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School · cohort analysis

School outcomes per generation and arrival age

Arrival age matters: children who arrived before age 7 perform close to native level, while arrival after age 12 is hard to catch up. We track merit value, upper-secondary eligibility, SFI progression and PISA — always with a comparison group.

Sources: Skolverket SIRIS, Skolverket SFI statistics, Skolverket PISA 2022.

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How we measureSchool outcomes

Merit value Grade 9 — per generation and arrival age

Average of 17 subjects (max 340). The series shows the gap between native ref and first-generation pupils arriving after age 12 has widened over time.

1998

Native ref.
207
Native / one foreign-born
198
2nd gen two foreign-born
178
1st gen arr. <7 yrs
188
1st gen arr. >12 yrs
145

2005

Native ref.
212
Native / one foreign-born
202
2nd gen two foreign-born
184
1st gen arr. <7 yrs
193
1st gen arr. >12 yrs
142

2012

Native ref.
218
Native / one foreign-born
208
2nd gen two foreign-born
189
1st gen arr. <7 yrs
198
1st gen arr. >12 yrs
138

2018

Native ref.
235
Native / one foreign-born
222
2nd gen two foreign-born
198
1st gen arr. <7 yrs
210
1st gen arr. >12 yrs
132

2024

Native ref.
232
Native / one foreign-born
219
2nd gen two foreign-born
195
1st gen arr. <7 yrs
208
1st gen arr. >12 yrs
128

Eligibility for upper-secondary

Share (%) meeting eligibility for upper-secondary vocational programmes (8 passed subjects).

2000

Native ref.
91 %
2nd gen
85 %
1st gen
65 %

2010

Native ref.
89 %
2nd gen
81 %
1st gen
56 %

2016

Native ref.
91 %
2nd gen
80 %
1st gen
33 %

2020

Native ref.
90 %
2nd gen
79 %
1st gen
39 %

2024

Native ref.
89 %
2nd gen
78 %
1st gen
41 %

SFI progression — Course D within 2/4 years

SFI Course D is the highest level and required for many studies/jobs. Fewer than half complete it within 4 years.

2014

Completed within 2 yrs
22 %
Completed within 4 yrs
41 %

2016

Completed within 2 yrs
24 %
Completed within 4 yrs
44 %

2018

Completed within 2 yrs
27 %
Completed within 4 yrs
47 %

2020

Completed within 2 yrs
28 %
Completed within 4 yrs
48 %

PISA mathematics — per group

Mean score (OECD 2022 avg ≈ 472). First-generation pupils are around 50 points below native ref.

2009

Native ref.
502
2nd gen
472
1st gen
421

2012

Native ref.
487
2nd gen
458
1st gen
402

2015

Native ref.
502
2nd gen
470
1st gen
415

2018

Native ref.
511
2nd gen
478
1st gen
422

2022

Native ref.
501
2nd gen
467
1st gen
428

Primary sources