Spain
Spain
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Country reports and publications 
Spain
Overview of the education system (EAG 2025)
| Education at a Glance 2025 | Country note | Annexes from Education at a Glance 2025 | OECD Handbook for Internationally Comparative Education Statistics 2018 | OECD Education Policy Outlook: Spain | Ministerio de Educación, y Formación Personal (Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, in Spanish ) | Instituto Nacional de Estadística (National Statistics Institute) |
Select first some countries to compare, choose the charts you wish to display and customise them.
The following list displays indicators for which your selected country shows the highest and lowest values among countries.
The list can be sorted by level of education or by age group. All rankings are calculated including available data from OECD
and partner countries.
Find out more about the methodology here.
Show indicators for which your country ranks among the top or bottom:
Sort by:
Attainment
The level of upper secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary attainment among 25-34 year-olds is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (22.8 %, rank 38/38 , 2024) Download Indicator
The level of upper secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary attainment among 25-64 year-olds is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (23 %, rank 37/38 , 2024) Download Indicator
The level of upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education attainment among 55-64 year-olds is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (23.8 %, rank 34/38 , 2024) Download Indicator
The proportion of 25-34 year-olds who have attained a vocational degree at the upper secondary or post-secondary level is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (10.6 %, rank 31/35 , 2024) Download Indicator
The level of short-cycle tertiary attainment among 25-34 year-olds is one of the highest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (15.5 %, rank 3/28 , 2024) Download Indicator
Attainment by gender
The share of 25-34 year-old men who attained below upper secondary education in Spain is one of the highest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (27.7 %, rank 5/39 , 2024) Download Indicator
The share of 25-34 year-old men who attained upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education in Spain is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (24.8 %, rank 38/38 , 2024) Download Indicator
The share of 25-34 year-old women who attained upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education in Spain is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (20.7 %, rank 35/38 , 2024) Download Indicator
The share of 25-34 year-old men who attained upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education in Spain is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (23.1 %, rank 37/38 , 2024) Download Indicator
The share of 25-64 year-old women who attained upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education in Spain is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (22.9 %, rank 36/38 , 2024) Download Indicator
The share of 55-64 year-old men who attained upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education in Spain is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (23.3 %, rank 34/38 , 2024) Download Indicator
The share of 55-64 year-old women who attained upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education in Spain is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (24.2 %, rank 34/38 , 2024) Download Indicator
Spain has one of the largest share of women among 55-64 year-olds with a vocational upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education. (54.9 %, rank 2/34 , 2024) Download Indicator
In Spain, the proportion of 25-34 year-old women who have attained a short cycle tertiary degree is one of the highest among OECD and partner countries with available data (13.4 %, rank 5/26 , 2024) Download Indicator
In Spain, the proportion of 25-34 year-old men who have attained a short cycle tertiary degree is one of the highest among OECD and partner countries with available data (17.4 %, rank 3/25 , 2024) Download Indicator
Attainment by field of education
The percentage of 25-64 year-olds with tertiary education who studied in the field of humanities (except languages), social sciences, journalism and information is one of the lowest among OECD countries and partner economies with available data. (5.6 %, rank 26/28 , 2024) Download Indicator
Entrance
In Spain, the average age of new entrants in bachelor's programmes is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (20.1 Years, rank 36/40 , 2023) Download Indicator
In Spain, the average age of new entrants in master's long first degree (LFD) programmes is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (19.2 Years, rank 25/26 , 2023) Download Indicator
In Spain, the share of first-time entrants in bachelor's programmes is one of the smallest among OECD countries and partner economies with available data. (47.1 %, rank 33/34 , 2023) Download Indicator
Entrance by field of education and gender
In agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary, the share of female new entrants to bachelor’s programmes in Spain was among the smallest internationally. (31.5 %, rank 37/38 , 2023) Download Indicator
In Spain, the share of female new entrants to doctoral programmes in business, administration and law was among the smallest internationally. (40.4 %, rank 34/36 , 2023) Download Indicator
In Spain, the share of female among new entrants in doctoral programmes enrolled in the field of education is relatively small. (61.6 %, rank 31/35 , 2023) Download Indicator
The share of female students entering master's or equivalent programmes in natural sciences, mathematics and statistics in Spain is one of the smallest compared to other OECD countries and partner economies. (45.4 %, rank 35/38 , 2023) Download Indicator
The share of female students entering short cycle tertiaryprogrammes in natural sciences, mathematics and statistics in Spain is one of the smallest compared to other OECD countries and partner economies. (17.3 %, rank 23/24 , 2023) Download Indicator
The share of male students entering master's or equivalent programmes in engineering, manufacturing and construction in Spain is one of the smallest compared to other OECD countries and partner economies. (58.3 %, rank 35/38 , 2023) Download Indicator
Participation in education
Enrolment in early childhood education (ISCED 0) among 3- to 5-year-olds placed Spain among the highest across countries. (97.6 %, rank 3/42 , 2023) Download Indicator
Enrolment in pre-primary education (ISCED 02) among 3- to 5-year-olds in Spain was among the highest internationally. (97.6 %, rank 4/46 , 2023) Download Indicator
The average age of post-secondary non-tertiary students enrolled in vocational programmes in Spain is among the highest. (42.5 %, rank 1/28 , 2023) Download Indicator
In Spain, the share of post-secondary non-tertiary students enrolled in programmes giving full level completion without access to tertiary education is relatively large compared to other OECD or partner contries. (100 %, rank 1/15 , 2023) Download Indicator
