Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary male in Iceland
Iceland: Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary male was 32.3% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Iceland, 1999–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Iceland recorded 32.3% 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 17.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Iceland peaked at 33.9% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 20.1%, in 1999.
Iceland ranks 36th of 129 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary male in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 20.1% | — |
| 2000 | 21.2% | +5.4% |
| 2001 | 22.2% | +5.1% |
| 2002 | 24.1% | +8.2% |
| 2003 | 25.6% | +6.3% |
| 2004 | 25.1% | -1.9% |
| 2005 | 26.7% | +6.3% |
| 2007 | 25.8% | -3.4% |
| 2008 | 26.2% | +1.7% |
| 2009 | 26.7% | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 25.2% | -5.5% |
| 2011 | 25.6% | +1.5% |
| 2012 | 26.7% | +4.2% |
| 2013 | 27.5% | +3.0% |
| 2014 | 29.8% | +8.4% |
| 2015 | 30.0% | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 31.5% | +5.0% |
| 2017 | 33.0% | +4.8% |
| 2018 | 33.9% | +2.8% |
| 2019 | 32.1% | -5.5% |
| 2020 | 33.3% | +4.0% |
| 2021 | 32.8% | -1.6% |
| 2022 | 30.5% | -7.0% |
| 2023 | 32.3% | +5.7% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 32.3% is below the median for high income countries, which is 34.0%, 95% of the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 32.3% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 31.5%, 1.0× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 20.1% | 20.1% | 20.1% | 1 |
| 2000s | 24.8% | 21.2% | 26.7% | 9 |
| 2010s | 29.5% | 25.2% | 33.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 32.2% | 30.5% | 33.3% | 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 32.3% 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 33.9% in 2018.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 20.1% in 1999.
- How does Iceland rank for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
- Iceland ranks 36th out of 129 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 17.4%. 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, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release