Analysis
Adult education in Sweden
Komvux, SFI and yrkesvux in numbers: 364,810 komvux students
and 66,050 SFI students across 244 municipalities.
How do results, costs and teacher certification differ?
March 2026 · Source: Kolada
Key findings
Municipal adult education (komvux) covers basic and upper-secondary level adult education
as well as vocational adult education (yrkesvux). Data from 244 municipalities shows significant differences in both
results and resource allocation. SFI (Swedish for immigrants) is a separate programme
with its own challenges.
Komvux students
364,810
students nationwide
244 municipalities with data
Passing grades
68.8 %
basic level (average)
Upper-secondary: 70.3 %
SFI students
66,050
students nationwide
Passing course D: 95.4 %
Adult education is a central part of lifelong learning and plays a key role
in integration, career transition and skills supply. Results vary significantly
between municipalities.
Komvux in numbers
Municipal adult education offers education at the basic and upper-secondary levels.
Below, key indicators for teacher certification and costs are compared.
Teacher certification, basic
75.8 %
teachers with certification
219 municipalities with data
Teacher certification, upper-sec.
65.1 %
teachers with certification
217 municipalities with data
Median cost per full-time student
The median cost for a full-time student in komvux is 72,249 SEK/year.
The spread is large — from -9,696 SEK in 1270
to 412,955 SEK in 2510.
Top 10: Highest share of passing grades (basic level)
| Municipality | Passing % | Students | Certification % | Cost SEK/student |
| 1462 | 100.0 | 98 | — | 13,271 |
| 1783 | 100.0 | 412 | 100.0 | 45,478 |
| 2326 | 100.0 | 93 | — | 68,069 |
| 2404 | 100.0 | 158 | 100.0 | 62,189 |
| 2409 | 100.0 | 131 | 0.0 | 38,458 |
| 2513 | 100.0 | 85 | — | 36,944 |
| 0128 | 100.0 | 605 | — | 39,385 |
| 0488 | 100.0 | 106 | — | 46,694 |
| 0563 | 100.0 | 46 | — | 47,608 |
| 1384 | 86.0 | 2,073 | — | 77,544 |
Bottom 10: Lowest share of passing grades (basic level)
| Municipality | Passing % | Students | Certification % | Cost SEK/student |
| 1492 | 37.2 | 395 | 67.7 | 134,956 |
| 1864 | 38.2 | 125 | 100.0 | 137,259 |
| 1233 | 38.5 | 295 | 68.4 | 188,886 |
| 2581 | 40.1 | 1,165 | 95.5 | 110,624 |
| 1315 | 40.8 | 181 | 72.2 | 394,943 |
| 2482 | 42.0 | 2,798 | 66.9 | 115,554 |
| 1489 | 42.3 | 1,294 | 48.3 | 68,746 |
| 2560 | 47.4 | 163 | 100.0 | 124,531 |
| 0760 | 47.7 | 300 | 29.6 | 104,625 |
| 0881 | 51.4 | 467 | 0.0 | 165,267 |
Share of course participants at the basic level who received a passing grade.
Source: Kolada.
SFI — Swedish for immigrants
SFI is a central part of integration efforts in Sweden. The programme is divided into
study tracks (1–3) and courses (A–D), where course D is the highest level.
Passing course D
95.4 %
national average
233 municipalities
Teacher certification SFI
53.7 %
with certification
256 municipalities
Number of SFI students
66,050
nationwide
237 municipalities
Important caveats
- Data is sourced from Kolada and refers to the most recently available year (typically the year before publication).
- The share of passing grades refers to course participants, not unique students. A student may participate in multiple courses.
- Cost per full-time student is affected by municipality size, programme offering and special initiatives.
- Small municipalities with few students can produce extreme percentage values. Interpret with caution.
- SFI results are strongly influenced by the student composition (educational background, mother tongue, length of residency).
- Yrkesvux (government-funded vocational adult education) is not reported separately in Kolada.