Percentage of enrolment in upper secondary education in public in Iceland
Iceland: Percentage of enrolment in upper secondary education in public was 75.9% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Percentage of enrolment in upper secondary education in public in Iceland, 1998–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Iceland recorded 75.9% for percentage of enrolment in upper secondary education in public in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.0% on the previous year and down 5.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of enrolment in upper secondary education in public in Iceland peaked at 94.4% in 1999 and was at its lowest, 75.9%, in 2023.
Iceland ranks 120th of 183 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.
Percentage of enrolment in upper secondary education in public in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 93.9% | — |
| 1999 | 94.4% | +0.6% |
| 2000 | 94.2% | -0.2% |
| 2001 | 94.0% | -0.2% |
| 2002 | 93.0% | -1.0% |
| 2003 | 93.9% | +1.0% |
| 2004 | 93.3% | -0.7% |
| 2005 | 90.5% | -3.0% |
| 2006 | 89.5% | -1.1% |
| 2007 | 89.1% | -0.4% |
| 2008 | 88.6% | -0.6% |
| 2009 | 80.9% | -8.7% |
| 2010 | 80.8% | -0.1% |
| 2011 | 80.8% | -0.0% |
| 2012 | 79.7% | -1.4% |
| 2013 | 80.2% | +0.6% |
| 2014 | 78.8% | -1.7% |
| 2015 | 79.2% | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 77.5% | -2.2% |
| 2017 | 78.0% | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 78.6% | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 78.9% | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 78.8% | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 77.1% | -2.0% |
| 2022 | 76.7% | -0.6% |
| 2023 | 75.9% | -1.0% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 75.9% is below the median for high income countries, which is 83.8%, 91% of the median. (72 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 75.9% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 91.2%, 83% of the median. (52 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 94.1% | 93.9% | 94.4% | 2 |
| 2000s | 90.7% | 80.9% | 94.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 79.3% | 77.5% | 80.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 77.1% | 75.9% | 78.8% | 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 percentage of enrolment in upper secondary education in public in Iceland?
- Percentage of enrolment in upper secondary education in public in Iceland was 75.9% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest percentage of enrolment in upper secondary education in public recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 94.4% in 1999.
- What is the lowest percentage of enrolment in upper secondary education in public recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 75.9% in 2023.
- How does Iceland rank for percentage of enrolment in upper secondary education in public?
- Iceland ranks 120th out of 183 countries with data for 2023.
- Is percentage of enrolment in upper secondary education in public rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.4%. 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 Percentage of enrolment in upper secondary education in public institutions, 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