School types in Sweden's school system
The Swedish school system is more multifaceted than most people realise. Beyond compulsory school and upper secondary school there are preschool classes, after-school centres, Sami schools, special schools, compulsory schools for pupils with learning disabilities, upper secondary schools for pupils with learning disabilities, and adult education.
The concentric chart shows the distribution step by step. The innermost ring divides school units by school type. Compulsory schools dominate heavily, followed by after-school centres (which are often linked to compulsory schools) and upper secondary schools.
The next ring divides each school type by operator type — municipal or independent. Here it becomes visible that independent operators are most common within compulsory school and upper secondary school, while after-school centres, preschool classes and special schools are largely run by municipalities.
The outermost ring shows status: active, dormant or planned school units. The number of dormant units gives an indication of the dynamics in the school landscape — schools that have been closed or paused. Behind each dormant school unit there are often demographic changes or economic reprioritisations.
Statistics: academic year 2023/24. Source: Skolverket open data, Kolada and SCB. Processed by Skolkoll. Glossary · About the data.