Education in Spain - statistics & facts
The Spanish education system is a well-structured and comprehensive system that spans from early childhood education to higher education and vocational training, guaranteeing equality for all. In 2022, the expenditure on education in Spain amounted to 4.7 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). The compulsory education in the Iberian country starts at age six, when the pupils begin primary education, and finishes at 16, when the mandatory secondary education is completed. The latest PISA results indicate that the students integrated into this system are on par with the average of OECD results, with science being the highest scoring category.
Despite the decline in the number of births recorded in Spain since 2008, and even though there is a drop in enrollment in primary education, the number of students enrolled in higher education has never been higher.
Kindergarten and primary education
Although public education is free, Spanish students can do all their schooling in private establishments. In the 2022/2023 school year, one in three pre-primary schools were private. However, the number of students enrolled in public establishments was almost double that of those enrolled in the private system. This ratio is similar for elementary school. Nevertheless, the number of pupils enrolled in this level of education has fallen every year since the 2017/2018 school year.Secondary education
Compulsory secondary education englobes students between 12 and 16 years of age. In the 2022/2023 school year, there were 7,553 schools teaching this level of education in Spain. This is the last stage of compulsory education. Upon graduation, students may enter the workforce, pursue vocational training, or continue their studies to obtain a Spanish baccalaureate. There has been an increase in the number of students in the latter since the 2018/2019 year, and, in terms of gender, there were 51,000 more female students than male students in the 2023/2024 school year. Regarding the courses in which students are enrolled, Science and Technology and Humanities and Social Sciences are the courses with the highest enrollment, both with more than 300,000 students. In the 2022/2023 academic year, a new course has been added, a fourth option with a general option for students who wish for a more flexible and open education.Higher education
Higher education in Spain consists of universities and higher vocational institutions. In 2023, Spain had 89 universities, most being located in the Autonomous Community of Madrid, which was served by 18 higher education institutions. In that year, there were more than 1.7 million students enrolled in higher education degrees, a figure which has been on the rise for the past five years. But not all fields are equally popular among men and women. Male students made up more than 72 percent of the engineering and architecture student body in 2022/2023, while women comprised the majority of the student body in all other fields.Despite the decline in the number of births recorded in Spain since 2008, and even though there is a drop in enrollment in primary education, the number of students enrolled in higher education has never been higher.
