Early leavers from education and training in Iceland
16.7% of people aged 18 to 24 in Iceland had left education early in 2025. The value for 2025 is the highest since 2019. The source marks a break in the series within this span, so values before and after it may not be fully comparable.
Iceland, 2025
16.7%
Change from 2024
+1.4percentage points
European Union, 2025
9.1%
Median of OECD (38 countries), 2025
7.3%
Position in 2025
2nd of 34
Early leavers from education and training in Iceland over time
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Iceland
European Union
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The chart loads when you scroll to it. The table below shows the same data.
The chart shows a calculation from the published values. The table below keeps the published values.
% of population aged 18 to 24. Source: Eurostat. Gaps mean no published value; points are not joined across missing years.
| Period | Iceland | European Union |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 16.7% | 9.1% |
| 2024 | 15.3% | 9.6% |
| 2023 | 15.8% | 9.6% |
| 2022 | 16.5% | 9.6% |
| 2021 | 14.4%b (break in time series) | 9.7%b (break in time series) |
| 2020 | 14.8%b (break in time series) | 10.0% |
| 2019 | 17.9% | 10.1% |
| 2018 | 21.5% | 10.5% |
| 2017 | 17.8% | 10.5% |
| 2016 | 19.8% | 10.6% |
| 2015 | 18.8% | 11.0% |
| 2014 | 19.1%b (break in time series) | 11.1%b (break in time series) |
| 2013 | 20.5% | 11.8% |
| 2012 | 20.1% | 12.6% |
| 2011 | 19.7% | 13.2% |
| 2010 | 22.6% | 13.8% |
| 2009 | 21.3%b (break in time series) | 14.0% |
| 2008 | 24.4% | 14.3% |
| 2007 | 23.2% | 14.7% |
| 2006 | not availableu (low reliability) | 15.2%b (break in time series) |
| 2005 | 24.9% | 15.6% |
| 2004 | 24.9% | 16.0% |
| 2003 | 20.3%b (break in time series) | 16.4%b (break in time series) |
| 2002 | 28.8% | 16.9% |
| 2001 | 30.9% | – |
Flags: b break in time series; u low reliability . A dash means no value was published.
In short
- That is a change of +1.4 percentage points from 15.3% in 2024.
- Since 2015, when it was 18.8%, the figure has changed by −2.1 percentage points. The source marks a break in the series during this period, so part of the change may come from a change in method.
- Among the 34 countries with data for 2025, Iceland has the 2nd highest value.
- The figure for the European Union in 2025 was 9.1%.
More for Iceland
All statistics for Iceland
Tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 34
44.8%
2025 · Eurostat
NEET rate, ages 15 to 29
4.2%
2025 · Eurostat
Adult participation in learning
27.3%
2025 · Eurostat
ILO estimate of the youth NEET rate
4.0%
2025 · ILOSTAT
Out-of-school children
1.8%
2023 · UNESCO UIS
Out-of-school adolescents
1.6%
2023 · UNESCO UIS