Launches, operates, and develops profitable and growing companies

What is an independent school?

An independent school is a school operated by an entity other than a municipality, region, or the state. This could be, for example, a foundation, a company, an association, a private individual, or a religious community. An independent school operates within the framework of the Education Act (2010) and is subject to oversight by the Swedish Schools Inspectorate. A more accurate term for an independent school is “independent school” or “school with a private sponsor.”

Read more

Schools and students

There are independent preschools in 242 of the country’s 290 municipalities, and 410,000 children and students attend an independent preschool or school. This represents 19.6 percent of the just over 2 million children and students enrolled in Swedish preschools and schools.

Read more

Employees

Nearly 240,000 people worked in preschools and schools in Sweden in 2021. Of these, 19 percent work at independent schools. Teachers at independent schools are more satisfied than teachers at public schools on all questions in the Swedish Quality Index’s Job Health Index survey.

Learn more about mcolleagues

Learn more about satisfied students and employees

Profit in an independent school

One of the myths about independent schools is that they generate high profits. For many years, the actual operating margin has been around three percent. After depreciation and taxes, that figure drops to about 2.5 percent.

Learn more about profits in charter schools

The National Association of Independent Schools’ report “Facts About Independent Schools”

Here you can download the Swedish Association of Independent Schools’ report “Facts About Independent Schools,” which was published in an updated edition in 2023.