Photo: Hansueli Krapf · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
Topic 04 of 18 · Country Index 2026
Iceland: Education & Knowledge
How far does a country's schooling carry its children?
Iceland is placed 56th of 198 countries on education & knowledge in the Country Index 2026, from 3 of its 4 key statistics. Readings behind it: Out-of-School Rate, Primary 1.821 (2024); Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before Primary 96.91 (2024).
Share
Education & Knowledge
56th
of 198 countries placed
Placed from 3 of 4 key statistics
- 1.821Out-of-School Rate, Primary, 2024Out-of-school rate, primary age (%)
- 96.91Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before Primary, 2024Children one year before primary entry age in organised learning (%)
- 66.44Upper Secondary Completion Rate, 2025Upper secondary completion rate (%)
- —Government Spending on Education, 2023No reading for this country
01The evidence
The 4 key statistics that decide it
Only these place Iceland on education & knowledge — one vote each. Every value is the publisher’s own, read at the edition the Country Index 2026 used — or, for a survey-based key, each country’s latest reading; the grey ticks are every other country it was compared with, lowest on the left.
Key 1 of 4
Out-of-School Rate, Primary
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
Why it is a key: Primary-age children who are not in school at all: the floor of an education system.
Latest reading per country, 2014–2024 · Iceland’s is from 2023 · CC BY-SA 4.0
1.821
Out-of-school rate, primary age (%)
Lower is better
Iceland: 1.821. Across the 192 countries at their latest reading, values run from 0.004 (United Arab Emirates) to 65.6 (Equatorial Guinea); the world median is 3.691.
- World median
- 3.691
- Best in Northern Europe
- 0.07 United Kingdom
Each grey tick is one of 192 countries at its latest reading, 2014–2024.
Key 2 of 4
Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before Primary
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
Why it is a key: Whether children take part in organised learning in the year before primary school — whether an education system reaches them before it starts.
Latest reading per country, 2014–2024 · Iceland’s is from 2023 · CC BY-SA 4.0
96.91
Children one year before primary entry age in organised learning (%)
Higher is better
Iceland: 96.91. Across the 187 countries at their latest reading, values run from 3.411 (Yemen) to 100 (United Arab Emirates); the world median is 85.9.
- World median
- 85.9
- Best in Northern Europe
- 99.56 Lithuania
Each grey tick is one of 187 countries at its latest reading, 2014–2024.
Key 3 of 4
Upper Secondary Completion Rate
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
Why it is a key: How far a schooling system carries the young people who get through primary — the only key here that measures anything past childhood.
2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY-SA 4.0
66.44
Upper secondary completion rate (%)
Higher is better
Iceland: 66.44. Across the 164 countries in this edition, values run from 2.13 (South Sudan) to 99.27 (South Korea); the world median is 64.87.
- World median
- 64.87
- Best in Northern Europe
- 95.09 Ireland
Each grey tick is one of 164 countries in the 2025 edition.
Key 4 of 4
Government Spending on Education
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
Why it is a key: What a state chooses to spend on education, as a share of its economy — the input, where the other two keys measure reach.
2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY-SA 4.0
No reading
Government expenditure on education (% of GDP)
Higher is better
UIS publishes no 2023 figure for Iceland, so the standing rests on the other keys.
Across the 123 countries in this edition, values run from 0 (Somalia) to 16.39 (Kiribati); the world median is 3.709.
- World median
- 3.709
Each grey tick is one of 123 countries in the 2023 edition.
02Over time
Which way Iceland is moving
Each key’s published value, edition by edition, beside the world median. The Country Index 2026 is the first edition of the standing, so the standing itself has no history to chart yet.
Out-of-School Rate, Primary
Out-of-school rate, primary age (%) · lower is better
IcelandWorld median
Iceland rose from 0.862 in 2000 to 1.821 in 2023; the world median went from 8.642 to 3.393.
