Population, Education

Organized higher education in Sweden dates from the late 15th century, when the first, and perhaps most influential, Swedish university was founded in 1477 in Uppsala. Other Swedish universities that received international recognition were founded at Lund (1666), Stockholm (1877), and Goteborg (1891). Additional important institutions of higher learning include the Royal Institute of Technology (1827), the Stockholm School of Economics (1909), and the Karolinska Institute (1810), a medical college that annually awards the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine; all are located in Stockholm. The Nobel Prizes are named for Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, who invented dynamite in 1867, and, at his death in 1896, endowed most of his fortune to fund the Nobel Prizes.

In 1842 education in Sweden was made free and compulsory for all children between the ages of 7 and 14. The school system consisted of infant schools (7 to 9 years old) and elementary schools (9 to 14 years old). Children who did not attend public schools were required to provide evidence of private education. The Education Act of 1950 fundamentally changed Swedish education by abandoning the traditional two-track (university preparation and vocational education) school system of Europe and instituting the comprehensive, unitary system typical of the United States. The goal of this law was to “bridge the old gaps between social classes” and to enable each individual to develop all potentialities. The success of this educational reform inspired similar reforms in other countries.

Legislation in 1950 and 1962 extended the period of compulsory education to nine years and provided for the introduction of nine-year comprehensive schools divided into lower, intermediate, and upper levels. This new system has been established throughout Sweden.

In the 1998-1999 school year 763,000 students attended lower schools in Sweden, 963,900 were enrolled in intermediate schools, and 335,100 attended upper schools. Many types of vocational schools provide training for trades. Adult education is extensive. Including the outstanding universities in all its major cities, Sweden has 37 national institutions of higher education. Other institutions, principally “people’s colleges” providing adult education, are administered by municipal governments.