What characterizes private schools?

In 2022, 10 percent of all primary and lower secondary schools were private, an increase of 9 percentage points over 30 years. During same period the proportion of pupils in private schools increased from 1 to 5 percent. The proportion of upper secondary schools increased from 18 to 23 percent in 10 years, while the proportion of pupils increased with 2 percentage points and equals 8 percent of all pupils in upper secondary schools in 2022.

Starting from June 2022, the government tightened the act relating to independent schools again so that only schools with a real supplement to the public school are approved. While previously approved “profile schools” and “vocational schools” continue to operate, the law does not allow for the establishment of new schools with these approval grounds. Profile schools have had a relatively large increase in primary and lower secondary schools since the first ones came in 2015. However, there are by far the most “faith/life philosophy schools” and “schools with recognized pedagogical direction” in primary and lower secondary schools. These have also experienced the greatest growth in recent years. In secondary education, there is a clear majority of “faith/life philosophy” schools.

The private schools in both primary and secondary education are characterized by having fewer pupils than the public schools. They also have a smaller proportion of immigrant pupils, a higher proportion of pupils with highly educated parents and their average household income is higher.

The primary and lower secondary schools without government funding, profile schools, international schools and Waldorf schools stand out with over 80 percent of pupils with highly educated parents. Even though the proportion of highly educated parents in private schools has been higher than in the public schools since 2011, the difference has decreased over the years. All groups of private upper secondary schools have a higher proportion of pupils with highly educated parents compared to the public schools, except from schools adapted for the disabled. Pupils in profile schools, Waldorf schools and schools with top-level sports stand out with a particularly higher proportion of highly educated parents. In contrast to primary and lower secondary schools the difference in the proportion of highly educated parents between public and private upper secondary schools has increased some since 2011.

The average household income is higher for pupils in private schools compared to public schools, and the difference in income has increased the past 7 years. In the primary and lower secondary school there are three groups of schools who stand out with a higher household income compared to the public schools; schools without government funding, profile schools and international schools. The income increases by the centrality of the school, for both public and private schools but the difference in income between the public and private schools are bigger in the most central areas. The increasing gap in income between public and private schools is primarily due to the increase in the number of pupils in profile schools and international schools. Pupils in private upper secondary schools also got a higher average household income compared to pupils in public schools. Pupils in Waldorf schools has a relatively high variability in income, while the household income for pupils in the schools with top-level sports and schools without specific basis is higher than pupils in public schools. The increasing gap in income between private and public schools is primarily due to the increased number of pupils in schools with top-level sports.