Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper rural both in Iceland
Iceland: Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper rural both was 72.4% 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 72.4%. That is the highest value across all 17 years on record.
The figure is up 3.1% on the previous year and up 27.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Iceland peaked at 72.4% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 39.3%, in 2001.
Iceland ranks 32nd of 113 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 17 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper rural both in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 39.6% | — |
| 2000 | 39.4% | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 39.3% | -0.4% |
| 2002 | 43.6% | +11.1% |
| 2005 | 57.0% | +30.6% |
| 2010 | 51.0% | -10.5% |
| 2012 | 55.7% | +9.2% |
| 2013 | 57.0% | +2.3% |
| 2014 | 59.2% | +3.9% |
| 2015 | 59.7% | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 61.9% | +3.7% |
| 2017 | 62.4% | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 62.5% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 62.9% | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 62.3% | -1.1% |
| 2022 | 70.2% | +12.8% |
| 2023 | 72.4% | +3.1% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 72.4% is below the median for high income countries, which is 73.5%, 98% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 72.4% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 77.6%, 93% of the median. (43 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper rural both 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 | +30.6% | 43.6% | 57.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 39.6% | 39.6% | 39.6% | 1 |
| 2000s | 44.8% | 39.3% | 57.0% | 4 |
| 2010s | 59.1% | 51.0% | 62.9% | 9 |
| 2020s | 68.3% | 62.3% | 72.4% | 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 72.4% 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 72.4% in 2023.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 39.3% in 2001.
- How does Iceland rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- Iceland ranks 32nd out of 113 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 27.0%. 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, both sexes (%). 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