Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Iceland
Iceland: Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education was 44.5% 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 44.5% for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.7% on the previous year and up 23.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Iceland peaked at 45.1% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 24.9%, in 2004.
That places Iceland 19th out of 101 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 26.1% | 26.1% | 26.1% | 1 |
| 2000s | 27.5% | 24.9% | 29.7% | 5 |
| 2010s | 39.9% | 35.4% | 45.1% | 9 |
| 2020s | 43.6% | 42.3% | 44.7% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More education data for Iceland
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 3,568 (2023)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 66.5% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 17.5% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 13 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 98.22 (2023)
- School enrollment, primary 98.2% (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 44.5% 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 45.1% in 2019.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 24.9% in 2004.
- How does Iceland rank for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
- Iceland ranks 19th out of 101 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 23.8%. 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, urban, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 19 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release