Which has higher average years of schooling, Iceland or Ireland?

Ireland, at 13.74 years against 13.53 years in Iceland as of 2020.

What is the difference in average years of schooling between Iceland and Ireland?

0.21 years, with Ireland ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Iceland and Ireland?

31 years are reported by both, from 1870 to 2020.

Where does this data come from?

Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Average years of schooling. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Iceland vs Ireland: Average years of schooling

Iceland

13.53 years

in 2020

Ireland

13.74 years

in 2020

Iceland rank

3rd

Ireland rank

1st

Average years of schooling over time

Iceland
Ireland

How they compare

Ireland currently reports 13.74 years against 13.53 years in Iceland, a difference of 0.21 years.

The two have swapped places 3 times across 31 shared years of data; in 1870 it was Iceland ahead.

Iceland ranks 3rd and Ireland ranks 1st of 111 countries.

Across the 16 decades both report, Iceland averaged higher in 4 and Ireland in 12.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Iceland	Ireland	Difference	Ahead
1870s	0.88 years	0.8 years	0.08 years	Iceland
1880s	1.06 years	1.06 years	0.005 years	Iceland
1890s	1.28 years	1.4 years	0.12 years	Ireland
1900s	1.73 years	1.82 years	0.09 years	Ireland
1910s	2.65 years	2.37 years	0.28 years	Iceland
1920s	3.18 years	3.1 years	0.08 years	Iceland
1930s	4.01 years	4.09 years	0.08 years	Ireland
1940s	4.95 years	5.43 years	0.475 years	Ireland
1950s	5.89 years	6.57 years	0.675 years	Ireland
1960s	6.51 years	7.19 years	0.68 years	Ireland
1970s	7.47 years	8.42 years	0.945 years	Ireland
1980s	8.46 years	10.03 years	1.57 years	Ireland
1990s	9.46 years	10.72 years	1.26 years	Ireland
2000s	10.5 years	11.41 years	0.915 years	Ireland
2010s	12.23 years	13.01 years	0.775 years	Ireland
2020s	13.53 years	13.74 years	0.21 years	Ireland

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher average years of schooling, Iceland or Ireland?: Ireland, at 13.74 years against 13.53 years in Iceland as of 2020.
What is the difference in average years of schooling between Iceland and Ireland?: 0.21 years, with Ireland ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Iceland and Ireland?: 31 years are reported by both, from 1870 to 2020.
How do Iceland and Ireland rank globally for average years of schooling?: Iceland ranks 3rd and Ireland ranks 1st of 111 countries.
Where does this data come from?: Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Average years of schooling. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Iceland vs Ireland: Average years of schooling. Statizoid, drawing on Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 31 August 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/compare/mean-years-of-schooling-long-run/iceland/ireland/

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About this data

Indicator: Average years of schooling
Unit: years
Source: Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 111 places, 3,441 data points, 1870–2020
Last refreshed: 28 August 2026

Average years of formal education for individuals aged 15-64.