Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Iceland
Iceland: Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from was 22.0% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Iceland, 1999–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Iceland stood at 22.0%. That is the lowest value across all 18 years on record.
That represents a change of down 7.5% on the previous year and down 36.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Iceland peaked at 35.8% in 2007 and was at its lowest, 22.0%, in 2023.
Iceland ranks 87th of 122 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 18 years of available data.
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 33.5% | — |
| 2000 | 31.9% | -4.7% |
| 2001 | 32.7% | +2.6% |
| 2002 | 34.2% | +4.4% |
| 2003 | 31.9% | -6.5% |
| 2004 | 31.4% | -1.5% |
| 2005 | 29.7% | -5.5% |
| 2006 | 33.2% | +11.9% |
| 2007 | 35.8% | +7.5% |
| 2008 | 34.5% | -3.6% |
| 2009 | 34.3% | -0.5% |
| 2010 | 34.7% | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 25.9% | -25.4% |
| 2019 | 23.4% | -9.8% |
| 2020 | 24.2% | +3.5% |
| 2021 | 23.9% | -1.2% |
| 2022 | 23.8% | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 22.0% | -7.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 33.5% | 33.5% | 33.5% | 1 |
| 2000s | 33.0% | 29.7% | 35.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 28.0% | 23.4% | 34.7% | 3 |
| 2020s | 23.5% | 22.0% | 24.2% | 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 graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Iceland?
- Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Iceland was 22.0% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 35.8% in 2007.
- What is the lowest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.0% in 2023.
- How does Iceland rank for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from?
- Iceland ranks 87th out of 122 countries with data for 2023.
- Is percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 36.6%. 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 graduates from tertiary education graduating from Business, Administration and Law programmes, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 18 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release