School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes (number) in Iceland
Iceland: School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes (number) was 14,594 in 2025. ▲ Rising
School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes in Iceland, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes in Iceland is 14,594, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.
That represents a change of up 5.4% on the previous year and up 2.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes in Iceland peaked at 14,594 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 3,874, in 1977.
Iceland ranks 176th of 222 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.
School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes (number) in Iceland, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 4,698 | — |
| 1971 | 4,605 | -2.0% |
| 1972 | 4,558 | -1.0% |
| 1973 | 4,536 | -0.5% |
| 1974 | 4,234 | -6.7% |
| 1975 | 4,086 | -3.5% |
| 1976 | 4,120 | +0.8% |
| 1977 | 3,874 | -6.0% |
| 1978 | 4,099 | +5.8% |
| 1979 | 4,475 | +9.2% |
| 1980 | 4,375 | -2.2% |
| 1981 | 4,026 | -8.0% |
| 1982 | 4,143 | +2.9% |
| 1983 | 4,154 | +0.3% |
| 1984 | 3,886 | -6.5% |
| 1985 | 4,053 | +4.3% |
| 1986 | 4,445 | +9.7% |
| 1987 | 4,490 | +1.0% |
| 1988 | 4,312 | -4.0% |
| 1989 | 4,358 | +1.1% |
| 1990 | 4,279 | -1.8% |
| 1991 | 11,826 | +176.4% |
| 1992 | 12,628 | +6.8% |
| 1993 | 13,298 | +5.3% |
| 1994 | 13,921 | +4.7% |
| 1995 | 13,801 | -0.9% |
| 1996 | 13,816 | +0.1% |
| 1997 | 13,582 | -1.7% |
| 1998 | 13,505 | -0.6% |
| 1999 | 13,281 | -1.7% |
| 2000 | 13,133 | -1.1% |
| 2001 | 12,979 | -1.2% |
| 2002 | 12,945 | -0.3% |
| 2003 | 12,652 | -2.3% |
| 2004 | 12,772 | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 12,615 | -1.2% |
| 2006 | 12,559 | -0.4% |
| 2007 | 12,464 | -0.8% |
| 2008 | 12,755 | +2.3% |
| 2009 | 13,112 | +2.8% |
| 2010 | 13,257 | +1.1% |
| 2011 | 13,351 | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 13,686 | +2.5% |
| 2013 | 14,101 | +3.0% |
| 2014 | 14,489 | +2.8% |
| 2015 | 14,270 | -1.5% |
| 2016 | 13,885 | -2.7% |
| 2017 | 13,455 | -3.1% |
| 2018 | 13,440 | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 13,174 | -2.0% |
| 2020 | 12,942 | -1.8% |
| 2021 | 12,781 | -1.2% |
| 2022 | 12,881 | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 13,362 | +3.7% |
| 2024 | 13,852 | +3.7% |
| 2025 | 14,594 | +5.4% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 14,594 is below the median for high income countries, which is 112,749, 13% of the median. (80 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 14,594 is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 198,721, 7% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes (number) in Iceland changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | +176.4% | 4,279 | 11,826 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 4,328 | 3,874 | 4,698 | 10 |
| 1980s | 4,224 | 3,886 | 4,490 | 10 |
| 1990s | 12,394 | 4,279 | 13,921 | 10 |
| 2000s | 12,799 | 12,464 | 13,133 | 10 |
| 2010s | 13,711 | 13,174 | 14,489 | 10 |
| 2020s | 13,402 | 12,781 | 14,594 | 6 |
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 school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes in Iceland?
- School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes in Iceland was 14,594 in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 14,594 in 2025.
- What is the lowest school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 3,874 in 1977.
- How does Iceland rank for school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes?
- Iceland ranks 176th out of 222 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.3%. 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 School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 56 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release