Iceland vs South Africa: Share of children who have completed primary school
Iceland
97.4%
in 2025
South Africa
97.1%
in 2025
Iceland rank
83rd
South Africa rank
86th
Share of children who have completed primary school over time
- Iceland
- South Africa
How they compare
Iceland currently reports 97.4% against 97.1% in South Africa, a difference of 0.3%.
Across all 45 years both countries report, Iceland has been ahead every year.
Iceland ranks 83rd and South Africa ranks 86th of 165 countries.
Iceland has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Iceland | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 97.7% | 73.6% | 24.1% | Iceland |
| 1990s | 97.7% | 83.6% | 14.2% | Iceland |
| 2000s | 97.7% | 89.6% | 8.1% | Iceland |
| 2010s | 97.5% | 94.0% | 3.4% | Iceland |
| 2020s | 97.4% | 96.5% | 0.9% | Iceland |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of children who have completed primary school, Iceland or South Africa?
- Iceland, at 97.4% against 97.1% in South Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in share of children who have completed primary school between Iceland and South Africa?
- 0.3%, with Iceland ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Iceland and South Africa?
- 45 years are reported by both, from 1981 to 2025.
- How do Iceland and South Africa rank globally for share of children who have completed primary school?
- Iceland ranks 83rd and South Africa ranks 86th of 165 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of children who have completed primary school. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The share of children who are three to five years older than the official age for the last grade of primary education who have successfully completed it. This broader age band is used to include children who started school late or had to resit particular years.