Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Iceland
Iceland: Share of children who are not in pre-primary school was 3.1% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Iceland, 1998–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Iceland stood at 3.1%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.0% on the previous year and down 29.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Iceland peaked at 11.3% in 1998 and was at its lowest, 1.7%, in 2012.
Iceland ranks 134th of 179 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 9.8% | 8.4% | 11.3% | 2 |
| 2000s | 4.9% | 3.2% | 7.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.0% | 1.7% | 4.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.1% | 3.0% | 3.4% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More education data for Iceland
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 66.5% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 17.5% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 13 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 98.2% (2023)
- Primary education, teachers 3,568 (2023)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.52 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 98.2% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Iceland?
- Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Iceland was 3.1% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children who are not in pre-primary school recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 11.3% in 1998.
- What is the lowest share of children who are not in pre-primary school recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.7% in 2012.
- How does Iceland rank for share of children who are not in pre-primary school?
- Iceland ranks 134th out of 179 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of children who are not in pre-primary school rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 29.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iceland data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children who are not in pre-primary school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Children one year before the official primary entry age (typically age 5) not enrolled in pre-primary education, expressed as a percentage of all children in that age group.