How Many Schools Are in Iceland? (2026 Data)

Iceland has about 250 preschools, 150 compulsory schools, 30 upper secondary schools and 7 universities¹ - a small system by international standards, serving a population of 390,000. What the system lacks in scale it makes up for in generosity: public education is tuition-free from preschool through university, and the student-teacher ratio of 10:1² in primary schools is roughly half the OECD average².

The Iceland school system follows the Nordic model: municipal preschools and compulsory schools, state-run upper secondary schools, and a university sector where public tuition is free - students pay only a registration fee of about ISK 100,000 ($780) a year³. This page counts every level of the system, from the Hjalli model's gender-separate preschools to the University of Iceland's 14,000 students.

How many schools in Iceland?

How many schools are in Iceland? The education system has four levels, each with a different institutional count:

• Preschools (ages 1-5): about 250 institutions, run by municipalities¹
• Compulsory schools (ages 6-15): about 150 schools covering grades 1-10¹
• Upper secondary schools (ages 16-19): about 30 schools, run by the central government⁴
• Universities: 7 institutions - 5 public and 2 private⁴. The number of preschools in Iceland total has remained stable at about 250 for several years, while the Iceland number of preschools per capita is among the highest in the OECD¹

The counts are a moving target: preschools close and merge as rural populations shrink, while new compulsory schools open in growing Reykjavík suburbs. The compulsory school count includes both separate primary and lower-secondary schools and combined "grunnskóli" institutions that cover the full ten-year compulsory programme¹.

The 250 preschools serve about 26,000 children aged 1-5, with attendance rates above 95% - among the highest in the OECD. The preschool system's coverage is a policy achievement: Iceland was one of the first countries to guarantee a preschool place to every child, and the municipal responsibility for preschools means every town and village has at least one. The rural schools are small - some with fewer than ten children - but the municipality must operate them regardless, which means no Icelandic child faces a daily commute to preschool longer than the distance to the nearest village¹.

The 150 compulsory schools show a similar geographic distribution. Reykjavík and its suburbs account for about 40 schools serving the capital's 230,000 residents, while the remaining 110 schools serve towns and villages around the coast. The smallest compulsory schools - those with fewer than 20 students - are found in the Westfjords and the east fjords, where a single teacher may cover multiple grade levels in a single classroom. These schools are expensive per student but culturally essential: they keep villages viable by guaranteeing that families with children can stay¹.

Preschools and the Hjalli model

Preschool is where Iceland's education system is most distinctive. Attendance is not compulsory but is nearly universal, with about 250 institutions serving children from 12 months to age 6. Most are municipally run; a growing minority are private with public funding¹.

The Hjalli model

The Hjalli model is Iceland's most famous pedagogical export. Founded by Margrét Pála Ólafsdóttir in 1989, The hjalli model Iceland number of preschools stands at about 10-15 institutions that separate boys and girls for most activities and apply a compensatory gender-aware curriculum - training boys in empathy and girls in physical confidence⁵. The model has been featured in international media and debated in academic journals, but its core insight - that gender stereotypes form before age three - has influenced Icelandic preschool education well beyond the Hjalli network itself⁵.

Iceland's preschool system also gained attention for another reason: the country was the first in the world to require preschools to register children by gender in official statistics, which made the Hjalli model's impact measurable. The number of Hjalli preschools has remained stable at about 10-15, with waiting lists in most locations⁵.

Compulsory and upper secondary education

Compulsory education in Iceland runs from age 6 to 16 - a ten-year programme called grunnskóli that combines primary and lower secondary in a single school. About 150 schools deliver this programme across the country, from large suburban schools with 500+ students to rural schools with fewer than 10¹.

Upper secondary education (framhaldsskóli) is not compulsory but is attended by virtually all 16-19-year-olds. About 30 schools offer academic, vocational or mixed programmes, leading to the stúdentspróf matriculation exam that qualifies for university entry⁴. How many colleges are in Iceland? The answer depends on the definition: the 7 universities include several that would be called "colleges" in the US system, and Iceland also has vocational and arts colleges that don't grant degrees. But the conventional answer - counting degree-granting higher education institutions - is 7⁴. The largest - Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík (MR) - is also the oldest, founded in 1846.

Class sizes are among the smallest in the OECD: an average of 18 students² per primary class, compared with an OECD average of 21². The student-teacher ratio of 10:1² in primary schools is about half the EU average, reflecting Iceland's commitment to small learning groups over economy of scale².

How many universities are in Iceland?

How many universities are there in Iceland? Iceland has 7 universities: five public and two private. The University of Iceland, founded in 1911, is the largest with about 14,000 students³, followed by Reykjavík University (a private institution founded in 1998) with about 3,500³. The remaining five - Akureyri, Agricultural University, Bifröst, Iceland Academy of the Arts and Hólar - together enrol fewer than 4,000 students³. The university of Iceland number of students by faculty shows the largest cohorts in social sciences, education and engineering, with the medical school and law school among the most competitive to enter³.

How much does university cost in Iceland?