Every year’s figures
Year Iceland World median 2024 — 3.691 2023 1.821 3.393 2022 1.515 3.002 2021 1.421 3.330 2020 1.423 2.678 2019 1.190 2.758 2018 1.101 2.439 2017 1.066 2.907 2016 1.037 2.954 2015 1.262 3.052 2014 1.176 3.904 2013 1.199 3.413 2012 1.133 3.408 2011 1.258 3.626 2010 1.173 3.491 2009 1.575 3.577 2008 1.555 3.878 2007 1.428 4.029 2006 1.089 4.338 2005 0.854 4.571 2004 0.931 3.791 2003 0.938 4.412 2002 1.172 4.144 2001 0.681 4.051 2000 0.862 8.642 Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before Primary
Children one year before primary entry age in organised learning (%) · higher is better
IcelandWorld median
Iceland rose from 92.75 in 2000 to 96.91 in 2023; the world median went from 66.32 to 87.61.
Every year’s figures
Year Iceland World median 2024 — 85.9 2023 96.91 87.6 2022 97.03 87.7 2021 96.95 87.0 2020 96.60 88.3 2019 97.02 88.8 2018 97.61 89.6 2017 97.86 87.4 2016 97.63 87.9 2015 97.78 88.2 2014 96.70 89.2 2013 95.62 88.0 2012 98.33 85.4 2011 96.22 86.2 2010 95.22 86.1 2009 94.73 84.8 2008 96.75 85.8 2007 94.66 86.7 2006 96.61 84.0 2005 96.28 82.2 2004 95.86 81.8 2003 95.38 78.3 2002 93.68 80.0 2001 94.78 80.8 2000 92.75 66.3 Upper Secondary Completion Rate
Upper secondary completion rate (%) · higher is better
IcelandWorld median
Iceland rose from 66.42 in 2000 to 66.44 in 2025; the world median went from 38 to 64.87.
Every year’s figures
Year Iceland World median 2025 66.44 64.9 2024 66.22 65.0 2023 65.94 64.2 2022 65.62 63.6 2021 65.31 62.9 2020 64.94 62.2 2019 64.73 61.5 2018 64.66 60.9 2017 64.62 60.5 2016 64.54 60.1 2015 64.47 58.9 2014 64.30 57.0 2013 64.05 54.7 2012 63.81 52.4 2011 63.91 50.9 2010 64.21 49.5 2009 64.62 48.5 2008 64.92 47.4 2007 65.06 46.2 2006 65.19 45.0 2005 65.48 43.8 2004 65.87 42.9 2003 66.08 41.6 2002 66.20 40.3 2001 66.22 39.0 2000 66.42 38.0 Government Spending on Education
Government expenditure on education (% of GDP) · higher is better
IcelandWorld median
Iceland rose from 6.431 in 2000 to 7.308 in 2022; the world median went from 3.886 to 4.057.
Every year’s figures
Year Iceland World median 2023 — 3.7092 2022 7.3080 4.0570 2021 8.2266 4.2611 2020 8.5838 4.4056 2019 7.6013 4.1407 2018 7.5635 4.2159 2017 7.5838 4.1401 2016 7.4322 4.2342 2015 7.4580 4.2386 2014 7.6414 4.2005 2013 7.4487 4.3493 2012 7.5822 4.0348 2011 6.7900 3.9987 2010 6.9442 4.1396 2009 7.1898 4.6638 2008 7.0360 4.4226 2007 6.9443 4.1717 2006 7.1952 4.0593 2005 7.3384 4.0557 2004 7.1612 3.9745 2003 7.2451 4.1595 2002 7.2989 4.0173 2001 6.7059 4.1002 2000 6.4314 3.8861
03In context
Iceland beside its neighbours
A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 198 countries on education & knowledge, never a place within the region.
Iceland and Northern Europe
Iceland has no land border, so the table compares it with its sub-region. The standing is each country’s place among all 198 placed on the topic; the other columns are the publishers’ own values, read at the edition the standing used.
| Country | Standing | Out-of-School Rate, PrimaryOut-of-school rate, primary age (%) | Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before PrimaryChildren one year before primary entry age in organised learning (%) | Upper Secondary Completion RateUpper secondary completion rate (%) | Government Spending on EducationGovernment expenditure on education (% of GDP) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Lithuania | 5th | 0.13 | 99.56 | 92.31 | — |
 United Kingdom | 6th | 0.07 | 98.6 | 90.29 | — |
 Sweden | 14th | 0.57 | 98.65 | 89.13 | — |
 Ireland | 23rd | 1.813 | 95.03 | 95.09 | — |
 Finland | =31st | 1.766 | 96.23 | 89.75 | — |
 Denmark | 36th | 0.893 | 97.07 | 76.72 | — |
 Norway | 37th | 1.378 | 97.51 | 80.75 | — |
 Latvia | =41st | 2.74 | 97.77 | 87.53 | — |
| Iceland | 56th | 1.821 | 96.91 | 66.44 | — |
 Estonia | 65th | 3.388 | 92.5 | 85.87 | — |
| Channel Islands | not placed | — | — | — | — |
 Faroe Islands | not placed | — | — | — | — |
 Isle of Man | not placed | — | — | — | — |
“—” means the publisher gives no reading for that country in that edition. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed.
