | 14.2% | 16.8% | −0.2 ppsince 2012 | 11.7% | 12.0% | 14.0% |
Better than ten years ago
No rated indicator improved over the decade.
Worse than ten years ago
- Pre-primary enrolment−1.2 pp95.1% in 2020
- Primary completion−0.6 pp98.6% in 2023
- Secondary enrolment−13.1 pp108.9% in 2023
- Lower secondary completion−0.8 pp97.8% in 2023
Only indicators where higher or lower is clearly better are rated (for example, unemployment down is better, life expectancy up is better).
Iceland and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with Iceland. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | Iceland | Greenland | Faroe Islands |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary enrolment | 95.1%2020 | — | — |
| Primary enrolment | 98.2%2023 | — | — |
| Primary completion | 98.6%2023 | — | — |
| Secondary enrolment | 108.9%2023 | — | — |
| Lower secondary completion | 97.8%2023 | — | — |
| Tertiary enrolment | 76.5%2023 | — | — |
| Out-of-school children | 1.8%2023 | — | — |
| Pupils per teacher | 10.12015 | — | — |
| Education spending | 7.3%2022 | — | — |