Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Iceland
Iceland: Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP was 7.3% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Iceland, 1990–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Iceland is 7.3%, measured in 2022.
That represents a change of down 11.2% on the previous year and down 3.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Iceland peaked at 8.6% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 4.3%, in 1990.
That places Iceland 14th out of 199 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 30 years of available data.
Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 4.3% | — |
| 1993 | 5.1% | +20.7% |
| 1994 | 4.8% | -7.5% |
| 1995 | 4.8% | +0.5% |
| 1996 | 5.2% | +9.2% |
| 1998 | 6.8% | +30.0% |
| 1999 | 6.4% | -5.2% |
| 2000 | 6.4% | -0.0% |
| 2001 | 6.7% | +4.3% |
| 2002 | 7.3% | +8.8% |
| 2003 | 7.2% | -0.7% |
| 2004 | 7.2% | -1.2% |
| 2005 | 7.3% | +2.5% |
| 2006 | 7.2% | -2.0% |
| 2007 | 6.9% | -3.5% |
| 2008 | 7.0% | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 7.2% | +2.2% |
| 2010 | 6.9% | -3.4% |
| 2011 | 6.8% | -2.2% |
| 2012 | 7.6% | +11.7% |
| 2013 | 7.4% | -1.8% |
| 2014 | 7.6% | +2.6% |
| 2015 | 7.5% | -2.4% |
| 2016 | 7.4% | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 7.6% | +2.0% |
| 2018 | 7.6% | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 7.6% | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 8.6% | +12.9% |
| 2021 | 8.2% | -4.2% |
| 2022 | 7.3% | -11.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5.3% | 4.3% | 6.8% | 7 |
| 2000s | 7.1% | 6.4% | 7.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.4% | 6.8% | 7.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.0% | 7.3% | 8.6% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
- 11 Mauritania 7.6% compare
- 12 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 7.5% compare
- 13 Sweden 7.3% compare
- 15 Montserrat 7.2% compare
- 16 Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of 6.9% compare
- 17 Kyrgyzstan 6.8% 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 government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Iceland?
- Government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Iceland was 7.3% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 8.6% in 2020.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.3% in 1990.
- How does Iceland rank for government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp?
- Iceland ranks 14th out of 199 countries with data for 2022.
- Is government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.6%. 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 Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 30 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release