In the third quarter of 2025, libraries lent from their collections to about 16% of residents in Iceland. This share was similar to the same quarter a year earlier, when it was 16.4%. These figures are among new statistics from Statistics Iceland on library borrowers for the period 2023–2025.

The total revenue in external trade services in cultural and creative industries was 19.6 billion ISK in 2024. Audio-and visual services had by far the highest amount of revenue, 13.1 billion ISK. Information services had 5.7 billion ISK, and copyright payments had 761.9 million ISK. Architectural services did not have any available data for the […]

Approximately 3.3 million guests visited museums and related activates in Iceland in 2023 compared with 3.2 million guests the year before, which equates to a 2.3% increase. In both years, most museum visits were in the Capital region, about 1.9 million.

Total taxable wages for culture and creative industries in 2023 were just under 47.5 billion ISK and increased by 5.5% from 2022, when the total taxable wages were 45 billion ISK, or by 2.5 billion ISK. In comparison, the total taxable wages for all fields increased by 13.1%.

Operating revenue in the culture and creative industries was approximately 168 billion ISK for the year 2023 and increased about 9.8%, or 15 billion ISK, from 2022, when it was approximately 153 billion ISK. When adjusting for inflation, the increase was about 1%.

During the school year 2024-2025 81.8% of teaching staff in compulsory schools in Iceland had a teaching licence, compared with 81.3 in the previous year. The number of teachers with a teaching licence increased by 57 from the autumn of 2023.

In the autumn of 2017 there were 2,213 new entrants in three year Bachelor’s degree programmes in universities in Iceland. Three years later, 42.3% had graduated on time with a bachelor’s degree. An additional 1.3% had graduated from other tertiary programmes, such as two-year diploma programmes.

There were 44,758 students attending education at levels above compulsory education in Iceland in the autumn of 2024, an increase of 1,312 students from the previous year, or 3.0%. There were more students attending all levels except for the doctoral level, where there were 52 fewer students than in the previous year.

There were 47,162 pupils in compulsory education in Iceland in the autumn of 2024, 345 fewer than in the previous year, a 0.7% decrease. A total of 174 compulsory schools were operating in Iceland in the 2024-2025 school year, one fewer than in the previous year. Private schools were 13 with almost 1,560 pupils, the […]

More than 64% of 4,411 new entrants at the upper secondary level of education in 2019 had graduated in 2023, a similar proportion as among new entrants in 2018. Almost 15% of new entrants were still in education without having graduated four years after entering and almost 21% had dropped out.

In total, 222,900 individuals were employed in the Icelandic labour market in December 2025, according to register-based data. The number of employed decreased by around 300 between years, which corresponds to a decrease of 1.5%. The number of employed females in December was around 103,100 and the number of males around 117,800.

The main results of the labour market survey of Statistics Iceland for the fourth quarter of 2025 show that an average of 233,600 people aged 16 to 74 were in the labour force. Of these, 221,800 were employed and 11,800 were unemployed and actively seeking work. The activity rate was 80.0%, the employment rate was […]

According to the Icelandic Labour force survey, the unemployment rate among individuals aged 16 to 74 was 4.2% in December 2025. The number of unemployed persons was approximately 9,800, the employment rate stood at 76%, corresponding to about 221,900 individuals and the activity rate was 79.3%, representing about 231,700 people in the labour force.

In total, 225,100 individuals were employed in the Icelandic labour market in November 2025, according to register-based data. The number of employed increased by around 1,400 between years, which corresponds to an increase of 0,6%. The number of employed females in November was around 105,100 and the number of males around 120,000.

According to the Icelandic Labour Force Survey, the unemployment rate among individuals aged 16 to 74 was 6.5% in November 2025. The number of unemployed persons was approximately 15,200, the employment rate stood at 74.7%, corresponding to about 217,900 individuals and the activity rate was 79.9%, representing about 233,100 people in the labour force.