Gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Norway
Norway: Gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education was 98.6% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Norway, 1820–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Norway stood at 98.6%.
The figure is down 0.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Norway peaked at 100.0% in 1950 and was at its lowest, 51.1%, in 1820.
Norway ranks 32nd of 190 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 57 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1820s | 52.2% | 51.1% | 53.3% | 2 |
| 1830s | 56.6% | 55.5% | 57.7% | 2 |
| 1840s | 60.9% | 59.8% | 62.0% | 2 |
| 1850s | 65.1% | 64.0% | 66.1% | 2 |
| 1860s | 69.0% | 68.1% | 70.0% | 2 |
| 1870s | 72.7% | 71.8% | 73.6% | 2 |
| 1880s | 76.2% | 75.3% | 77.0% | 2 |
| 1890s | 79.7% | 78.8% | 80.5% | 2 |
| 1900s | 83.2% | 82.3% | 84.1% | 2 |
| 1910s | 86.7% | 85.8% | 87.6% | 2 |
| 1920s | 90.3% | 89.4% | 91.2% | 2 |
| 1930s | 93.8% | 92.9% | 94.7% | 2 |
| 1940s | 97.3% | 96.5% | 98.2% | 2 |
| 1950s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1960s | 97.0% | 95.0% | 99.0% | 2 |
| 1970s | 96.5% | 93.1% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1980s | 99.0% | 99.0% | 99.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 99.6% | 99.4% | 100.0% | 9 |
| 2010s | 99.5% | 99.2% | 99.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 98.9% | 98.6% | 99.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Norway
More education data for Norway
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 65.0% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 15.9% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 13 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 98.5% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 51,889 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.41 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 98.5% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Norway?
- Gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Norway was 98.6% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education recorded in Norway?
- The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 1950.
- What is the lowest gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education recorded in Norway?
- The lowest recorded value was 51.1% in 1820.
- How does Norway rank for gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education?
- Norway ranks 32nd out of 190 countries with data for 2024.
- Is gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education rising or falling in Norway?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Norway data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 57 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The share of girls of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.