Indicator history

The Government reportedin the Budget Bill 2011/12:1 about education  that monitoring and research shows that in addition to students’ socioeconomic background, age at the time of migration is of great importance for school performance. Children born in Sweden to foreign parents and children who arrived in Sweden before starting school are as well placed to cope with the Swedish elementary school as children with a Swedish background. High school eligibility of pupils born outside the EU / EFTA countries has increased by 1.2 percentage points in 2000-2010.[1]

There are differences between boys and girls who were born outside the EU / EFTA and who came to Sweden before or at starting school. The girls succeed better than boys regardless of whether they come to Sweden before or after starting school. Despite this, the proportion of girls who were born outside the EU / EFTA countries and who came to Sweden after starting school among students eligible for upper secondary school declined by 21.4 percentage points in 2000-2010 compared with 1.5 percentage points among native-born girls.[2]

In total, 11.2% of students leaving compulsory school in spring 2009 did not pass their exams, or 10.1% of the girls and 12.4% of the boys.  The drop-out rate at the national programme in upper secondary school is reported to be higher for migrant children than for students with a Swedish background. The Swedish Radio’s Ekot (Sveriges Radio's Ekot) news bulletin reported that one in four students with a migrant background left compulsory school without the qualifications to enter the national programme in upper secondary school (gymnasiet) compared to one in 10 pupils with a Swedish background (Sveriges Radio, http://sverigesradio.se/).