Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Iceland
Iceland: Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age was 1.6% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Iceland, 1998–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Iceland stood at 1.6%. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
The figure is up 23.3% on the previous year and up 79.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Iceland peaked at 1.6% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.4%, in 1998.
Iceland ranks 140th of 183 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 0.4% | — |
| 1999 | 0.8% | +126.1% |
| 2000 | 0.7% | -15.2% |
| 2001 | 0.8% | +6.1% |
| 2002 | 0.5% | -34.9% |
| 2003 | 0.5% | +4.6% |
| 2004 | 1.0% | +86.3% |
| 2005 | 0.6% | -40.2% |
| 2006 | 0.8% | +45.4% |
| 2007 | 0.8% | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 0.6% | -26.3% |
| 2009 | 0.9% | +42.2% |
| 2010 | 0.8% | -5.3% |
| 2011 | 0.9% | +11.1% |
| 2012 | 0.9% | -0.6% |
| 2013 | 0.9% | -3.9% |
| 2014 | 0.9% | +6.9% |
| 2015 | 0.9% | -4.8% |
| 2016 | 0.8% | -9.3% |
| 2017 | 0.7% | -15.9% |
| 2018 | 1.1% | +57.3% |
| 2019 | 0.9% | -14.1% |
| 2020 | 1.1% | +16.5% |
| 2021 | 1.0% | -3.1% |
| 2022 | 1.3% | +22.8% |
| 2023 | 1.6% | +23.3% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 1.6% is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.8%, 89% of the median. (69 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 1.6% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.5%, 1.0× the median. (49 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.6% | 0.4% | 0.8% | 2 |
| 2000s | 0.7% | 0.5% | 1.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.9% | 0.7% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.3% | 1.0% | 1.6% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
- 137 Trinidad and Tobago 1.8% compare
- 138 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1.7% compare
- 139 Luxembourg 1.7% compare
- 141 Georgia 1.6% compare
- 142 Belgium 1.5% compare
- 143 Uruguay 1.5% 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 of lower secondary school age in Iceland?
- Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Iceland was 1.6% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 1.6% in 2023.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4% in 1998.
- How does Iceland rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age?
- Iceland ranks 140th out of 183 countries with data for 2023.
- Is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 79.2%. 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 Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age, both sexes (%). 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