Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Iceland
Iceland: Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school was 96.0% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Iceland, 1998–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Iceland is 96.0%, measured in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.2% on the previous year and down 0.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Iceland peaked at 97.4% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 87.3%, in 1998.
Iceland ranks 22nd of 178 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 88.4% | 87.3% | 89.6% | 2 |
| 2000s | 94.0% | 90.1% | 95.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 96.6% | 95.5% | 97.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 96.3% | 96.0% | 96.6% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
- 19 United Kingdom 96.8% compare
- 20 Aruba 96.8% compare
- 21 Sweden 96.2% compare
- 24 South Korea 95.6% compare
- 25 Germany 95.6% compare
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 enrolled in pre-primary school in Iceland?
- Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Iceland was 96.0% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children enrolled in pre-primary school recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 97.4% in 2017.
- What is the lowest share of children enrolled in pre-primary school recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 87.3% in 1998.
- How does Iceland rank for share of children enrolled in pre-primary school?
- Iceland ranks 22nd out of 178 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of children enrolled in pre-primary school rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.1%. 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) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
The share of children of pre-primary school age (typically 3–5 years old) who are enrolled in pre-primary education.