Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Iceland
Iceland: Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education was 15.7% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Iceland, 1990–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Iceland recorded 15.7% for share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in 2022.
The figure is down 5.6% on the previous year and down 1.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Iceland peaked at 17.4% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 11.0%, in 1995.
Iceland ranks 54th of 194 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 30 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 12.7% | 11.0% | 16.6% | 7 |
| 2000s | 14.7% | 11.1% | 16.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 16.1% | 13.4% | 17.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.3% | 15.7% | 16.8% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
- 51 El Salvador 15.9% compare
- 52 Hong Kong 15.7% compare
- 53 Afghanistan 15.7% compare
- 55 Saudi Arabia 15.6% compare
- 56 Uruguay 15.6% compare
- 57 Algeria 15.5% compare
More economy & growth data for Iceland
- Exports of goods and services 15.48 billion current US$ (2025)
- Final consumption expenditure 75.7% (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added 688.53 billion constant LCU (2025)
- Gross national expenditure 39.45 billion current US$ (2025)
- Gross national expenditure 5.07 trillion current LCU (2025)
- Gross national expenditure 23.89 billion constant 2015 US$ (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added -1.2% (2025)
- Gross national expenditure 102.3% (2025)
- Gross fixed capital formation 10.29 billion current US$ (2025)
- Exports of goods and services 40.1% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Iceland?
- Share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Iceland was 15.7% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 17.4% in 2019.
- What is the lowest share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.0% in 1995.
- How does Iceland rank for share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education?
- Iceland ranks 54th out of 194 countries with data for 2022.
- Is share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.4%. 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 GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Percentage of total general government spending (across all sectors) that is allocated to education.