Across Northern Europe
Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 198.
Placed either side on education & knowledge
The countries immediately above and below Iceland in the topic’s list.
04Context, no vote
Where Iceland is ahead of the world, and behind
28 more statistics filed under education & knowledge, published in full and deliberately given no vote in the standing. Select a row for the publisher, the rank and the links.
Ahead of the world median18
Statistics on which Iceland does better than the middle country measured.
Mean Years of SchoolingUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 9.93313.919.933▲ Improved since 2013
Iceland: 13.91 · world median 9.933 · Mean years of schooling (adults 25+). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 1.412 to 14.3; higher is better.
Position 4th of 193 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Government Funding per Primary StudentUIS · 2022 · world median 17.8125.9317.81▲ Improved since 2012
Iceland: 25.93 · world median 17.81 · Government funding per primary student (% of GDP per capita). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 3.771 to 34.57; higher is better.
Position 3rd of 68 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Expected Years of SchoolingUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 13.3418.8513.34▼ Worsened since 2013
Iceland: 18.85 · world median 13.34 · Expected years of schooling. UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 5.635 to 21.69; higher is better.
Position 10th of 195 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Intergenerational Persistence in EducationWorld Bank Group · 2017 · world median 0.4460.2850.446No earlier reading
Iceland: 0.285 · world median 0.446 · Correlation between own and parents' years of schooling, born 1980–89 (0–1). World Bank Group, 2017 edition, data for 2017.
Published values in that edition run from 0.123 to 0.66; lower is better.
Position 141st of 153 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Researchers per Million InhabitantsUIS · 2024 · world median 701.955,953701.95No earlier reading
Iceland: 5,953 · world median 701.95 · Researchers per million inhabitants (full-time equivalent). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 1.446 to 18,130; higher is better.
Position 13th of 145 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Lower Secondary Completion RateUIS · 2025 · world median 89.2199.0789.21No real change since 2015
Iceland: 99.07 · world median 89.21 · Lower secondary completion rate (%). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 13.73 to 100; higher is better.
Position 16th of 164 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Research and Development SpendingUIS · 2023 · world median 0.8142.640.814▲ Improved since 2013
Iceland: 2.64 · world median 0.814 · Gross domestic expenditure on R&D (% of GDP). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.006 to 6.346; higher is better.
Position 14th of 84 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Bachelor's or Higher AttainmentUIS · 2023 · world median 19.8634.4619.86▼ Worsened since 2014
Iceland: 34.46 · world median 19.86 · Adults 25+ who completed a bachelor's degree or higher (%). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 1.135 to 52.72; higher is better.
Position 15th of 90 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Harmonized Test ScoresWorld Bank Group · 2020 · world median 414.32497.68414.32▼ Worsened since 2010
Iceland: 497.68 · world median 414.32 · Harmonized test score (TIMSS-equivalent points; 300 = minimum, 625 = advanced attainment). World Bank Group, 2020 edition, data for 2020.
Published values in that edition run from 304.92 to 575.27; higher is better.
Position 31st of 172 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Learning-Adjusted Years of SchoolWorld Bank Group · 2020 · world median 7.94110.727.941▲ Improved since 2010
Iceland: 10.72 · world median 7.941 · Learning-adjusted years of school (0–14). World Bank Group, 2020 edition, data for 2020.
Published values in that edition run from 2.207 to 12.81; higher is better.
Position 31st of 172 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Primary Schools with Internet for TeachingUIS · 2024 · world median 98.6610098.66No real change since 2016
Iceland: 100 · world median 98.66 · Primary schools with internet access for teaching (%). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 100; higher is better.
Learning PovertyWorld Bank Group and UNESCO Institute for Statistics · 2023 · world median 34.029.32334.02No earlier reading
Iceland: 9.323 · world median 34.02 · 10-year-olds who cannot read and understand a simple text (%). World Bank Group and UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 2.331 to 98.5; lower is better.
