Inequality in education in Sweden
Sweden: Inequality in education was 0.0256 in 2023. ▼ Falling
Inequality in education in Sweden, 2010–2023
Source: UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2023, inequality in education in Sweden stood at 0.0256. That is the lowest value across all 14 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 11.8% on the previous year and down 33.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, inequality in education in Sweden peaked at 0.0409 in 2010 and was at its lowest, 0.0256, in 2023.
That places Sweden 165th out of 184 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 14 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 0.0387 | 0.0365 | 0.0409 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.031 | 0.0256 | 0.035 | 4 |
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 inequality in education in Sweden?
- Inequality in education in Sweden was 0.0256 in 2023, according to UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest inequality in education recorded in Sweden?
- The highest recorded value was 0.0409 in 2010.
- What is the lowest inequality in education recorded in Sweden?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0256 in 2023.
- How does Sweden rank for inequality in education?
- Sweden ranks 165th out of 184 countries with data for 2023.
- Is inequality in education rising or falling in Sweden?
- Over the last ten years it is down 33.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sweden data come from?
- The figures come from UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Inequality in education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The Atkinson index measures inequality on a scale from 0 to 1. Higher values indicate higher inequality. Inequality is measured here in terms of the number of years adults older than 25 participated in formal education.