Share of primary school teachers who are women in Iceland

Iceland: Share of primary school teachers who are women was 81.5% in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
81.5%
Change on year
down 0.6%
World rank
83rd
of 212 countries
All-time high
82.8%
in 2019
All-time low
50.2%
in 1971
Years of data
17
1971–2023

Share of primary school teachers who are women in Iceland, 1971–2023

0204060801971199720231971: 50.2 %1972: 52.4 %1973: 52.1 %1974: 54.1 %1975: 54.5 %1976: 54.4 %2011: 80.7 %2012: 81.1 %2013: 81.7 %2014: 81.7 %2015: 81.9 %2018: 82.6 %2019: 82.8 %2020: 82.7 %2021: 82.5 %2022: 82 %2023: 81.5 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

Iceland recorded 81.5% for share of primary school teachers who are women in 2023.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.6% on the previous year and down 0.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of primary school teachers who are women in Iceland peaked at 82.8% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 50.2%, in 1971.

That places Iceland 83rd out of 212 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 17 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 52.9% 50.2% 54.5% 6
2010s 81.8% 80.7% 82.8% 7
2020s 82.2% 81.5% 82.7% 4

Countries ranked near Iceland

  1. 80 Nauru 81.8% compare
  2. 81 Sweden 81.8% compare
  3. 82 Andorra 81.6% compare
  4. 84 Chile 81.3% compare
  5. 85 Macao 81.1% compare
  6. 86 Cuba 81.1% compare

See the full ranking of 212 places →

More education data for Iceland

All data for Iceland →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of primary school teachers who are women in Iceland?
Share of primary school teachers who are women in Iceland was 81.5% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of primary school teachers who are women recorded in Iceland?
The highest recorded value was 82.8% in 2019.
What is the lowest share of primary school teachers who are women recorded in Iceland?
The lowest recorded value was 50.2% in 1971.
How does Iceland rank for share of primary school teachers who are women?
Iceland ranks 83rd out of 212 countries with data for 2023.
Is share of primary school teachers who are women rising or falling in Iceland?
Over the last ten years it is down 0.3%. 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 (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of primary school teachers who are women. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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About this data

Indicator
Share of primary school teachers who are women
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
212 places, 6,239 data points, 1970–2025
Last refreshed

Percentage of female teachers among all teachers at the primary education level during a given school year.