Tertiary education, academic staff (% female) in Iceland
Iceland: Tertiary education, academic staff (% female) was 55.6% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Tertiary education, academic staff in Iceland, 1971–2023
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in % female.
Analysis
In 2023, tertiary education, academic staff in Iceland stood at 55.6%. That is the highest value across all 23 years on record.
The figure is up 1.5% on the previous year and up 15.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tertiary education, academic staff in Iceland peaked at 55.6% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 8.4%, in 1971.
Iceland ranks 19th of 170 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
Tertiary education, academic staff (% female) in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % female | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 8.4% | — |
| 1972 | 10.4% | +23.1% |
| 1973 | 14.1% | +36.0% |
| 1974 | 12.7% | -10.2% |
| 1975 | 10.7% | -15.3% |
| 1976 | 11.8% | +10.1% |
| 1998 | 44.7% | +277.7% |
| 1999 | 43.4% | -2.9% |
| 2000 | 42.6% | -1.8% |
| 2001 | 49.3% | +15.6% |
| 2002 | 48.2% | -2.2% |
| 2003 | 47.9% | -0.7% |
| 2004 | 42.8% | -10.6% |
| 2005 | 44.7% | +4.4% |
| 2006 | 44.3% | -0.7% |
| 2007 | 44.7% | +0.7% |
| 2008 | 49.0% | +9.6% |
| 2009 | 48.9% | -0.2% |
| 2010 | 47.3% | -3.1% |
| 2011 | 47.2% | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 48.1% | +2.0% |
| 2022 | 54.8% | +13.8% |
| 2023 | 55.6% | +1.5% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 55.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 47.8%, 1.2× the median. (68 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 55.6% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 49.7%, 1.1× the median. (51 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Tertiary education, academic staff (% female) 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | +277.7% | 11.8% | 44.7% |
| 1973 | +36.0% | 10.4% | 14.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 11.4% | 8.4% | 14.1% | 6 |
| 1990s | 44.0% | 43.4% | 44.7% | 2 |
| 2000s | 46.2% | 42.6% | 49.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 47.6% | 47.2% | 48.1% | 3 |
| 2020s | 55.2% | 54.8% | 55.6% | 2 |
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 tertiary education, academic staff in Iceland?
- Tertiary education, academic staff in Iceland was 55.6% in 2023, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest tertiary education, academic staff recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 55.6% in 2023.
- What is the lowest tertiary education, academic staff recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.4% in 1971.
- How does Iceland rank for tertiary education, academic staff?
- Iceland ranks 19th out of 170 countries with data for 2023.
- Is tertiary education, academic staff rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iceland data come from?
- The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Tertiary education, academic staff (% female). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Tertiary education, academic staff (% female) is the share of female academic staff in tertiary education.