Iceland Has Oldest Graduates

A new OECD report on education shows that Iceland is the only place in the developed world where the average age to leave tertiary education is over 30, reports The Guardian.

This does not mean that young Icelanders are shunning university however, in 2012, 38.4% of 25-34 year olds had completed tertiary education which is only a little bit below the OECD average of 39.2%.

The unemployment rate of those who have completed tertiary education is also lower than most of the OECD grouping so those that have completed their degrees are extremely likely to be employed.

Of additional interest is the rate with which young people in Europe live with their parents.

Compared with Italy, where almost half of young people aged 25-34 live with their parents, Iceland’s one in ten does not seem so bad.

However among the Nordic countries, Iceland’s 11.4% is the highest rate of young people living at home. Denmark being the lowest with 1.4%, then Finland with 4.0%, Sweden with 4.1%, and finally Norway with 4.2%.

Share of young people living with their parents: Denmark 1.8% France 11.5% UK 14.4% Italy 46.6% (via @miroslavhajnos) pic.twitter.com/BrGnVzPT7A

— Alberto Nardelli (@AlbertoNardelli) July 16, 2014