Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Iceland

Iceland: Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education was 31.7% in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
31.7%
Change on year
up 4.6%
World rank
16th
of 40 countries
All-time high
35.5%
in 2020
All-time low
25.0%
in 2010
Years of data
17
2007–2023

Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Iceland, 2007–2023

0102030402007201520232007: 25.1 %2008: 25.7 %2009: 26 %2010: 25 %2011: 25.5 %2012: 26.6 %2013: 27.3 %2014: 29.9 %2015: 30.1 %2016: 32.3 %2017: 32.6 %2018: 33.6 %2019: 35 %2020: 35.5 %2021: 32.1 %2022: 30.3 %2023: 31.7 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

Iceland recorded 31.7% for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in 2023.

That represents a change of up 4.6% on the previous year and up 16.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Iceland peaked at 35.5% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 25.0%, in 2010.

Iceland ranks 16th of 40 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 17 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 25.6% 25.1% 26.0% 3
2010s 29.8% 25.0% 35.0% 10
2020s 32.4% 30.3% 35.5% 4

Countries ranked near Iceland

  1. 13 Finland 34.5% compare
  2. 14 Austria 33.1% compare
  3. 15 Denmark 33.0% compare
  4. 17 Slovenia 31.5% compare
  5. 18 Greece 30.4% compare
  6. 19 Estonia 28.7% compare

See the full ranking of 40 places →

More education data for Iceland

All data for Iceland →

Frequently asked questions

What is educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Iceland?
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Iceland was 31.7% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in Iceland?
The highest recorded value was 35.5% in 2020.
What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in Iceland?
The lowest recorded value was 25.0% in 2010.
How does Iceland rank for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
Iceland ranks 16th out of 40 countries with data for 2023.
Is educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education rising or falling in Iceland?
Over the last ten years it is up 16.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Iceland data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education or higher, population 25+ years, non-immigrant background, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 17 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Iceland. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 21 August 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/educational-attainment-rate-completed-short-cycle-tertiary-education-or-higher-population-16/iceland/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://education.statizoid.com/stat/educational-attainment-rate-completed-short-cycle-tertiary-education-or-higher-population-16/iceland/">Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Iceland</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education or higher, population 25+ years, non-immigrant background, male (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
Coverage
40 places, 508 data points, 1994–2024
Last refreshed

February 2026 Data Release