Sweden’s Academic Landscape: Higher Education and Research Explained 2025 provides an overview of the Swedish higher education and research sector for an international audience. It also highlights key characteristics of the Swedish system and notes areas where Sweden differs from other countries.

The publication replaces and further develops the annual status report that the Swedish Higher Education Authority has published for many years. In contrast to the earlier reports, it takes a more structural and explanatory approach, using statistical data to provide context and illustrate important features.

The publication replaces and further develops the annual status report that the Swedish Higher Education Authority has published for many years. In contrast to the earlier reports, it takes a more structural and explanatory approach, using statistical data to provide context and illustrate important features.

Sweden’s Academic Landscape is intended for government authorities, higher education institutions, organisations, and networks in Sweden and abroad that have an interest in, or need to understand, how Swedish higher education and research are organised. It is also designed as a practical reference to support clear and consistent descriptions of the sector in English.

The publication includes the following:

• The Structure of Higher Education and Research in Sweden
• First- and Second-Cycle Education in Sweden
• Third-Cycle Education in Sweden
• Staff at Swedish Higher Education Institutions
• Internationalisation and Mobility in Swedish Higher Education
• Skills Provision and Lifelong Learning in Sweden
• Funding of Higher Education and Research in Sweden
• Research at Swedish Higher Education Institutions
• A list and description of government agencies in the Swedish higher education sector
• A glossary

An updated edition will be published every two years.

Download Sweden’s Academic Landscape: Higher Education and Research Explained here pdf, 1 MB.

The Authority’s last two annual status report can be downloaded here

Read the Annual Status Report published in 2023 pdf, 2 MB.

Read the Annual Status Report published in 2022