How much is university in Iceland? Public university tuition is free for all nationalities³. Students pay only a registration fee of about ISK 100,000 per year (roughly $780), which covers student services rather than instruction. Private institutions - Reykjavík University and the Iceland Academy of the Arts - charge full tuition of about ISK 2.2 million ($17,100) per year³.

This makes Iceland one of the few countries where a degree from a public university costs nothing beyond living expenses - a policy that applies to international students as well as Icelanders, though most undergraduate programmes are taught in Icelandic³.

Literacy and years of schooling

The literacy rate of Iceland is 99%² - among the highest in the world, and equal to its Nordic neighbours. The average years of schooling in Iceland is approximately 12.5 years², and about 45%¹ of the adult population holds a tertiary (university-level) qualification, one of the highest rates in the OECD².

The combination of free education from preschool to university, small class sizes, and a highly educated population creates a system where the question is not how many schools Iceland has, but how a country of 390,000 sustains seven universities and a 10:1 student-teacher ratio. The answer is the same one that sustains 250 preschools for 26,000 children: a national commitment to education as a public good, funded by taxes and delivered without tuition at every level[^gov]⁶.

Iceland's education system is not without its challenges. Teacher shortages have been reported in both preschools and compulsory schools, with an increasing share of unlicensed teachers filling positions that require certification. The rural school network is expensive to maintain, and debates about consolidation surface in every municipal election. And the university sector's seven institutions for 390,000 people raises questions about duplication and research efficiency - debates that play out in every budget cycle⁴.

But the system's achievements are equally real: a 99% literacy rate, one of the world's highest tertiary-education participation rates, and a student-teacher ratio that gives Icelandic children more individual attention than almost any other country provides. The question of how many schools Iceland has is really a question of what kind of society Iceland wants to be - and the answer, consistently, is one that builds a school in every village and charges nothing to walk through the door

The scale is worth restating: 437 institutions, 390,000 people, 103,000 square kilometres. Every number in this system is small by world standards, and every one of them matters to the community it serves.¹.

The system's cost is measured not just in money but in the choices it forces. Every rural school kept open is a school that cannot benefit from economies of scale; every small class is a teacher who could teach twice as many students in a larger school; every university in a regional town is a department that might be stronger if consolidated in the capital. These trade-offs are visible in the numbers on this page - and Iceland has consistently chosen the version that costs more and serves fewer people per institution, because the alternative is a country that empties out beyond its capital¹.

The Hjalli model in detail

The Hjalli model is Iceland's most internationally discussed pedagogical approach. Founded in 1989 by Margrét Pála Ólafsdóttir, who developed the method while working as a preschool teacher, the model operates on a simple but controversial premise: children as young as two are separated by gender for parts of the day, and each group receives targeted training to counteract the gender stereotypes that research shows form in the first years of life⁵.

Boys practice negotiation, empathy and verbal expression - skills the model identifies as underdeveloped in boys raised traditionally. Girls practice physical confidence, risk-taking and assertiveness. The separation is not total: children share meals, outdoor play and mixed activities, and the goal is explicitly to prepare them for a gender-equal society rather than to isolate them⁵.

The model attracted international attention when it was profiled in documentaries and news features, and its preschools have waiting lists despite the controversy. The exact number of Hjalli-model preschools in Iceland varies between 10 and 15 depending on how many follow the model fully versus partially, and the organisation also operates a school for older children and a summer programme⁵.

Free education: how it works

Iceland's public education system is tuition-free at every level, from preschool through university. Preschools charge small meal fees; compulsory schools charge nothing; upper secondary schools charge nothing; and public universities charge only a registration fee of about ISK 100,000 per year (roughly $780)³.

The free-tuition policy applies to all nationalities, not just Icelanders - which has made Iceland an attractive destination for international students, particularly from other EEA countries. Private universities charge full tuition, but the two private institutions (Reykjavík University and the Iceland Academy of the Arts) are smaller than the public universities and serve a more specialised student body³.

The cost to the state is substantial: education is one of the largest line items in the Icelandic budget, and the per-student cost of running small rural schools with 10:1 student-teacher ratios is far above what a market system would bear. But the political consensus across all parties has been to maintain the system - a reflection of the value Icelandic society places on equal access to education regardless of geography or income⁴.

Conclusions

1. Iceland has about 250 preschools, 150 compulsory schools, 30 upper secondary schools and 7 universities - a total of roughly 437 educational institutions serving 390,000 people across the country's inhabited coastal strip¹.
2. Public education is tuition-free at every level, including university - students pay only a registration fee of about $780 a year³.
3. The Hjalli model's gender-separate preschools are a uniquely Icelandic pedagogical experiment, operating in about 10-15 institutions since 1989⁵.
4. The 10:1 primary student-teacher ratio is roughly half the OECD average, reflecting a commitment to small learning groups over economy of scale².
5. The 99% literacy rate and 12.5 years of average schooling place Iceland among the most educated populations on Earth - and the free-tuition policy makes higher education accessible to every resident regardless of income³.