Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling in Iceland
Iceland: Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling was 1.52 live births per woman in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
1.52 live births per woman
Change on year
down 1.5%
World rank
164th
of 236 countries
All-time high
4.26 live births per woman
in 1960
All-time low
1.52 live births per woman
in 2024
Years of data
75
1950–2024
Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling in Iceland, 1950–2024
Source: Human Fertility Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in live births per woman.
Analysis
In 2024, fertility rate vs. average years of schooling in Iceland stood at 1.52 live births per woman. That is the lowest value across all 75 years on record.
That represents a change of down 1.5% on the previous year and down 21.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, fertility rate vs. average years of schooling in Iceland peaked at 4.26 live births per woman in 1960 and was at its lowest, 1.52 live births per woman, in 2024.
That places Iceland 164th out of 236 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 75 years of available data.
Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling in Iceland, year by year
| Year | live births per woman | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 3.85 live births per woman | — |
| 1951 | 3.72 live births per woman | -3.5% |
| 1952 | 3.79 live births per woman | +1.8% |
| 1953 | 3.93 live births per woman | +3.8% |
| 1954 | 3.91 live births per woman | -0.5% |
| 1955 | 4.04 live births per woman | +3.1% |
| 1956 | 4.11 live births per woman | +1.9% |
| 1957 | 4.17 live births per woman | +1.5% |
| 1958 | 4.07 live births per woman | -2.4% |
| 1959 | 4.21 live births per woman | +3.5% |
| 1960 | 4.26 live births per woman | +1.1% |
| 1961 | 3.91 live births per woman | -8.1% |
| 1962 | 3.98 live births per woman | +1.7% |
| 1963 | 3.98 live births per woman | +0.1% |
| 1964 | 3.87 live births per woman | -2.9% |
| 1965 | 3.72 live births per woman | -3.9% |
| 1966 | 3.58 live births per woman | -3.8% |
| 1967 | 3.28 live births per woman | -8.3% |
| 1968 | 3.06 live births per woman | -6.7% |
| 1969 | 2.98 live births per woman | -2.6% |
| 1970 | 2.81 live births per woman | -5.7% |
| 1971 | 2.92 live births per woman | +3.6% |
| 1972 | 3.08 live births per woman | +5.8% |
| 1973 | 2.94 live births per woman | -4.7% |
| 1974 | 2.66 live births per woman | -9.5% |
| 1975 | 2.64 live births per woman | -0.8% |
| 1976 | 2.52 live births per woman | -4.5% |
| 1977 | 2.32 live births per woman | -8.0% |
| 1978 | 2.35 live births per woman | +1.4% |
| 1979 | 2.49 live births per woman | +5.7% |
| 1980 | 2.48 live births per woman | -0.4% |
| 1981 | 2.34 live births per woman | -5.7% |
| 1982 | 2.27 live births per woman | -2.8% |
| 1983 | 2.25 live births per woman | -1.1% |
| 1984 | 2.08 live births per woman | -7.3% |
| 1985 | 1.94 live births per woman | -6.8% |
| 1986 | 1.94 live births per woman | -0.4% |
| 1987 | 2.07 live births per woman | +6.9% |
| 1988 | 2.26 live births per woman | +9.1% |
| 1989 | 2.21 live births per woman | -2.2% |
| 1990 | 2.3 live births per woman | +4.3% |
| 1991 | 2.2 live births per woman | -4.6% |
| 1992 | 2.21 live births per woman | +0.8% |
| 1993 | 2.22 live births per woman | +0.3% |
| 1994 | 2.14 live births per woman | -3.5% |
| 1995 | 2.08 live births per woman | -2.8% |
| 1996 | 2.11 live births per woman | +1.3% |
| 1997 | 2.04 live births per woman | -3.4% |
| 1998 | 2.04 live births per woman | +0.1% |
| 1999 | 2 live births per woman | -2.3% |
| 2000 | 2.07 live births per woman | +3.7% |
| 2001 | 1.96 live births per woman | -5.6% |
| 2002 | 1.94 live births per woman | -1.0% |
| 2003 | 1.99 live births per woman | +2.8% |
| 2004 | 2.04 live births per woman | +2.3% |
| 2005 | 2.05 live births per woman | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 2.08 live births per woman | +1.4% |
| 2007 | 2.09 live births per woman | +0.7% |
| 2008 | 2.16 live births per woman | +3.2% |
| 2009 | 2.23 live births per woman | +3.3% |
| 2010 | 2.19 live births per woman | -1.6% |
| 2011 | 2.02 live births per woman | -7.7% |
| 2012 | 2.03 live births per woman | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 1.94 live births per woman | -4.7% |
| 2014 | 1.93 live births per woman | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 1.81 live births per woman | -6.2% |
| 2016 | 1.74 live births per woman | -3.6% |
| 2017 | 1.71 live births per woman | -1.9% |
| 2018 | 1.71 live births per woman | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 1.74 live births per woman | +2.0% |
| 2020 | 1.72 live births per woman | -1.5% |
| 2021 | 1.82 live births per woman | +5.8% |
| 2022 | 1.59 live births per woman | -12.6% |
| 2023 | 1.54 live births per woman | -3.1% |
| 2024 | 1.52 live births per woman | -1.5% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 1.52 live births per woman is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.51 live births per woman, 1.0× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 1.52 live births per woman is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.5 live births per woman, 1.0× the median. (56 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 3.98 live births per woman | 3.72 live births per woman | 4.21 live births per woman | 10 |
| 1960s | 3.66 live births per woman | 2.98 live births per woman | 4.26 live births per woman | 10 |
| 1970s | 2.67 live births per woman | 2.32 live births per woman | 3.08 live births per woman | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.18 live births per woman | 1.94 live births per woman | 2.48 live births per woman | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.14 live births per woman | 2 live births per woman | 2.3 live births per woman | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.06 live births per woman | 1.94 live births per woman | 2.23 live births per woman | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.88 live births per woman | 1.71 live births per woman | 2.19 live births per woman | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.64 live births per woman | 1.52 live births per woman | 1.82 live births per woman | 5 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
- 161 Trinidad and Tobago 1.54 live births per woman compare
- 162 Saint Kitts and Nevis 1.53 live births per woman compare
- 163 Cayman Islands 1.52 live births per woman compare
- 164 Denmark 1.52 live births per woman compare
- 166 Kuwait 1.51 live births per woman compare
- 167 Portugal 1.51 live births per woman 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 fertility rate vs. average years of schooling in Iceland?
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling in Iceland was 1.52 live births per woman in 2024, according to Human Fertility Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest fertility rate vs. average years of schooling recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 4.26 live births per woman in 1960.
- What is the lowest fertility rate vs. average years of schooling recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.52 live births per woman in 2024.
- How does Iceland rank for fertility rate vs. average years of schooling?
- Iceland ranks 164th out of 236 countries with data for 2024.
- Is fertility rate vs. average years of schooling rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 21.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iceland data come from?
- The figures come from Human Fertility Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 75 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Average number of live births a hypothetical cohort of women would have at the end of their reproductive period if they were subject during their whole lives to the fertility rates of a given period and if they were not subject to mortality.