Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Iceland
Iceland: Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from was 17.5% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Iceland, 1999–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Iceland recorded 17.5% for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.2% on the previous year and up 64.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Iceland peaked at 18.8% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 8.5%, in 2004.
That places Iceland 8th out of 121 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
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 | 11.4% | — |
| 2000 | 10.3% | -9.6% |
| 2001 | 10.4% | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 10.9% | +5.2% |
| 2003 | 9.8% | -10.3% |
| 2004 | 8.5% | -12.8% |
| 2005 | 10.1% | +19.0% |
| 2006 | 9.9% | -1.9% |
| 2007 | 11.6% | +17.0% |
| 2008 | 12.5% | +7.8% |
| 2009 | 13.2% | +5.0% |
| 2010 | 10.7% | -19.1% |
| 2018 | 17.9% | +67.7% |
| 2019 | 18.4% | +3.2% |
| 2020 | 17.6% | -4.6% |
| 2021 | 18.8% | +7.2% |
| 2022 | 17.9% | -4.9% |
| 2023 | 17.5% | -2.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 11.4% | 11.4% | 11.4% | 1 |
| 2000s | 10.7% | 8.5% | 13.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 15.6% | 10.7% | 18.4% | 3 |
| 2020s | 18.0% | 17.5% | 18.8% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More education data for Iceland
- 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)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 32,314 (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth -1.17 % change on previous year (2023)
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 17.5% 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 18.8% in 2021.
- What is the lowest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.5% in 2004.
- How does Iceland rank for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from?
- Iceland ranks 8th out of 121 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 64.5%. 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 Social Sciences, Journalism and Information programmes, female (%). 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