Sweden vs United States: Share of children who have completed primary school
Sweden
100.0%
in 2025
United States
100.0%
in 2025
Sweden rank
8th
United States rank
6th
Share of children who have completed primary school over time
- Sweden
- United States
How they compare
United States currently reports 100.0% against 100.0% in Sweden, a difference of 0.0%.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 45 shared years of data; in 1981 it was Sweden ahead.
Sweden ranks 8th and United States ranks 6th of 165 countries.
Across the 5 decades both report, Sweden averaged higher in 4 and United States in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Sweden | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 99.9% | 98.3% | 1.6% | Sweden |
| 1990s | 99.9% | 98.9% | 1.1% | Sweden |
| 2000s | 99.9% | 99.5% | 0.5% | Sweden |
| 2010s | 99.9% | 99.8% | 0.2% | Sweden |
| 2020s | 99.9% | 99.9% | 0.0% | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of children who have completed primary school, Sweden or United States?
- United States, at 100.0% against 100.0% in Sweden as of 2025.
- What is the difference in share of children who have completed primary school between Sweden and United States?
- 0.0%, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Sweden and United States?
- 45 years are reported by both, from 1981 to 2025.
- How do Sweden and United States rank globally for share of children who have completed primary school?
- Sweden ranks 8th and United States ranks 6th of 165 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of children who have completed primary school. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Share of children who are three to five years older than the official age for the last grade of primary education who have successfully completed it. This broader age band is used to include children who started school late or had to resit particular years.