Educational attainment … higher short-cycle tertiary non-immigrant in Iceland
Iceland: Educational attainment … higher short-cycle tertiary non-immigrant was 48.3% 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 48.3% for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in 2023.
That represents a change of up 5.7% on the previous year and up 23.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Iceland peaked at 49.1% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 29.7%, in 2007.
That places Iceland 5th out of 38 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 17 years of available data.
Educational attainment … higher short-cycle tertiary non-immigrant in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 29.7% | — |
| 2008 | 31.7% | +6.8% |
| 2009 | 33.1% | +4.6% |
| 2010 | 33.5% | +1.2% |
| 2011 | 35.4% | +5.6% |
| 2012 | 38.4% | +8.5% |
| 2013 | 39.1% | +1.8% |
| 2014 | 40.9% | +4.5% |
| 2015 | 43.0% | +5.1% |
| 2016 | 44.1% | +2.6% |
| 2017 | 46.3% | +5.1% |
| 2018 | 49.1% | +6.0% |
| 2019 | 48.8% | -0.6% |
| 2020 | 48.0% | -1.6% |
| 2021 | 43.5% | -9.3% |
| 2022 | 45.7% | +5.0% |
| 2023 | 48.3% | +5.7% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 48.3% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 34.5%, 1.4× the median. (30 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 48.3% is above the median for high income countries, which is 33.2%, 1.5× the median. (31 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 31.5% | 29.7% | 33.1% | 3 |
| 2010s | 41.9% | 33.5% | 49.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 46.4% | 43.5% | 48.3% | 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 48.3% 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 49.1% in 2018.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 29.7% in 2007.
- How does Iceland rank for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
- Iceland ranks 5th out of 38 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 23.5%. 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, female (%). 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