Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Iceland
Iceland: Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper was 11.8% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
11.8%
Change on year
up 14.1%
World rank
99th
of 175 countries
All-time high
18.0%
in 2000
All-time low
9.0%
in 2021
Years of data
26
1998–2023
Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Iceland, 1998–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Iceland stood at 11.8%.
That represents a change of up 14.1% on the previous year and up 16.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Iceland peaked at 18.0% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 9.0%, in 2021.
Iceland ranks 99th of 175 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 16.1% | — |
| 1999 | 17.9% | +11.1% |
| 2000 | 18.0% | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 17.0% | -5.4% |
| 2002 | 14.8% | -12.9% |
| 2003 | 13.2% | -10.7% |
| 2004 | 12.8% | -3.3% |
| 2005 | 12.3% | -4.0% |
| 2006 | 13.3% | +8.3% |
| 2007 | 14.1% | +6.1% |
| 2008 | 13.8% | -2.0% |
| 2009 | 13.7% | -0.8% |
| 2010 | 11.4% | -17.1% |
| 2011 | 11.0% | -2.7% |
| 2012 | 10.2% | -7.5% |
| 2013 | 10.0% | -1.7% |
| 2014 | 10.2% | +1.6% |
| 2015 | 10.1% | -1.2% |
| 2016 | 11.0% | +8.6% |
| 2017 | 10.3% | -6.0% |
| 2018 | 10.7% | +3.5% |
| 2019 | 11.5% | +8.1% |
| 2020 | 11.4% | -1.4% |
| 2021 | 9.0% | -21.0% |
| 2022 | 10.3% | +14.5% |
| 2023 | 11.8% | +14.1% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 11.8% is above the median for high income countries, which is 5.2%, 2.3× the median. (66 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 11.8% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 4.7%, 2.5× the median. (49 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 17.0% | 16.1% | 17.9% | 2 |
| 2000s | 14.3% | 12.3% | 18.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 10.6% | 10.0% | 11.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.6% | 9.0% | 11.8% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
- 96 Namibia 13.0% compare
- 97 Ukraine 12.4% compare
- 98 Kyrgyzstan 12.3% compare
- 100 Russian Federation 11.6% compare
- 101 Cook Islands 11.5% compare
- 102 Morocco 11.5% 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 out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Iceland?
- Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Iceland was 11.8% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 18.0% in 2000.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.0% in 2021.
- How does Iceland rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper?
- Iceland ranks 99th out of 175 countries with data for 2023.
- Is out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iceland data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper secondary school age, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release