Norway private schools now account for a growing share of the country’s compulsory primary and lower secondary education, as new figures show that the overall school network is shrinking and the Nordic region follows different models of non-public provision. In 2025, Norway had 279 private grunnskoler (compulsory schools for ages 6–16), roughly 11% of all compulsory schools, up from 8% a decade earlier.
Norway’s private schools reach 11% of all compulsory schools
The latest statistics from Norway’s national statistical office (Statistisk sentralbyrå, SSB) show that the number of private compulsory schools increased each year from 2015 to 2022, then levelled off somewhat. Even with that flattening, the count still stood at 279 in 2025.
In Norway, “private” compulsory schools include both schools with state grants and schools without state grants. Grant-aided private schools are approved under the Private School Act (Privatskolelova) and include, among others, Montessori and Steiner/Waldorf schools. Other private schools can be approved under the Education Act framework.
Fewer public schools, not just more private ones
The same dataset points to a parallel shift in the opposite direction in the public sector. Norway’s public compulsory schools fell from 2,643 in 2015 to 2,384 in 2025—a reduction of 259 schools over the decade.
This matters because the rise in private schools is happening within a broader consolidation of the school network. Demographic change in some municipalities, long travel distances in rural areas, and local decisions to merge or close smaller schools have all been recurring features in the Norwegian debate over school structure.
Private enrolment is rising too, not only the number of schools
The growth is also visible in enrolment. In 2025, 5.2% of pupils in compulsory education attended private schools, compared with 3.5% in 2015. That corresponds to about 32,500 pupils in private compulsory schools in 2025, up from roughly 21,600 ten years earlier.
At the same time, the number of pupils in public compulsory schools declined over the same period, underlining that the private share is increasing both through a higher private pupil count and a smaller public-school pupil base.
Where private schools are most common in Norway
SSB’s county breakdown shows that the distribution is uneven. In 2025, Vestland had the highest number of private compulsory schools (29), followed closely by Trøndelag (28), then Rogaland and Akershus (27 each). Finnmark had the fewest, with 2 private compulsory schools.
The differences reflect a mix of geography, local demand, and the presence of established school providers (including pedagogical-profile schools) that are more common in some regions than others.
How Norway compares with Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland
A Nordic comparison suggests Norway’s trajectory is not a uniform regional trend, but part of a wider spectrum.
In Sweden, grant-aided independent schools (friskolor) represent a significant part of the compulsory system: 18% of compulsory schools were independent in the 2023/24 school year, and they are tuition-free and regulated under national rules.
Denmark has a long-standing tradition of “free schools” and other private independent schools alongside the Folkeskole. According to Denmark’s Ministry of Children and Education, about 13% of children at basic school level attend private schools.
Finland remains at the opposite end of the Nordic range: the system is overwhelmingly municipal, and only about 2% of pupils in compulsory education attend schools run by private providers. These schools are publicly funded and cannot charge tuition fees.
In Iceland, private compulsory schools remain few in number, but recent data show growth in private enrolment: in the 2024/25 school year, Iceland had 13 private compulsory schools with almost 1,560 pupils, the highest number recorded for private compulsory-school enrolment.
Overall, the Nordic picture suggests that Norway’s increase sits between the high-private-share models in Denmark and Sweden and the low-private-share model in Finland, with Iceland closer to Finland in scale but showing some incremental growth.
