Facts and figures

Iceland is parliamentary constitutional republic with a directly elected President and parliament. An independent republic since 1944, Iceland has been a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization since 1949 and of the European Free Trade Association since 1969. ¹

Iceland is located in the northern Atlantic just south of the Arctic Circle and extends across the Mid-Atlantic Ridge plate boundary and experiences high levels of volcanic activity.

Iceland has seven universities. The University of Iceland is the largest (14,000 students) and oldest institution and the only one to offer Masters’ and PhD study in all major academic disciplines. ²

Around 40% of young adults in Iceland attain a tertiary education.³   In 2023, more than 4,000 people in Iceland were employed in R&D work.⁴     

Gross expenditure on research and development (GERD) increased significantly between 2019 and 2023 by 61% to reach 114.5 billion krónur and rising as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product to 2.65%. The main sectors financing GERD in 2022 were business enterprise providing 52.5%, government 25.8% and inward investment 17.7%. ⁴

The European Patent Office granted 62 patents to residents of Iceland in 2024.⁵

Life scientists in Iceland have access to a funding from the Icelandic Research Fund and other sources⁶   and through Horizon 2020 projects, European Research Council grants, and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions⁷ as well as EMBO.