Initial government funding per primary student as a percentage of GDP in Iceland

Iceland: Initial government funding per primary student as a percentage of GDP was 23.7% in 2017. ▲ Rising

Latest (2017)
23.7%
Change on year
up 6.9%
World rank
10th
of 122 countries
All-time high
25.3%
in 2006
All-time low
20.8%
in 2001
Years of data
19
1999–2017

Initial government funding per primary student as a percentage of GDP in Iceland, 1999–2017

01020301999200820171999: 21.42000: 21.52001: 20.82002: 24.22003: 23.32004: 23.42005: 24.82006: 25.32007: 24.82008: 25.22009: 252010: 24.32011: 24.92012: 23.42013: 23.32014: 24.12015: 22.72016: 22.22017: 23.7

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

Analysis

Iceland recorded 23.7% for initial government funding per primary student as a percentage of gdp in 2017.

The figure is up 6.9% on the previous year and down 4.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, initial government funding per primary student as a percentage of gdp in Iceland peaked at 25.3% in 2006 and was at its lowest, 20.8%, in 2001.

That places Iceland 10th out of 122 countries with data for 2017, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.

Initial government funding per primary student as a percentage of GDP in Iceland, year by year

Annual values for Initial government funding per primary student as a percentage of GDP per capita in Iceland, 1999 to 2017.
Year Value Change
1999 21.4%
2000 21.5% +0.2%
2001 20.8% -3.0%
2002 24.2% +16.3%
2003 23.3% -3.9%
2004 23.4% +0.7%
2005 24.8% +5.9%
2006 25.3% +1.7%
2007 24.8% -1.7%
2008 25.2% +1.4%
2009 25.0% -0.7%
2010 24.3% -2.7%
2011 24.9% +2.4%
2012 23.4% -6.1%
2013 23.3% -0.2%
2014 24.1% +3.4%
2015 22.7% -5.7%
2016 22.2% -2.3%
2017 23.7% +6.9%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 21.4% 21.4% 21.4% 1
2000s 23.8% 20.8% 25.3% 10
2010s 23.6% 22.2% 24.9% 8

Countries ranked near Iceland

  1. 7 Switzerland 24.9% compare
  2. 8 Moldova 24.4% compare
  3. 9 Portugal 24.2% compare
  4. 11 Denmark 23.7% compare
  5. 12 United Kingdom 23.4% compare
  6. 13 Poland 23.3% compare

See the full ranking of 122 places →

More reference data data for Iceland

All data for Iceland →

Frequently asked questions

What is initial government funding per primary student as a percentage of gdp in Iceland?
Initial government funding per primary student as a percentage of gdp in Iceland was 23.7% in 2017, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest initial government funding per primary student as a percentage of gdp recorded in Iceland?
The highest recorded value was 25.3% in 2006.
What is the lowest initial government funding per primary student as a percentage of gdp recorded in Iceland?
The lowest recorded value was 20.8% in 2001.
How does Iceland rank for initial government funding per primary student as a percentage of gdp?
Iceland ranks 10th out of 122 countries with data for 2017.
Is initial government funding per primary student as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in Iceland?
Over the last ten years it is down 4.4%. 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, published as part of Initial government funding per primary student as a percentage of GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Initial government funding per primary student as a percentage of GDP in Iceland. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 02 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/initial-government-funding-per-primary-student-as-a-percentage-of-gdp-per-capita/iceland/

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About this data

Indicator
Initial government funding per primary student as a percentage of GDP per capita
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
122 places, 1,518 data points, 1995–2019
Last refreshed

Total general (local, regional and central, current and capital) initial government funding of education per student, which includes transfers paid (such as scholarships to students), but excludes transfers received, in this case international transfers to government for education (when foreign donors provide education sector budget support or other support integrated in the government budget). Calculation Method: Total general (local, regional and central) government expenditure (current and capital) on a given level of education (primary, secondary, etc) minus international transfers to government for education, divided by the number of student enrolled at that level of education. This is then expressed as a share of GDP per capita. Limitations: In some instances data on total government expenditure on education refers only to the Ministry of Education, excluding other ministries which may also spend a part of their budget on educational activities. There are also cases where it may not be possible to separate international transfers to government from general government expenditure on education, in which cases they have not been subtracted in the formula. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/