There were 43,446 students at levels above compulsory education in Iceland in the autumn of 2023, a decrease of 618 students from the previous year, or 1.4%. There were 71 fewer students at the upper secondary level and 601 fewer at the tertiary levels of education, while the number of students at the post-secondary non-tertiary level increased by 54. The number of students at the levels of education above compulsory education has decreased year by year since 2020, when more than 46,300 students studied at these levels.
In the autumn of 2023 94.8% of 16 years olds were registered students at the upper secondary level, down from 95.4% in 2022. The last time this rate was under 95% was in 2018. A slightly higher proportion of 17- and 18-year-olds were registered students in the autumn of 2023 compared to 2022.
There were almost 19,900 male students and almost 23,600 females at levels above compulsory education. The number of males increased by 36 from the previous year (0.2%) while the number of females decreased by 654 (-2.7%). Males were 54% of students at the upper secondary level, 74% at the post-secondary non-tertiary level and 35% of students at the tertiary levels of education.
Icelandic citizens were 91,8% of students above compulsory education, and foreign citizens were 8.2% of students. This is the highest proportion of foreign citizens studying in schools above the compulsory level in Iceland in Statistics Iceland’s data, but the proportion was 7.4% in the autumn of 2022. Polish citizens were most numerous among the foreigners, over 600, but more than 200 students were citizens of the United States, and a slightly lower number came from Germany.
Most students at the tertiary level study social sciences, business and law
The number of students at the tertiary level in the autumn of 2023 was by far the greatest in the field of social sciences, business and law, or more than 6,200 students. The second highest number of students was found in the field of health and welfare, over 3,500. Almost 2,900 studied education and more than 2,300 were in the humanities and the arts. In addition, more than 2,100 studied sciences, mathematics and computing and almost 1,900 were in engineering, manufacturing and construction. The last two broad fields of study are often called the STEM fields of study, and many countries put an emphasis on increasing the number of students in the STEM fields. The share of students in the STEM fields in Iceland has been between 19 and 21% of students at the tertiary level in the last decade, and was 20.2% in the autumn of 2023.
About the data
Information is gathered directly from the schools as well as 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.