Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Sweden

Sweden: Share of children who are not in pre-primary school was 1.4% in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)
1.4%
Change on year
up 48.7%
World rank
159th
of 179 countries
All-time high
3.5%
in 2011
All-time low
0.1%
in 2003
Years of data
24
2001–2024

Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Sweden, 2001–2024

01232001201220242001: 0.13 %2002: 0.499 %2003: 0.119 %2004: 0.194 %2005: 0.87 %2006: 0.787 %2007: 0.38 %2008: 0.78 %2009: 2.2 %2010: 2.8 %2011: 3.5 %2012: 1.9 %2013: 2.6 %2014: 2.1 %2015: 1.7 %2016: 1.4 %2017: 0.645 %2018: 1.2 %2019: 1.1 %2020: 1.1 %2021: 0.963 %2022: 1.1 %2023: 0.908 %2024: 1.4 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2024, share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Sweden stood at 1.4%.

The figure is up 48.7% on the previous year and down 34.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Sweden peaked at 3.5% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 2003.

That places Sweden 159th out of 179 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 0.7% 0.1% 2.2% 9
2010s 1.9% 0.6% 3.5% 10
2020s 1.1% 0.9% 1.4% 5

Countries ranked near Sweden

  1. 156 Mongolia 1.6% compare
  2. 157 Spain 1.4% compare
  3. 158 Moldova 1.4% compare
  4. 160 Vietnam 1.2% compare
  5. 161 Ghana 1.0% compare
  6. 162 Dominica 0.9% compare

See the full ranking of 179 places →

More education data for Sweden

All data for Sweden →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Sweden?
Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Sweden was 1.4% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of children who are not in pre-primary school recorded in Sweden?
The highest recorded value was 3.5% in 2011.
What is the lowest share of children who are not in pre-primary school recorded in Sweden?
The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 2003.
How does Sweden rank for share of children who are not in pre-primary school?
Sweden ranks 159th out of 179 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of children who are not in pre-primary school rising or falling in Sweden?
Over the last ten years it is down 34.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Sweden data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children who are not in pre-primary school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Share of children who are not in pre-primary school
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
179 places, 2,923 data points, 1998–2025
Last refreshed

Children one year before the official primary entry age (typically age 5) not enrolled in pre-primary education, expressed as a percentage of all children in that age group.