Position 96th of 125 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Upper Secondary AttainmentUIS · 2023 · world median 65.7680.1665.76▲ Improved since 2013
Iceland: 80.16 · world median 65.76 · Adults 25+ who completed upper secondary or higher (%). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 5.26 to 97.89; higher is better.
Position 29th of 95 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Academic Freedom IndexV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 2025 · world median 0.6190.7560.619▼ Worsened since 2015
Iceland: 0.756 · world median 0.619 · Academic freedom index (0–1). V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.019 to 0.978; higher is better.
Position 64th of 176 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Minimum Proficiency in Mathematics, End of Lower SecondaryUIS · 2023 · world median 48.965.8848.9No earlier reading
Iceland: 65.88 · world median 48.9 · Students at the end of lower secondary reaching minimum proficiency in mathematics (%). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.73 to 91.73; higher is better.
Minimum Proficiency in Mathematics, End of PrimaryUIS · 2023 · world median 43.850.7143.8No earlier reading
Iceland: 50.71 · world median 43.8 · Pupils at the end of primary reaching minimum proficiency in mathematics (%). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 1.8 to 93.42; higher is better.
PISA Mathematics PerformanceOECD · 2022 · world median 442.09458.9442.09▼ Worsened since 2012
Iceland: 458.9 · world median 442.09 · Mean mathematics score. OECD, 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 336.4 to 574.66; higher is better.
Position 37th of 79 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Minimum Proficiency in Reading, End of Lower SecondaryUIS · 2022 · world median 58.5960.2958.59No earlier reading
Iceland: 60.29 · world median 58.59 · Students at the end of lower secondary reaching minimum proficiency in reading (%). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 5.043 to 88.83; higher is better.
Behind the world median1
Statistics on which Iceland does worse than the middle country measured.
PISA Reading PerformanceOECD · 2022 · world median 440.35435.9440.35▲ Improved since 2012
Iceland: 435.9 · world median 440.35 · Mean reading score. OECD, 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 328.84 to 542.55; higher is better.
Position 42nd of 79 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Level with the median, or no median to compare3
Primary Schools with ElectricityUIS · 2024 · world median 100100100No real change since 2016
Iceland: 100 · world median 100 · Primary schools with access to electricity (%). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 1.246 to 100; higher is better.
PISA Science PerformanceOECD · 2022 · world median 446.93446.93446.93▲ Improved since 2012
Iceland: 446.93 · world median 446.93 · Mean science score. OECD, 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 347.1 to 561.43; higher is better.
Position 40th of 79 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Primary Completion RateUIS · 2025 · world median 97.4397.4397.43▼ Worsened since 2015
Iceland: 97.43 · world median 97.43 · Primary completion rate (%). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 7.94 to 100; higher is better.
Position 83rd of 165 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No better end6
These describe the shape of a country — more is not better or worse, only different — so they are never ahead or behind.
Female Share of STEM GraduatesUIS · 2023 · world median 35.343.2935.3Moved since 2018
Iceland: 43.29 · world median 35.3 · STEM graduates who are women (%; 50 = parity). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 8.333 to 55.96.
Outbound Mobility Ratio, TertiaryUIS · 2023 · world median 5.27912.695.279Moved since 2013
Iceland: 12.69 · world median 5.279 · Outbound mobility ratio, tertiary (% of tertiary enrolment at home). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.333 to 1,724.
Scholarly ArticlesOurResearch · 2025 · world median 2,2402,0562,240Moved since 2022
Iceland: 2,056 · world median 2,240 · Articles with at least one author at an institution in the country (full counting). OpenAlex (OurResearch), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 1 to 1,094,890.
Female Share of ResearchersUIS · 2024 · world median 38.1732.9138.17No earlier reading
Iceland: 32.91 · world median 38.17 · Researchers who are women (% of headcount; 50 = parity). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 76.54.
Share of Graduates from ICT ProgrammesUIS · 2023 · world median 5.6013.7885.601Moved since 2018
Iceland: 3.788 · world median 5.601 · Tertiary graduates from ICT programmes (% of all graduates). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 17.19.
Nobel Prize Laureates by Country of BirthNobel Prize Outreach · 2025 · world median 212No earlier reading
Iceland: 1 · world median 2 · Laureates born in the country, 1901 to date (people). Nobel Prize Outreach, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 1 to 296.
