Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Iceland
Iceland: Share of children in primary school age who are in school was 98.2% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Iceland, 1820–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Iceland stood at 98.2%.
That represents a change of down 0.3% on the previous year and down 0.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Iceland peaked at 100.0% in 1940 and was at its lowest, 11.6%, in 1820.
That places Iceland 72nd out of 209 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1820s | 12.2% | 11.6% | 12.8% | 2 |
| 1830s | 14.9% | 14.2% | 15.7% | 2 |
| 1840s | 18.2% | 17.3% | 19.0% | 2 |
| 1850s | 21.9% | 20.9% | 22.9% | 2 |
| 1860s | 26.2% | 25.0% | 27.3% | 2 |
| 1870s | 30.9% | 29.7% | 32.2% | 2 |
| 1880s | 36.1% | 34.8% | 37.5% | 2 |
| 1890s | 41.7% | 40.3% | 43.1% | 2 |
| 1900s | 47.5% | 46.0% | 49.0% | 2 |
| 1910s | 53.4% | 51.9% | 54.9% | 2 |
| 1920s | 62.3% | 57.8% | 66.9% | 2 |
| 1930s | 82.2% | 76.1% | 88.4% | 2 |
| 1940s | 99.3% | 98.6% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1950s | 97.8% | 95.7% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1960s | 98.5% | 97.0% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1970s | 98.0% | 96.0% | 99.0% | 3 |
| 1980s | 98.0% | 98.0% | 98.0% | 1 |
| 1990s | 99.3% | 98.8% | 100.0% | 5 |
| 2000s | 98.9% | 98.4% | 99.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 98.8% | 98.7% | 99.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 98.5% | 98.2% | 98.6% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More education data for Iceland
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 66.5% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 17.5% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 13 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 98.2% (2023)
- Primary education, teachers 3,568 (2023)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.52 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 98.2% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children in primary school age who are in school in Iceland?
- Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Iceland was 98.2% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 1940.
- What is the lowest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.6% in 1820.
- How does Iceland rank for share of children in primary school age who are in school?
- Iceland ranks 72nd out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of children in primary school age who are in school rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.6%. 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 (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children in primary school age who are in school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
The share of children of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.