Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Iceland
Iceland: Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes was 1.8% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Iceland, 1977–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Iceland stood at 1.8%. That is the highest value across all 30 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 20.1% on the previous year and up 51.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Iceland peaked at 1.8% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1996.
Iceland ranks 132nd of 203 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 30 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 1.1% | — |
| 1994 | 0.5% | -57.5% |
| 1996 | 0.0% | -95.4% |
| 1997 | 0.9% | +4065.1% |
| 1998 | 1.1% | +25.4% |
| 1999 | 1.2% | +13.5% |
| 2000 | 0.9% | -29.2% |
| 2001 | 0.7% | -21.0% |
| 2002 | 1.2% | +72.1% |
| 2003 | 0.9% | -20.0% |
| 2004 | 0.9% | -0.8% |
| 2005 | 0.9% | -8.3% |
| 2006 | 1.1% | +27.6% |
| 2007 | 1.4% | +31.2% |
| 2008 | 1.6% | +8.9% |
| 2009 | 1.6% | +1.3% |
| 2010 | 1.2% | -25.5% |
| 2011 | 1.3% | +7.2% |
| 2012 | 1.1% | -9.9% |
| 2013 | 1.2% | +5.8% |
| 2014 | 1.2% | -1.9% |
| 2015 | 1.3% | +7.3% |
| 2016 | 1.0% | -17.8% |
| 2017 | 1.1% | +2.8% |
| 2018 | 1.1% | +3.2% |
| 2019 | 1.2% | +8.0% |
| 2020 | 1.4% | +19.6% |
| 2021 | 1.4% | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 1.5% | +6.7% |
| 2023 | 1.8% | +20.1% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 1.8% is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.8%, 1.0× the median. (74 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 1.8% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.4%, 1.3× the median. (51 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | +4065.1% | 0.0% | 0.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1 |
| 1990s | 0.7% | 0.0% | 1.2% | 5 |
| 2000s | 1.1% | 0.7% | 1.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.2% | 1.0% | 1.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.5% | 1.4% | 1.8% | 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 of primary school age, both sexes in Iceland?
- Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Iceland was 1.8% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 1.8% in 2023.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1996.
- How does Iceland rank for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes?
- Iceland ranks 132nd out of 203 countries with data for 2023.
- Is out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 51.9%. 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 of primary school age, both sexes (%). 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