Key findings
Of Sweden's 4,639 active compulsory schools,4,343 have data on the proportion of certified teachers. The national average is 72.0%, but behind that figure lie large regional differences and a clear gap between municipal and independent schools.
National average
- certified teachers
- 72.0%
- 4,343 schools with data
Municipal vs Independent
- higher in municipal schools
- +7.3 pp
- 73.1% vs 65.8%
Trend 2019–2024
- change in national average
- +0.5 pp
- 69.3% to 69.8%
pp = percentage points. The teacher shortage is unevenly distributed: the counties with the lowest certification rates haveonly 60.6% certified teachers, while top municipalities approach 90%. The gap directly affects the quality of teaching students receive.
Map: Teacher certification by municipality
The map shows the proportion of certified teachers in compulsory school per municipality (Kolada data 2024). Darker colour means higher certification. Hover over a municipality for detailed information.
Counties ranked by certification
The bar chart shows average teacher certification by county, calculated from school-level data.Jämtland County is at the bottom with 60.6% while Blekinge County tops with 75.5%. Click "Show municipal vs independent" to see the breakdown.
Municipal schools vs independent schools
Municipal compulsory schools have on average 73.1% certified teachers, compared to 65.8% for independent schools — a difference of +7.3 percentage points. The difference is found in almost all counties.
Municipal schools
- certified teachers (average)
- 73.1%
- 3,656 schools
Independent schools
- certified teachers (average)
- 65.8%
- 687 schools
Trend: How has certification developed?
Over the period 2019–2024, the national average for teacher certification in compulsory school hasincreased by +0.5 percentage points. The change is modest compared to the large regional differences.
Detailed table by county
| County | Schools | Certification % | Municipal % | Independent % | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jämtland County | 85 | 60.6 | 60.2 (79) | 67.9 (6) | -7.7 pp |
| Dalarna County | 150 | 66.0 | 66.1 (135) | 65.1 (15) | +1.0 pp |
| Gävleborg County | 142 | 66.3 | 68.2 (117) | 56.7 (25) | +11.5 pp |
| Västmanland County | 119 | 66.6 | 68.7 (98) | 55.1 (21) | +13.6 pp |
| Södermanland County | 123 | 66.8 | 68.5 (95) | 60.2 (28) | +8.3 pp |
| Norrbotten County | 158 | 67.3 | 68.2 (137) | 61.3 (21) | +6.9 pp |
| Gotland County | 36 | 69.4 | 69.7 (32) | 66.4 (4) | +3.3 pp |
| Jönköping County | 195 | 70.2 | 71.4 (181) | 53.6 (14) | +17.8 pp |
| Örebro County | 139 | 70.6 | 71.2 (120) | 66.5 (19) | +4.7 pp |
| Kronoberg County | 122 | 70.8 | 71.7 (107) | 63.0 (15) | +8.7 pp |
| Västernorrland County | 128 | 71.2 | 72.3 (109) | 64.4 (19) | +7.9 pp |
| Värmland County | 153 | 72.9 | 73.6 (139) | 65.4 (14) | +8.2 pp |
| Stockholm County | 762 | 73.1 | 75.8 (488) | 67.3 (274) | +8.5 pp |
| Västra Götaland County | 799 | 73.1 | 73.7 (694) | 68.7 (105) | +5.0 pp |
| Kalmar County | 133 | 73.4 | 74.7 (121) | 58.9 (12) | +15.8 pp |
| Skåne County | 584 | 73.7 | 75.6 (467) | 65.6 (117) | +10.0 pp |
| Västerbotten County | 157 | 74.8 | 75.6 (142) | 64.8 (15) | +10.8 pp |
| Halland County | 177 | 75.1 | 76.0 (155) | 69.4 (22) | +6.6 pp |
| Uppsala County | 147 | 75.2 | 76.6 (116) | 69.6 (31) | +7.0 pp |
| Östergötland County | 235 | 75.4 | 76.3 (204) | 68.3 (31) | +8.0 pp |
| Blekinge County | 80 | 75.5 | 75.9 (68) | 72.6 (12) | +3.3 pp |
pp = percentage points. Number of schools in parentheses. Certification calculated as mean of schools' certifiedTeachersPercent.
Why does teacher certification vary so much?
The teacher shortage is the result of several interacting factors: proximity to teacher education programmes, municipalities' economic conditions, and how attractive it is to live and work in the area. University cities like Uppsala, Linköping and Umeå naturally have higher certification — teacher education students often stay where they trained.
Independent schools generally have lower teacher certification than municipal schools. This may be due to several reasons: independent schools use uncertified teachers as substitutes to a greater extent, they do not have the same ability to offer competitive conditions in shortage areas, and they are overrepresented in major cities where competition for certified teachers is fiercest.
Important caveats
Certification does not directly measure teaching quality. The proportion of certified teachers is a structural measure that co-varies with school results, but the relationship is not straightforward:
- Subject matching: The figure is one share for all teaching at the school. It does not show in which subjects qualification is missing.
- Shortage subjects: Mathematics, technology, science and modern languages have chronic shortages. These subjects are hidden in an average.
- School size: Small schools have greater variation due to fewer teachers.
- Data quality: The figures are from the National Agency for Education's latest collection (school year 2025/26) and may have changed since.
- Kolada vs school data: The municipality average in Kolada may differ from school-level data due to different calculation methods.
Methodology
The analysis is based on two data sources: the National Agency for Education's open data (school level, school year 2025/26) and Kolada — the municipality and county database (municipality level, latest available year). County averages are calculated as arithmetic means of schools' certifiedTeachersPercent, where each school weighs equally regardless of student count. Trend data is the municipality average from Kolada (290 municipalities, 2019–2024).
Statistics: school year 2025/26. Source: National Agency for Education open data and Kolada. Processed by Skolkoll.Glossary · About the data.