The number of students decreases by 1.6%
There were 44,949 students at levels above compulsory education in Iceland in autumn 2010, a decrease of 435 students from the previous year or 1.6%. This is the first time that the number of students above compulsory education decreases between years since the revision of the Statistics Iceland student register in 1997. There were 25,090 students at the upper secondary level, a decrease of 4.8% from the previous year, and 990 students at the post-secondary non-tertiary level. There were 18,869 students at the tertiary level as a whole, 4.5% increase. From the autumn of 2009 the number of students at the doctorate level increased by 52.7%.
Around 95% of 16 year olds attend school
The enrolment rate of 16 year olds in Iceland in the autumn term of 2010 was 95%, the same as in 2009. The enrolment rate had increased considerably between 2008 and 2009. The enrolment rate for 17 year olds is 88%, a decrease of two percentage points from the previous year. Around 82% of 18 year olds attend school, an increase of one percentage point from the autumn of 2009.
The highest enrolment rate of 16 year olds is in the East and Northeast regions, 96%. The enrolment rate is lowest in the Westfjords (91%) and in the Southwest (92%).
The number of students at the upper secondary level has decreased from the previous year in all 5 year age groups from 15 to 54 years old. This decline coincides with a considerable decrease in the number of students in evening school (45.5%) and distance learning programmes (18.8%) at the upper secondary level since the autumn of 2009.
In excess of one-third of students at the upper secondary level are enrolled in vocational programmes
Around 66.0% of students at the upper secondary level are enrolled in general programmes while 34.0% are enrolled in vocational programmes. The share of students in vocational programmes is higher among males, or 39.0%, while 29.1% of female students are enrolled in vocational programmes. The share of upper secondary students in vocational programmes has not changed much in the last decade, when it has ranged from 33.8% to 38.5%.
A great increase in the number of students at the doctorate level
The number of students at the doctorate level has increased year by year. There were 14 doctoral students in 1997 but 478 in 2010. The number of younger students in doctorate programmes has increased, which indicates that more students enter a doctoral programme soon after completing a Master’s programme. From 1998 to 2006 the largest age group at the doctorate level was 30-34 years old but since 2007 the largest age group has been 25-29 year olds. Women have been the majority of doctoral students since 2001 and in autumn 2010 they were 58.2% of doctoral students. Almost one-quarter (23.4%) of doctoral students are foreigners, mainly coming from other European countries.
Two in three Master’s degree students are women
The number of students preparing for a Master’s degree has increased year by year. There were 383 students in the autumn of 1997 but 4,243 in the autumn of 2010. Two out of every three Master’s degree students are women, or 66.7% of students. The number of students preparing for a basic degree, e.g. a Bachelor or a diploma degree, has increased for the last two years, after a decline in 2004-2008. They were 14,005 in 2010, and never before have more students studied for a basic degree. In addition there were 143 students in short, practical programmes at the tertiary level; their number has decreased slightly in recent years.
About the data
Information is gathered directly from the schools and refers to the number of students in the middle of October. Each student is only counted once even if he is studying in two schools. The enrolment rate is computed by classifying students by age and domicile on December 1 each year and computing their proportion of the relevant age group.
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