Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Iceland
Iceland: Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from was 18.6% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Iceland, 1999–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Iceland is 18.6%, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 18 years on record.
That represents a change of up 17.9% on the previous year and up 23.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Iceland peaked at 18.6% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 9.7%, in 2004.
Iceland ranks 28th of 123 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 18 years of available data.
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 11.8% | — |
| 2000 | 13.3% | +12.0% |
| 2001 | 10.8% | -18.3% |
| 2002 | 10.6% | -2.1% |
| 2003 | 10.1% | -4.9% |
| 2004 | 9.7% | -3.4% |
| 2005 | 11.2% | +14.5% |
| 2006 | 11.7% | +4.9% |
| 2007 | 12.7% | +8.5% |
| 2008 | 13.7% | +7.9% |
| 2009 | 12.1% | -11.8% |
| 2010 | 15.1% | +25.0% |
| 2018 | 16.6% | +10.0% |
| 2019 | 15.2% | -8.3% |
| 2020 | 16.4% | +7.5% |
| 2021 | 14.9% | -8.9% |
| 2022 | 15.8% | +5.7% |
| 2023 | 18.6% | +17.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 11.8% | 11.8% | 11.8% | 1 |
| 2000s | 11.6% | 9.7% | 13.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 15.7% | 15.1% | 16.6% | 3 |
| 2020s | 16.4% | 14.9% | 18.6% | 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 18.6% 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 18.6% in 2023.
- What is the lowest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.7% in 2004.
- How does Iceland rank for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from?
- Iceland ranks 28th out of 123 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 up 23.0%. 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 Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Health and Welfare programmes, both sexes (%). 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