Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Sweden
Sweden: Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school was 96.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Sweden, 2001–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Sweden recorded 96.2% for share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in 2024. That is the highest value across all 24 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 1.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Sweden peaked at 96.2% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 81.1%, in 2001.
Sweden ranks 21st of 178 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Sweden, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 81.1% | — |
| 2002 | 82.4% | +1.6% |
| 2003 | 86.1% | +4.5% |
| 2004 | 89.1% | +3.5% |
| 2005 | 89.9% | +0.9% |
| 2006 | 88.1% | -2.0% |
| 2007 | 94.6% | +7.4% |
| 2008 | 92.6% | -2.1% |
| 2009 | 93.2% | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 93.6% | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 94.1% | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 94.7% | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 94.7% | -0.0% |
| 2014 | 94.9% | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 93.8% | -1.2% |
| 2016 | 94.5% | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 95.2% | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 94.8% | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 95.3% | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 95.7% | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 96.0% | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 95.9% | -0.1% |
| 2023 | 96.1% | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 96.2% | +0.1% |
Sweden compared with similar countries
- Sweden's 96.2% is above the median for high income countries, which is 87.1%, 1.1× the median. (68 countries reporting)
- Sweden's 96.2% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 87.9%, 1.1× the median. (49 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 88.6% | 81.1% | 94.6% | 9 |
| 2010s | 94.6% | 93.6% | 95.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 96.0% | 95.7% | 96.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sweden
- 18 Poland 96.9% compare
- 19 United Kingdom 96.8% compare
- 20 Aruba 96.8% compare
- 22 Iceland 96.0% compare
- 23 Luxembourg 95.8% compare
- 24 South Korea 95.6% compare
More education data for Sweden
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 77,813 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 1,302 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 235,975 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 222,360 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 987,895 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 859,847 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.8572 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0814 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Sweden?
- Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Sweden was 96.2% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children enrolled in pre-primary school recorded in Sweden?
- The highest recorded value was 96.2% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of children enrolled in pre-primary school recorded in Sweden?
- The lowest recorded value was 81.1% in 2001.
- How does Sweden rank for share of children enrolled in pre-primary school?
- Sweden ranks 21st out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children enrolled in pre-primary school rising or falling in Sweden?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.4%. 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) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Share of children of pre-primary school age (typically 3–5 years old) who are enrolled in pre-primary education.