Education spending in Iceland
Iceland: Education spending was 7.31 in 2022. ▲ Rising
Education spending in Iceland, 1990–2022
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for education spending in Iceland is 7.31, measured in 2022.
That represents a change of down 11.2% on the previous year and down 3.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, education spending in Iceland peaked at 8.58 in 2020 and was at its lowest, 4.26, in 1990.
That places Iceland 14th out of 199 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 30 years of available data.
Education spending in Iceland, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 4.26 | — |
| 1993 | 5.14 | +20.7% |
| 1994 | 4.76 | -7.5% |
| 1995 | 4.78 | +0.5% |
| 1996 | 5.22 | +9.2% |
| 1998 | 6.78 | +30.0% |
| 1999 | 6.43 | -5.2% |
| 2000 | 6.43 | -0.0% |
| 2001 | 6.71 | +4.3% |
| 2002 | 7.3 | +8.8% |
| 2003 | 7.25 | -0.7% |
| 2004 | 7.16 | -1.2% |
| 2005 | 7.34 | +2.5% |
| 2006 | 7.2 | -2.0% |
| 2007 | 6.94 | -3.5% |
| 2008 | 7.04 | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 7.19 | +2.2% |
| 2010 | 6.94 | -3.4% |
| 2011 | 6.79 | -2.2% |
| 2012 | 7.58 | +11.7% |
| 2013 | 7.45 | -1.8% |
| 2014 | 7.64 | +2.6% |
| 2015 | 7.46 | -2.4% |
| 2016 | 7.43 | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 7.58 | +2.0% |
| 2018 | 7.56 | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 7.6 | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 8.58 | +12.9% |
| 2021 | 8.23 | -4.2% |
| 2022 | 7.31 | -11.2% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 7.31 is above the median for high income countries, which is 4.4, 1.7× the median. (72 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 7.31 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 4.5, 1.6× the median. (51 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Education spending in Iceland changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | +30.0% | 5.22 | 6.78 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5.34 | 4.26 | 6.78 | 7 |
| 2000s | 7.05 | 6.43 | 7.34 | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.4 | 6.79 | 7.64 | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.04 | 7.31 | 8.58 | 3 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
- 11 Mauritania 7.61 compare
- 12 Bolivia 7.54 compare
- 13 Sweden 7.32 compare
- 15 Montserrat 7.19 compare
- 16 Venezuela 6.87 compare
- 17 Kyrgyzstan 6.83 compare
More education data for Iceland
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 98.24 (2023)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 98.18 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 6,661 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 6,167 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 37,056 (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 32,314 (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -1.17 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is education spending in Iceland?
- Education spending in Iceland was 7.31 in 2022, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest education spending recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 8.58 in 2020.
- What is the lowest education spending recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.26 in 1990.
- How does Iceland rank for education spending?
- Iceland ranks 14th out of 199 countries with data for 2022.
- Is education spending rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iceland data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Education spending. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 30 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).