An increase in the number of students at the post-secondary non-tertiary level and second stage of tertiary education
There were 41,598 students at levels above compulsory education in Iceland in the autumn of 2017, a similar number as in the previous year. Fewer students were registered at the upper secondary level of education. However, there was a considerable increase in the number of students at the post-secondary non-tertiary level and second stage of the tertiary level of education (studying for the doctoral degree).
There were 22,530 students at the upper secondary level, a decrease of 0.3% from the autumn of 2016. The majority of students were males, or 51.3%. A total of 17,892 students studied at the tertiary level as a whole, a decrease of 0.8 percentage points from the previous year. Women were 63.5% of students at the tertiary level. There were 637 students studying for the doctoral degree, an increase of almost 36% from the autumn of 2016. Similarly, there was an increase of more than 20% among students at the post-secondary non-tertiary level of education to 1,176 students in the autumn of 2017.
One out of every three students studying for the doctoral degree has foreign citizenship
In the autumn of 2017 about one third of students studying for the doctoral degree had a citizenship other than Icelandic, 213 students. The number of foreign students at the doctoral level has doubled since 2011 when they were 108. There were 424 Icelandic doctoral students but 114 came from European countries, other than the Nordic countries, 44 came from Asia, 26 from America and 18 from the Nordic countries. There was an increase of students at the doctoral level in all broad fields of study from the previous year.
At the post-secondary non-tertiary level of education the increase in the number of students was mostly due to an increase in the number of students preparing to become licensed in real estate and ship sales.
Fewer students at the tertiary level in sciences and engineering
Most students at the tertiary level studied in the field of social sciences, business and law in the autumn of 2017, 6,207 students. The second highest number of students studied in the field of health and welfare, 2,657 students. The number of students in the field of sciences, mathematics and computing peaked in 2013 when 2,248 students were enrolled in the field. The number has since decreased, with 2,057 students in the autumn of 2017. The number of students in the field of engineering, manufacturing and construction has also decreased since 2013, from 1,797 to 1,634 students. The decrease was mainly noted among males, which were 1,021 in the autumn of 2017, a decrease of almost 15% from 2013. On the other hand, the number of women (613) in this field increased by almost 3% from 2013 to 2017.
Women outnumbered men in all fields of study at the tertiary level of education except in sciences, mathematics and computing as well as in the field of engineering, manufacturing and construction. The share of women was greatest in the field of health and welfare, 84.6% of students, but smallest in the field of engineering, manufacturing and construction, 37.5% of students.
More 16 year olds in education
A total of 95.0% of 16 year olds attended education above compulsory education in the autumn of 2017, a little higher enrolment rate than in 2016 (94.7%), but lower than in 2011-2015, when the rate was as high as 95.5%. The enrolment rate was 94.8% for boys and 95.1% for girls in the autumn of 2017.
The enrolment rate was lower than in the autumn of 2016 for 17 and 19 year olds, but more students aged 18 or 20 years attended school than in the previous year.
The enrolment rate was higher for females than males in each age cohort from 16 to 29 years of age, with the exception of 20 year olds, and at the tertiary level from the age of 30. When looking only at the upper secondary level there were more male than female students aged 20 to 24 years.
Almost one out of every three students at the upper secondary level was enrolled in vocational programmes
Almost one out of every three students at the upper secondary level was enrolled in vocational programmes in the autumn of 2017, a slight decrease from the previous year, while 68.6% were enrolled in general programmes. The share of students in vocational programmes has not changed much during the last decade but was 36-38% in 2000-2005. The proportion of students in vocational education was higher among males, or 38.8%, and 23.5% for female students.
About the data
Information is gathered directly from the schools and from the computer programme INNA used by schools at the upper secondary level, and refers to the number of students in the middle of October each year. The enrolment rate is computed by classifying students by age and domicile each year and computing their proportion of the relevant age group.