Two new religious organisations were recognised in Iceland in 2023, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and Parish of St. Bartholomew the Apostle. Figures have been updated.

In 2022, 70% of applications to three major culture funds came from own account workers, 10% came from legal entities and 20% from private individuals. Meanwhile, the success ratio was highest among legal entities.

A total of 1.8 million guests visited museums and related activities in 2021, increasing by 12% from 2020. Proportionally the number increased the most at nature museums, by 54%. The number also increased at art museums and fish museums but for history museums the number decreased by 13%.

Publication of a news release on museums and related activities 2021, which was scheduled today Wednesday 13 September, has been postponed until further notice.

Operating revenues in cultural and creative industries were 126 billion ISK in 2021, increasing by 5.6% from 2020 (numbers are adjusted for inflation). The operating revenues were highest for film and TV, or 22% of the total amount.

In 2024, 40% of the 16-74 year old population had tertiary education, over 31% of males and over 49% of females. Just over one out of four inhabitants had only completed basic education and more than 34% had completed upper secondary education. The share of 16-74 olds with tertiary education in the Capital region was […]

In 2022-2023, there were 877 graduations with the journeyman’s exam. Never before has the number of graduations with the journeyman’s exam in one school year been greater. Their number increased by 185 from the previous year, an increase of 26.7%. The increase was 29.4% among males, while the increase was 16.6% among females.

Statistics Iceland now publishes for the first time data on personnel in pre-primary schools by background. The number of staff members with foreign background has increased in recent years. The proportion of staff with no foreign background decreased from 78.8% in 2020 to 71.7% in 2023, while the proportion of immigrants working in pre-primary schools […]

In December 2023, 19,765 children attended pre-primary schools in Iceland, a decrease of 145 (-0.7%) children from the previous year. No children were reported attending the two preschools in Grindavík, but in December 2022 189 children had attended those schools. In all, there were 261 pre-primary schools operating in December 2023, three fewer than in […]

Around one-quarter of the population aged 25-64, or 51,500 persons, took part in lifelong learning in 2023, 21.3% of men and 29.3% of women. This is a similar proportion as in the previous year, when 26.7% of the population took part in lifelong learning. Participation in lifelong learning increases with more education and is greater […]

In May 2025, the unemployment rate was 3.1% according to seasonally adjusted results from the Icelandic labour force survey. The seasonally adjusted employment rate was 78.6% and the activity rate 81.1%. Seasonally adjusted unemployment decreased by 0.2 percentage points from the previous month. The employment rate remained nearly unchanged and the labour force participation rate […]

In total, 217,700 individuals were employed in the Icelandic labour market in April 2025, according to register-based data. The number of employed increased by around 500 between years, which corresponds to an increase of 0.2%. The number of employed females in April was around 101,700 and the number of males around 115,900.

Unemployment was 3.3% in April 2025, according to seasonally adjusted results from the Icelandic Labour Force survey. The seasonally adjusted employment rate was 78.6% and the activity rate 81.3%.

In total, 4,770 jobs were vacant in the Icelandic labour market in the first quarter of 2025, according to Statistics Iceland’s Job Vacancy survey. At the same time, about 230,000 jobs were occupied and the job vacancy rate 2.0%.

In total, 216,300 individuals were employed in the Icelandic labour market in March 2025, according to register-based data. The number of employed increased by around 800 between years, which corresponds to an increase of 0.3%. The number of employed females in March was around 101,000 and the number of males around 115,200.