The proportion of pupils who are ineligible for upper secondary school after year 9 has increased over time. A larger proportion of boys than girls are ineligible, regardless of family situation, country of birth and level of parents’ education. In the report “Students who are not eligible for upper secondary school” Statistics Sweden studied pupils who completed compulsory school in the years 1998, 2003, 2008 and 2013, with the main focus on pupils who completed compulsory school in 1998. Pupils who were eligible or ineligible for upper secondary school have been followed up to see who completed an upper secondary education, who continued with further studies and who became established in the labour market.

Nearly all youths in Sweden enter upper secondary school regardless of eligibility or background, and this proportion has increased slightly over time. The proportion of pupils who complete upper secondary school has also increased. This applies to pupils who were eligible for a national program after compulsory school and to those who were not.

A few hundred, or between 3 and 5 percent, of the ineligible pupils in the studied cohorts did not enter upper secondary school. Virtually all of the eligible pupils entered upper secondary school.

Ineligible pupils were less engaged in studies

Overall, compared with eligible pupils, a considerably smaller proportion of the pupils who were ineligible in 1998 engaged in studies after they had completed compulsory school and possibly also completed upper secondary school. This was the case regardless of time period that had passed after completed compulsory school, but the difference between the groups narrowed slightly over time.

Among ineligible pupils, municipal adult education was by far the most common form of education, and among eligible pupils, higher education and university studies were most common. Among those who never entered upper secondary school, few undertook further studies.

Completed upper secondary school provides a higher level of establishment in the labour market

When looking at the level of establishment in the labour market, there are major differences between those who completed compulsory school with eligibility for upper secondary school and those who were ineligible. Among those who completed compulsory school in 1998, 63 percent of the ineligible pupils were established in the labour market 16 years later, compared with 83 percent of the eligible pupils.

However, a completed upper secondary school provides a higher level of establishment in the labour market regardless of eligibility after year 9. Among those pupils who were ineligible for upper secondary school in 1998 but still completed upper secondary school within four years, a somewhat greater proportion, 80 percent, were established in the labour market in 2014, compared with 71 percent of pupils who were eligible but did not complete upper secondary school.

A more detailed presentation of the results is published in the thematic report Students who are not eligible for upper secondary school.