Gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Sweden
Sweden: Gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education was 99.4% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Sweden, 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 Sweden stood at 99.4%.
The figure is down 0.2% on the previous year and up 0.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Sweden peaked at 100.0% in 1950 and was at its lowest, 40.7%, in 1820.
Sweden ranks 16th of 190 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 50 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1820s | 42.0% | 40.7% | 43.3% | 2 |
| 1830s | 47.3% | 46.0% | 48.6% | 2 |
| 1840s | 52.7% | 51.3% | 54.0% | 2 |
| 1850s | 57.7% | 56.7% | 58.8% | 2 |
| 1860s | 62.1% | 61.0% | 63.2% | 2 |
| 1870s | 66.4% | 65.3% | 67.5% | 2 |
| 1880s | 70.7% | 69.7% | 71.8% | 2 |
| 1890s | 75.1% | 74.0% | 76.2% | 2 |
| 1900s | 79.4% | 78.3% | 80.5% | 2 |
| 1910s | 83.7% | 82.7% | 84.8% | 2 |
| 1920s | 88.1% | 87.0% | 89.2% | 2 |
| 1930s | 92.4% | 91.3% | 93.5% | 2 |
| 1940s | 96.8% | 95.7% | 97.8% | 2 |
| 1950s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1960s | 96.5% | 95.0% | 98.0% | 2 |
| 1970s | 96.6% | 93.1% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1980s | 95.7% | 95.7% | 95.7% | 1 |
| 2000s | 99.3% | 99.3% | 99.4% | 3 |
| 2010s | 99.0% | 97.4% | 99.5% | 9 |
| 2020s | 99.4% | 99.3% | 99.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sweden
More education data for Sweden
- Duration of pre-primary education 4 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 62.4% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 16.7% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 13 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 7 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 114.9% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 71,551 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.43 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 119.3% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Sweden?
- Gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Sweden was 99.4% 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 Sweden?
- The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 1950.
- What is the lowest gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education recorded in Sweden?
- The lowest recorded value was 40.7% in 1820.
- How does Sweden rank for gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education?
- Sweden ranks 16th out of 190 countries with data for 2024.
- Is gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education rising or falling in Sweden?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sweden 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 — 50 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.