All boys and girls living in Norway have a right and an obligation to complete compulsory education. Young people, from 16 to 19 years, have a statutory right to three years of upper secondary education. Thus, the enrolment figures for girls and boys are more or less even.

Teaching at primary school level is typically a female occupation. There are few male teachers at this level. At secondary school level, however, there is a drop in the number of female teachers and an increase in male teachers. Furthermore, the gender balance is reversed in higher education, where teachers are generally more likely to be men than women.

Sex differences in enrolment are more noticeable in higher education. There are now more women starting and completing higher education than men. This is in itself a historic shift. However, young women and men stereotypically study different subjects, and Norway has one of the most gender segregated workforces in Europe.

Despite the increased numbers of women in higher education, there are remarkable gender differences at the level of academic positions. Men reign virtually supreme in the higher levels of academia. Over 80 percent of all professors are men. A number of measures have been initiated in order to deal with this gender imbalance.

There is a greater balance in gender distribution at post-doctoral level and in relation to research fellowships. Historically, few women have completed doctorates, but this gap is shrinking significantly. In recent years, around 40 percent of all doctorates were completed by women.

Among immigrants in Norway, taken as a group, a larger percentage have a university or college education than in the population as a whole. There is great variation, however, in the levels of education of immigrant populations, determined by both country of origin and gender.