No current reading for Iceland
Adult Literacy Rate, Gender Parity Index, Tertiary Enrolment (last 2023), Government Spending on Education (last 2022), Inbound Mobility Rate, Tertiary (last 2023), Minimum Proficiency in Reading, End of Primary, Out-of-School Rate, Lower Secondary Age (last 2023), Out-of-School Rate, Primary (last 2023), Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before Primary (last 2023), Pre-Primary Net Enrolment Rate (last 2023), Pupils per Qualified Teacher, Primary, Qualified Teachers in Primary Education, School Life Expectancy (last 2023), Secondary School Enrolment (last 2023), Tertiary Enrolment Ratio (last 2023), Trust in Scientists (last 2018), Wealth Parity Index, Lower Secondary Completion and Youth Literacy Rate. Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.
05Country Index 2026
Education & Knowledge among Iceland’s 16 topics
Education & Knowledge is Iceland’s 12th best-placed topic of 16. Strongest first; each marker sits at the position divided by that topic’s field, so fields of different sizes compare fairly.
- Peace & Security1st of 1773/4 keys
- Work & Labour1st of 1824/4 keys
- Economy & Innovation4th of 1763/4 keys
- Energy5th of 1653/3 keys
- Risk & Resilience8th of 1934/4 keys
- Poverty & Inequality8th of 1593/3 keys
- Democracy & Civil Liberties11th of 1984/4 keys
- Development & Human Capital14th of 1963/3 keys
- Health & Wellbeing15th of 2003/4 keys
- Governance & Institutionsjoint 19th of 1944/4 keys
- Gender & Equality37th of 1833/4 keys
- Education & Knowledge56th of 1983/4 keys
- Digital & Technologyjoint 68th of 1984/4 keys
- Food & Agriculture70th of 1844/4 keys
- Mobility & Trade93rd of 1774/4 keys
- Environment & Sustainabilityjoint 118th of 1863/4 keys
06The top of the list
Who leads on education & knowledge
The three countries placed highest of 198, and the leaders Iceland can most readily be measured against.
1
United Arab EmiratesWestern Asia
1st of 198 · 2 of 4 keys
Photo: Unknown author · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
2
GreeceSouthern Europe
2nd of 198 · 3 of 4 keys
Photo: User:Ggia derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
3
PolandEastern Europe
3rd of 198 · 3 of 4 keys
Photo: Ralf Lotys (Sicherlich) · CC BY 3.0, greyscale
Placed highest nearby
Highest placed on all 4 keys
Moldova7th4/4 keysHighest in Europe
Greece2nd3/4 keysHighest in Northern Europe
Lithuania5th3/4 keysThis page
Iceland56th3/4 keys
Positions out of 198 placed on the topic. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed, and the top of the list is often held on fewer of them.
07Questions
Iceland on education & knowledge: questions answered
Every answer is built from the numbers on this page, so none can say something the page does not.
How does Iceland rank on education & knowledge?
Iceland is placed 56th of 198 countries on Education & Knowledge in the Country Index 2026, from 3 of its 4 key statistics (Out-of-School Rate, Primary, Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before Primary and Upper Secondary Completion Rate). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.
What is the latest Out-of-School Rate, Primary figure for Iceland?
1.821 in 2024 (out-of-school rate, primary age (%)), according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). The world median in the same edition was 3.691.
What is the latest Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before Primary figure for Iceland?
96.91 in 2024 (children one year before primary entry age in organised learning (%)), according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). The world median in the same edition was 85.9.
How have Iceland’s education & knowledge figures changed?
Out-of-School Rate, Primary rose from 0.862 in 2000 to 1.821 in 2023; Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before Primary rose from 92.75 in 2000 to 96.91 in 2023; Upper Secondary Completion Rate rose from 66.42 in 2000 to 66.44 in 2025; Government Spending on Education rose from 6.431 in 2000 to 7.308 in 2022.
Which education & knowledge statistics are missing for Iceland?
