Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper rural female in Iceland
Iceland: Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper rural female was 69.1% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Iceland, 1999–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Iceland stood at 69.1%. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.1% on the previous year and up 24.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Iceland peaked at 69.1% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 29.0%, in 1999.
That places Iceland 31st out of 109 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper rural female in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 29.0% | — |
| 2000 | 30.8% | +6.2% |
| 2001 | 30.7% | -0.1% |
| 2002 | 33.5% | +9.0% |
| 2005 | 51.7% | +54.3% |
| 2010 | 49.2% | -4.8% |
| 2014 | 55.4% | +12.7% |
| 2015 | 56.4% | +1.7% |
| 2016 | 58.9% | +4.5% |
| 2017 | 61.8% | +4.8% |
| 2018 | 61.5% | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 63.6% | +3.4% |
| 2020 | 61.2% | -3.7% |
| 2022 | 66.3% | +8.4% |
| 2023 | 69.1% | +4.1% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 69.1% is below the median for high income countries, which is 70.7%, 98% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 69.1% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 75.8%, 91% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper rural female in Iceland changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | +54.3% | 33.5% | 51.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 29.0% | 29.0% | 29.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 36.7% | 30.7% | 51.7% | 4 |
| 2010s | 58.1% | 49.2% | 63.6% | 7 |
| 2020s | 65.5% | 61.2% | 69.1% | 3 |
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 upper secondary education or in Iceland?
- Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Iceland was 69.1% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 69.1% in 2023.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 29.0% in 1999.
- How does Iceland rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- Iceland ranks 31st out of 109 countries with data for 2023.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 24.6%. 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 upper secondary education or higher, population 25+ years, rural, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release