Government expenditure on education (% of GDP) in Iceland
Iceland: Government expenditure on education (% of GDP) was 7.31 in 2022. ▲ Rising
Government expenditure on education in Iceland, 1990–2022
Source: UNICEF.
Analysis
Iceland recorded 7.31 for government expenditure on education 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 in Iceland peaked at 8.58 in 2020 and was at its lowest, 4.26, in 1990.
Iceland ranks 3rd of 68 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 30 years of available data.
Government expenditure on education (% of GDP) in Iceland, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 4.26 | — |
| 1993 | 5.14 | +20.7% |
| 1994 | 4.76 | -7.5% |
| 1995 | 4.78 | +0.5% |
| 1996 | 5.22 | +9.2% |
| 1998 | 6.78 | +30.0% |
| 1999 | 6.43 | -5.2% |
| 2000 | 6.43 | -0.0% |
| 2001 | 6.71 | +4.3% |
| 2002 | 7.3 | +8.8% |
| 2003 | 7.25 | -0.7% |
| 2004 | 7.16 | -1.2% |
| 2005 | 7.34 | +2.5% |
| 2006 | 7.2 | -2.0% |
| 2007 | 6.94 | -3.5% |
| 2008 | 7.04 | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 7.19 | +2.2% |
| 2010 | 6.94 | -3.4% |
| 2011 | 6.79 | -2.2% |
| 2012 | 7.58 | +11.7% |
| 2013 | 7.45 | -1.8% |
| 2014 | 7.64 | +2.6% |
| 2015 | 7.46 | -2.4% |
| 2016 | 7.43 | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 7.58 | +2.0% |
| 2018 | 7.56 | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 7.6 | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 8.58 | +12.9% |
| 2021 | 8.23 | -4.2% |
| 2022 | 7.31 | -11.2% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 7.31 is above the median for high income countries, which is 4.5, 1.6× the median. (41 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 7.31 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 4.5, 1.6× the median. (51 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Government expenditure on education (% of GDP) in Iceland changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | +30.0% | 5.22 | 6.78 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5.34 | 4.26 | 6.78 | 7 |
| 2000s | 7.05 | 6.43 | 7.34 | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.4 | 6.79 | 7.64 | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.04 | 7.31 | 8.58 | 3 |
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 government expenditure on education in Iceland?
- Government expenditure on education in Iceland was 7.31 in 2022, according to UNICEF.
- What is the highest government expenditure on education recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 8.58 in 2020.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on education recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.26 in 1990.
- How does Iceland rank for government expenditure on education?
- Iceland ranks 3rd out of 68 countries with data for 2022.
- Is government expenditure on education 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 UNICEF, published as part of Government expenditure on education (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 30 observations, free to reuse under UNICEF Terms of Use (attribution required).