Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper male in Iceland
Iceland: Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper male was 81.1% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Iceland, 1999–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Iceland recorded 81.1% for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in 2023. That is the highest value across all 23 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.0% on the previous year and up 11.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Iceland peaked at 81.1% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 59.6%, in 2000.
That places Iceland 36th out of 140 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper male in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 63.4% | — |
| 2000 | 59.6% | -6.0% |
| 2001 | 61.7% | +3.6% |
| 2002 | 65.3% | +5.8% |
| 2003 | 64.4% | -1.3% |
| 2004 | 64.1% | -0.5% |
| 2005 | 66.6% | +3.9% |
| 2007 | 64.7% | -2.9% |
| 2008 | 64.8% | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 65.5% | +1.1% |
| 2010 | 65.7% | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 72.0% | +9.6% |
| 2013 | 73.0% | +1.3% |
| 2014 | 73.8% | +1.2% |
| 2015 | 74.0% | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 77.7% | +5.0% |
| 2017 | 76.4% | -1.7% |
| 2018 | 75.9% | -0.7% |
| 2019 | 74.0% | -2.5% |
| 2020 | 74.4% | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 80.7% | +8.4% |
| 2022 | 79.5% | -1.4% |
| 2023 | 81.1% | +2.0% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 81.1% is above the median for high income countries, which is 79.7%, 1.0× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 81.1% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 81.6%, 99% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 63.4% | 63.4% | 63.4% | 1 |
| 2000s | 64.1% | 59.6% | 66.6% | 9 |
| 2010s | 73.6% | 65.7% | 77.7% | 9 |
| 2020s | 78.9% | 74.4% | 81.1% | 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 upper secondary education or in Iceland?
- Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Iceland was 81.1% 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 81.1% in 2023.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 59.6% in 2000.
- How does Iceland rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- Iceland ranks 36th out of 140 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 11.2%. 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, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release