Enrollment in higher education in Sweden 2010-2022, by gender

In Sweden, the number of female registered students in higher education was far higher than the registered male students. In 2022, there were registered over 225,000 female students, compared to less than 150,000 male students. The number of both genders remained relatively stable throughout the last decade, but increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, a total of 386,012 students were registered at higher education institutions in Sweden.

Women in higher education

The enrollment of women in higher education in Sweden follows a global trend. In each OECD country, women complete Bachelor’s degrees at higher rates than men. Moreover, there are female-dominated fields of study in higher education. Generally, social sciences and care study programs have a higher proportion of women than men. This can be seen in countries such as Australia, where nearly 75 percent of all new health students are women, compared to 25 percent within the fields of science, technology engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Female representation and equality in Sweden

While women in Sweden have a small gender pay gap compared to men, with the average woman earning roughly 27,100 Swedish kronor and the average man earning nearly 30,800 Swedish kronor monthly, Sweden ranks well in terms of gender equality. Furthermore, almost half of Swedish parliament is composed of women, one of the highest shares of female MPs globally. Nevertheless, Swedish women still cite issues such as domestic violence as significant concerns.