Share of students studying abroad in Iceland
Iceland: Share of students studying abroad was 12.69 in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
12.69
Change on year
up 3.6%
World rank
50th
of 175 countries
All-time high
27.96
in 1998
All-time low
12.25
in 2022
Years of data
26
1998–2023
Share of students studying abroad in Iceland, 1998–2023
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2023, share of students studying abroad in Iceland stood at 12.69.
That represents a change of up 3.6% on the previous year and down 14.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of students studying abroad in Iceland peaked at 27.96 in 1998 and was at its lowest, 12.25, in 2022.
Iceland ranks 50th of 175 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
Share of students studying abroad in Iceland, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 27.96 | — |
| 1999 | 27.17 | -2.8% |
| 2000 | 24.37 | -10.3% |
| 2001 | 25.62 | +5.1% |
| 2002 | 25.2 | -1.6% |
| 2003 | 23.25 | -7.7% |
| 2004 | 14.76 | -36.5% |
| 2005 | 15.16 | +2.7% |
| 2006 | 15.43 | +1.7% |
| 2007 | 15.66 | +1.5% |
| 2008 | 14.49 | -7.5% |
| 2009 | 15.56 | +7.4% |
| 2010 | 15.4 | -1.1% |
| 2011 | 14.35 | -6.8% |
| 2012 | 14.33 | -0.2% |
| 2013 | 14.88 | +3.9% |
| 2014 | 13.75 | -7.6% |
| 2015 | 13.92 | +1.2% |
| 2016 | 14.32 | +2.9% |
| 2017 | 14.71 | +2.7% |
| 2018 | 18.53 | +25.9% |
| 2019 | 14.79 | -20.1% |
| 2020 | 14.3 | -3.3% |
| 2021 | 12.56 | -12.2% |
| 2022 | 12.25 | -2.5% |
| 2023 | 12.69 | +3.6% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 12.69 is above the median for high income countries, which is 5.28, 2.4× the median. (67 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 12.69 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 6.06, 2.1× the median. (52 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 27.57 | 27.17 | 27.96 | 2 |
| 2000s | 18.95 | 14.49 | 25.62 | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.9 | 13.75 | 18.53 | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.95 | 12.25 | 14.3 | 4 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More education data for Iceland
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 98.24 (2023)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 98.18 (2023)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of students studying abroad in Iceland?
- Share of students studying abroad in Iceland was 12.69 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of students studying abroad recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 27.96 in 1998.
- What is the lowest share of students studying abroad recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.25 in 2022.
- How does Iceland rank for share of students studying abroad?
- Iceland ranks 50th out of 175 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of students studying abroad rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iceland data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Share of students studying abroad. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).