Aim:  Primary tumours in the central nervous system (CNS) are the second most common malignancy in childhood after leukaemia. Sweden has a high incidence and a high‐survival rate in international comparative studies. This has raised the question about the type of tumours included in the Swedish Cancer registry. We therefore compared international data to the Swedish Childhood Cancer registry. Methods:  Central nervous system tumours registered in the Swedish Childhood Cancer Registry were reclassified according to ICCC‐3. Incidence and survival analyses were performed in the study population. Results:  There were 1479 children (<15 years) in Sweden diagnosed with CNS tumours 1984–2005. The distribution of diagnoses was similar to that reported in other studies. The annual incidence was 4.2/100 000 children. The survival rates have not improved significantly between the two time periods before/after 1995 (70% vs. 74%; p = 0.10). Conclusions:  The mean annual incidence of children with CNS tumours was 4.2/100 000 and has not increased during the study period. Survival rate for brain tumours at 10 years follow‐up was 72%.