Educational attainment rate … short-cycle tertiary non-immigrant in Iceland
Iceland: Educational attainment rate … short-cycle tertiary non-immigrant was 31.7% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Iceland, 2007–2023
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.
Educational attainment rate … short-cycle tertiary non-immigrant in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 25.1% | — |
| 2008 | 25.7% | +2.3% |
| 2009 | 26.0% | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 25.0% | -3.7% |
| 2011 | 25.5% | +2.1% |
| 2012 | 26.6% | +4.3% |
| 2013 | 27.3% | +2.4% |
| 2014 | 29.9% | +9.9% |
| 2015 | 30.1% | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 32.3% | +7.3% |
| 2017 | 32.6% | +1.1% |
| 2018 | 33.6% | +3.0% |
| 2019 | 35.0% | +4.2% |
| 2020 | 35.5% | +1.4% |
| 2021 | 32.1% | -9.6% |
| 2022 | 30.3% | -5.8% |
| 2023 | 31.7% | +4.6% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 31.7% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 31.0%, 1.0× the median. (32 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 31.7% is above the median for high income countries, which is 30.4%, 1.0× the median. (33 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | 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
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 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).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release