Icelandic girls spend more years in formal education than boys, or nearly 21 years to the boys’ 18.5 years, according to a new report on education published by the OECD. This is one of the greatest differences measured in the OECD states. The average length of study in formal education by Icelandic children grew by six months between 2003 and 2004. There is a greater number of ‘older’ university students in Iceland than in most other OECD countries, with half of all freshmen older than 23 and one-fifth older than 30. RÚV online reports.
Iceland spends 8 percent of its gross domestic production on education, which is the highest percentage measured in the OECD countries. Funding is well above average at the pre- and primary school levels, but below average at the upper secondary and higher education levels.
The average class size is smaller in Icelandic primary schools than in most other countries, with just over 17 pupils to each primary school class, and 18.5 pupils to each class at the lower secondary level.
