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
Latest (2023)
98.2%
Change on year
down 0.3%
World rank
72nd
of 209 countries
All-time high
100.0%
in 1940
All-time low
11.6%
in 1820
Years of data
63
1820–2023
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.
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1820 | 11.6% | — |
| 1825 | 12.8% | +10.8% |
| 1830 | 14.2% | +10.7% |
| 1835 | 15.7% | +10.4% |
| 1840 | 17.3% | +10.3% |
| 1845 | 19.0% | +10.0% |
| 1850 | 20.9% | +9.8% |
| 1855 | 22.9% | +9.6% |
| 1860 | 25.0% | +9.3% |
| 1865 | 27.3% | +9.0% |
| 1870 | 29.7% | +8.7% |
| 1875 | 32.2% | +8.4% |
| 1880 | 34.8% | +8.1% |
| 1885 | 37.5% | +7.8% |
| 1890 | 40.3% | +7.4% |
| 1895 | 43.1% | +7.1% |
| 1900 | 46.0% | +6.7% |
| 1905 | 49.0% | +6.4% |
| 1910 | 51.9% | +6.0% |
| 1915 | 54.9% | +5.7% |
| 1920 | 57.8% | +5.3% |
| 1925 | 66.9% | +15.9% |
| 1930 | 76.1% | +13.7% |
| 1935 | 88.4% | +16.1% |
| 1940 | 100.0% | +13.1% |
| 1945 | 98.6% | -1.4% |
| 1950 | 95.7% | -2.9% |
| 1955 | 100.0% | +4.5% |
| 1960 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 97.0% | -3.0% |
| 1970 | 96.0% | -1.0% |
| 1975 | 99.0% | +3.1% |
| 1977 | 98.9% | -0.1% |
| 1980 | 98.0% | -0.9% |
| 1994 | 99.5% | +1.6% |
| 1996 | 100.0% | +0.4% |
| 1997 | 99.1% | -0.8% |
| 1998 | 98.9% | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 98.8% | -0.1% |
| 2000 | 99.1% | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 99.3% | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 98.8% | -0.5% |
| 2003 | 99.1% | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 99.1% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 99.1% | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 98.9% | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 98.6% | -0.3% |
| 2008 | 98.4% | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 98.4% | -0.0% |
| 2010 | 98.8% | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 98.7% | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 98.9% | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 98.8% | -0.1% |
| 2014 | 98.8% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 98.7% | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 99.0% | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 98.9% | -0.0% |
| 2018 | 98.9% | -0.0% |
| 2019 | 98.8% | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 98.6% | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 98.6% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 98.5% | -0.1% |
| 2023 | 98.2% | -0.3% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 98.2% is below the median for high income countries, which is 98.2%, 100% of the median. (74 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 98.2% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 98.6%, 100% of the median. (51 countries reporting)
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
- 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 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of children of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.