Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Iceland
Iceland: Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower was 1.7% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Iceland, 1998–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Iceland stood at 1.7%. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
That represents a change of up 20.8% on the previous year and up 58.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Iceland peaked at 1.7% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.7%, in 2001.
That places Iceland 132nd out of 181 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 0.9% | — |
| 1999 | 1.1% | +28.5% |
| 2000 | 0.8% | -26.1% |
| 2001 | 0.7% | -14.5% |
| 2002 | 1.0% | +39.3% |
| 2003 | 0.8% | -16.8% |
| 2004 | 0.9% | +15.7% |
| 2005 | 0.8% | -18.4% |
| 2006 | 1.0% | +31.5% |
| 2007 | 1.2% | +23.0% |
| 2008 | 1.3% | +1.2% |
| 2009 | 1.4% | +7.8% |
| 2010 | 1.1% | -21.4% |
| 2011 | 1.2% | +8.3% |
| 2012 | 1.1% | -7.6% |
| 2013 | 1.1% | +3.4% |
| 2014 | 1.1% | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 1.2% | +4.3% |
| 2016 | 1.0% | -15.7% |
| 2017 | 1.0% | -1.5% |
| 2018 | 1.1% | +14.1% |
| 2019 | 1.1% | +1.8% |
| 2020 | 1.3% | +18.7% |
| 2021 | 1.3% | -0.9% |
| 2022 | 1.4% | +10.3% |
| 2023 | 1.7% | +20.8% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 1.7% is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.8%, 99% of the median. (69 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 1.7% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.4%, 1.2× the median. (49 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.0% | 0.9% | 1.1% | 2 |
| 2000s | 1.0% | 0.7% | 1.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.1% | 1.0% | 1.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.5% | 1.3% | 1.7% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
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 children and adolescents of primary and lower in Iceland?
- Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Iceland was 1.7% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 1.7% in 2023.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7% in 2001.
- How does Iceland rank for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower?
- Iceland ranks 132nd out of 181 countries with data for 2023.
- Is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 58.1%. 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 children and adolescents of primary and 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