Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper both in Iceland
Iceland: Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper both was 80.2% 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 80.2%. That is the highest value across all 24 years on record.
The figure is up 1.3% on the previous year and up 14.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Iceland peaked at 80.2% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 53.0%, in 2000.
Iceland ranks 37th of 142 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 upper secondary … upper both in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 54.2% | — |
| 2000 | 53.0% | -2.2% |
| 2001 | 53.7% | +1.4% |
| 2002 | 56.3% | +4.9% |
| 2003 | 57.7% | +2.4% |
| 2004 | 57.2% | -0.8% |
| 2005 | 60.7% | +6.1% |
| 2007 | 61.2% | +0.8% |
| 2008 | 61.7% | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 63.3% | +2.6% |
| 2010 | 63.8% | +0.8% |
| 2011 | 67.8% | +6.4% |
| 2012 | 68.8% | +1.4% |
| 2013 | 69.8% | +1.4% |
| 2014 | 71.1% | +2.0% |
| 2015 | 72.4% | +1.7% |
| 2016 | 76.0% | +5.0% |
| 2017 | 75.0% | -1.4% |
| 2018 | 75.7% | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 73.9% | -2.4% |
| 2020 | 74.1% | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 79.7% | +7.5% |
| 2022 | 79.2% | -0.7% |
| 2023 | 80.2% | +1.3% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 80.2% is above the median for high income countries, which is 79.5%, 1.0× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 80.2% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 81.4%, 99% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 54.2% | 54.2% | 54.2% | 1 |
| 2000s | 58.3% | 53.0% | 63.3% | 9 |
| 2010s | 71.4% | 63.8% | 76.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 78.3% | 74.1% | 80.2% | 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 80.2% 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 80.2% in 2023.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 53.0% in 2000.
- How does Iceland rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- Iceland ranks 37th out of 142 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 14.9%. 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, both sexes (%). 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