No current reading is published for Iceland on Adult Literacy Rate, Gender Parity Index, Tertiary Enrolment, Government Spending on Education, Inbound Mobility Rate, Tertiary, Minimum Proficiency in Reading, End of Primary, Out-of-School Rate, Lower Secondary Age, Out-of-School Rate, Primary, Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before Primary, Pre-Primary Net Enrolment Rate, Pupils per Qualified Teacher, Primary, Qualified Teachers in Primary Education, School Life Expectancy, Secondary School Enrolment, Tertiary Enrolment Ratio, Trust in Scientists, Wealth Parity Index, Lower Secondary Completion and Youth Literacy Rate. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.
08Keep reading
Explore further
Iceland, topic by topic
- Governance & Institutions=19th of 194
- Economy & Innovation4th of 176
- Work & Labour1st of 182
- Health & Wellbeing15th of 200
- Development & Human Capital14th of 196
- Environment & Sustainability=118th of 186
- Gender & Equality37th of 183
- Democracy & Civil Liberties11th of 198
- Peace & Security1st of 177
- Risk & Resilience8th of 193
- Mobility & Trade93rd of 177
- Food & Agriculture70th of 184
- Poverty & Inequality8th of 159
- Energy5th of 165
- Digital & Technology=68th of 198
- The full Iceland profile
Nearby, on education & knowledge
The key statistics, for every country
09Method
Method, sources and how to cite
What this topic does not measure
How much children actually learn is only partly covered. International test scores exist for a limited group of countries, and they are published here as context rather than used as a key, because a key must describe most of the world. Universities, research, and youth and adult literacy also appear as context.
How the Education & Knowledge standing is decided, step by step
A standing is a place in a list, not a mark out of anything. This one is part of the Country Index 2026, and it is worked out like this.
- A few key indicators decide it; the rest are context. 4 indicators on this topic are keys and 42 are charted alongside them without a vote. That split is the point: if every statistic voted, importing five more of one kind would quietly change what the topic is about.
- Each key is read at one edition. ⚠ The keys behind this standing do not all describe the same year — they run from 2023 to 2025, because publishers release on their own schedules. Read the standing as “how this country places now”, not as a snapshot of one year.
- Every country’s published value is turned into a place within that one key’s own field, and then expressed as a share of that field — how far down this key’s list the country sits, rather than how many countries are above it. Keys where a higher published number is worse (terrorism, hunger, disaster risk) are turned round first, so the good end is always the same end.
- Dividing by the field first is the whole reason this works. A place carries the size of its list inside it: 22nd of 44 and 108th of 215 are the same showing, and averaging the numbers 22 and 108 says loudly that they are not. Fields on this site run from about 44 countries to about 215, so averaging raw places would reward a country for happening to be measured in small ones. Dividing each place by its own field removes the size and leaves only the showing.
- The shares are averaged, plainly. One key, one vote — no key is weighted above another, because any weighting would be this site’s opinion presented as a measurement. Countries are then put in order by that average, and the average itself is never published. It is our arithmetic with nothing anchoring it, so printing it would invite it to be read as a measurement somebody made. The position it produces, the band, and the keys it was built from are all published instead — every one of them checkable against the tables on this page.
- A country needs 2 of this topic’s 4 keys — half, rounded up, and never fewer than 2. A standing built from one reading, printed beside one built from four, is two different things sharing a column heading. 198 countries clear the bar here.
- A key has to earn its vote every edition. It must measure at least 120 countries (below that it starts measuring who was surveyed rather than the world), it must not have more than 10% of its field tied at either end, and it must not repeat another key in the same topic — Spearman correlation above 0.92 counts as repeating. A topic needs at least 2 surviving keys to place anyone at all; this one has 4.
- A standing is relative, and the grouping is ours. It says where a country places against the others measured alongside it, so it moves when they move. The publishers listed on this page did not agree to be read together, and each measures its subject its own way: the underlying numbers are theirs, the ordering on top is this site’s — the same method as the rest of the Country Index, applied to one subject instead of all of them.
The key statistics and their licences
- Out-of-School Rate, Primary — UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), CC BY-SA 4.0
- Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before Primary — UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), CC BY-SA 4.0
- Upper Secondary Completion Rate — UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), CC BY-SA 4.0
- Government Spending on Education — UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), CC BY-SA 4.0
The other 28 statistics on this page come from 8 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.
The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photographs
Iceland’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Iceland (banner) — Hansueli Krapf, CC BY-SA 3.0
- United Arab Emirates — Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Greece — User:Ggia derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Poland — Ralf Lotys (Sicherlich), CC BY 3.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Iceland: Education & Knowledge — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/iceland/education