Denmark vs Sweden: Gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education
Denmark
99.2%
in 2024
Sweden
99.4%
in 2024
Denmark rank
19th
Sweden rank
16th
Gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education over time
- Denmark
- Sweden
How they compare
Sweden currently reports 99.4% against 99.2% in Denmark, a difference of 0.2%.
The two have swapped places 7 times across 49 shared years of data; in 1820 it was Denmark ahead.
Denmark ranks 19th and Sweden ranks 16th of 190 countries.
Across the 20 decades both report, Denmark averaged higher in 17 and Sweden in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Denmark | Sweden | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1820s | 66.2% | 42.0% | 24.2% | Denmark |
| 1830s | 69.5% | 47.3% | 22.1% | Denmark |
| 1840s | 72.5% | 52.7% | 19.9% | Denmark |
| 1850s | 75.4% | 57.7% | 17.7% | Denmark |
| 1860s | 78.1% | 62.1% | 16.0% | Denmark |
| 1870s | 80.6% | 66.4% | 14.2% | Denmark |
| 1880s | 83.1% | 70.7% | 12.4% | Denmark |
| 1890s | 85.6% | 75.1% | 10.5% | Denmark |
| 1900s | 88.1% | 79.4% | 8.7% | Denmark |
| 1910s | 90.6% | 83.7% | 6.9% | Denmark |
| 1920s | 93.1% | 88.1% | 5.0% | Denmark |
| 1930s | 95.6% | 92.4% | 3.2% | Denmark |
| 1940s | 98.1% | 96.8% | 1.4% | Denmark |
| 1950s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% | — |
| 1960s | 100.0% | 96.5% | 3.5% | Denmark |
| 1970s | 98.5% | 96.6% | 1.9% | Denmark |
| 1980s | 95.0% | 95.7% | 0.7% | Sweden |
| 2000s | 99.7% | 99.3% | 0.3% | Denmark |
| 2010s | 99.6% | 99.0% | 0.6% | Denmark |
| 2020s | 99.4% | 99.4% | 0.0% | Sweden |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education, Denmark or Sweden?
- Sweden, at 99.4% against 99.2% in Denmark as of 2024.
- What is the difference in gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education between Denmark and Sweden?
- 0.2%, with Sweden ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Denmark and Sweden?
- 49 years are reported by both, from 1820 to 2024.
- How do Denmark and Sweden rank globally for gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education?
- Denmark ranks 19th and Sweden ranks 16th of 190 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Share of girls of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.