Expenditure on education (public, households, ODA) as a percentage of in Iceland
Iceland: Expenditure on education (public, households, ODA) as a percentage of was 8.9% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Expenditure on education (public, households, ODA) as a percentage of in Iceland, 2010–2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
Iceland recorded 8.9% for expenditure on education (public, households, oda) as a percentage of in 2021.
That represents a change of down 4.4% on the previous year and up 20.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, expenditure on education (public, households, oda) as a percentage of in Iceland peaked at 9.3% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 7.4%, in 2011.
That places Iceland 2nd out of 70 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 12 years of available data.
Expenditure on education (public, households, ODA) as a percentage of in Iceland, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 7.5% | — |
| 2011 | 7.4% | -2.0% |
| 2012 | 8.2% | +11.1% |
| 2013 | 8.1% | -1.5% |
| 2014 | 8.3% | +2.4% |
| 2015 | 8.1% | -2.5% |
| 2016 | 8.0% | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 8.2% | +1.8% |
| 2018 | 8.4% | +2.4% |
| 2019 | 8.3% | -1.2% |
| 2020 | 9.3% | +12.6% |
| 2021 | 8.9% | -4.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 8.0% | 7.4% | 8.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.1% | 8.9% | 9.3% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
- 1 Costa Rica 9.0% compare
- 3 Macau, China 8.9% compare
- 4 Denmark 8.5% compare
- 5 Colombia 8.3% compare
More education data for Iceland
- 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)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0838 units per person (2023)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is expenditure on education (public, households, oda) as a percentage of in Iceland?
- Expenditure on education (public, households, oda) as a percentage of in Iceland was 8.9% in 2021, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest expenditure on education (public, households, oda) as a percentage of recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 9.3% in 2020.
- What is the lowest expenditure on education (public, households, oda) as a percentage of recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.4% in 2011.
- How does Iceland rank for expenditure on education (public, households, oda) as a percentage of?
- Iceland ranks 2nd out of 70 countries with data for 2021.
- Is expenditure on education (public, households, oda) as a percentage of rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 20.4%. 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 Expenditure on education (public, households, ODA) as a percentage of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 12 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release