Students enrolled in programmes providing full completion and access to tertiary education among all students enrolled in post-secondary non-tertiary vocational programmes are proportionally less in Spain than in the other countries. (0 %, rank 22/22 , 2023) Download Indicator
The average age of short-cycle tertiary students enrolled in vocational programmes is comparativele high. (3 %, rank 3/36 , 2022) Download Indicator
The enrolment rate among students aged 15-19 in short-cycle tertiary programmes in Spain is one of the highest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (5.9 %, rank 5/38 , 2023) Download Indicator
Graduation
In Spain, the average age of post-secondary non-tertiary graduates from vocational programmes is one of the highest among OECD and partner countries with available data (42.7 Years, rank 2/24 , 2023) Download Indicator
The percentage of first-time bachelor's graduates is relatively low in Spain. (42.5 %, rank 32/33 , 2023) Download Indicator
The average age of master's or equivalent graduates in Spain is among the oldest. (30.4 Years, rank 4/22 , 2023) Download Indicator
Graduation by gender
Among OECD and partner countries with available data, Spain has one of the smallest shares of women graduates from tertiary programmes. (55.4 %, rank 30/33 , 2023) Download Indicator
Graduation by field of education
In Spain, the proportion of upper secondary vocational graduates in the field of engineering, manufacturing and construction is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (15.1 %, rank 32/34 , 2023) Download Indicator
In Spain, the proportion of upper secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary vocational graduates in the field of arts and humanities is one of the largest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (3 %, rank 2/36 , 2022) Download Indicator
In Spain, the proportion of upper secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary vocational graduates in the field of STEM is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (2 %, rank 34/36 , 2022) Download Indicator
In Spain, the proportion of bachelor's, master's and doctoral or equivalent graduates in the field of health and welfare is one of the highest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (2 %, rank 2/45 , 2022) Download Indicator
Graduation by field of education and gender
The proportion of female tertiary graduates in education is one of the highest among OECD and partner countries. (22.1 %, rank 5/44 , 2023) Download Indicator
The share of male tertiary graduates in the field of education is relatively high in Spain. (9.9 %, rank 5/44 , 2023) Download Indicator
In Spain, the percentage of female post-secondary non-tertiary graduates in the field of health and welfare is relatively small. (69.4 %, rank 21/24 , 2023) Download Indicator
In Spain, the proportion of female graduates from upper secondary vocational programmes in the field of services is one of the smallest among OECD and partner countries. (43.4 %, rank 33/37 , 2023) Download Indicator
In Spain, the share of female graduates in tertiary education in the fields of natural sciences, mathematics and statistics is one of the smallest among OECD countries and partner economies with available data. (48.2 %, rank 39/43 , 2023) Download Indicator
In Spain, the share of female graduates in tertiary education in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics is one of the smallest among OECD countries and partner economies with available data. (27.2 %, rank 38/41 , 2023) Download Indicator
In Spain, the share of female graduates in tertiary education in the fields of information and communication technologies is one of the smallest among OECD countries and partner economies with available data. (13.5 %, rank 40/41 , 2023) Download Indicator
Completion rates
In Spain, the completion rate of female new entrants to bachelor's programmes in Education, measured three years after the theoretical end of the programme, was among the highest internationally. (90.2 %, rank 4/29 , 2023) Download Indicator
Dropout rates
Female drop out rates by the end of the theoretical duration plus one year were among the lowest across participating countries. (10.6 %, rank 27/30 , 2021) Download Indicator
Student mobility
In Spain, the proportion of international graduates among bachelor's first-time graduates is relatively low. (2.2 %, rank 28/31 , 2023) Download Indicator
In Spain, the share of international or foreign students enrolled in bachelor's programmes among men is relatively low compared to other OECD and partner countries. (2.2 %, rank 38/41 , 2023) Download Indicator
In Spain, the share of international or foreign students enrolled in bachelor's programmes among women is relatively low compared to other OECD and partner countries. (2.1 %, rank 38/41 , 2023) Download Indicator
Student mobility by field of education
In Spain, the share of international and foreign students among all students in the field of information and communication technologies is one of the smallest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (2.1 %, rank 34/38 , 2023) Download Indicator
Expenditure in education and national wealth
In Spain, international expenditure on educational institutions as a percentage of GDP on primary, secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education from final source of funds is relatively high. (0 %, rank 4/32 , 2022) Download Indicator
Nature of expenditure
In Spain, the share of capital expenditure on all levels below tertiary education is one of the smallest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (4.2 %, rank 31/35 , 2022) Download Indicator
In Spain, the share of current expenditure on all levels below tertiary education is one of the largest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (95.8 %, rank 5/35 , 2022) Download Indicator
In Spain, the share of capital expenditure on secondary education is one of the smallest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (4.1 %, rank 29/33 , 2022) Download Indicator
Who the teachers are
The percentage of teachers under 30 in early childhood educational development is especially low in Spain. (9.2 %, rank 18/19 , 2023) Download Indicator
Teachers' salaries progression
It takes lower secondary teachers longer to progress through the salary scale in Spain compared to other OECD and partner countries. (39 Years, rank 3/35 , 2023) Download Indicator
Ratio of student to teaching staff
In Spain, the number of students per teacher in public upper secondary education is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (8.9 Ratio, rank 38/42 , 2023) Download Indicator
In Spain, the number of students per teacher in all private secondary education is one of the highest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (14.6 Ratio, rank 5/36 , 2023) Download Indicator
In Spain, the number of students per teacher in public institutions short-cycle tertiary education is one of the lowest among countries with available data. (9.2 Ratio, rank 16/20 , 2023) Download Indicator
Organisation of the education system
Classes in lower secondary private institutions are comparatively large in Spain. (26 Students, rank 4/34 , 2023) Download Indicator
Employment and educational attainment
The employment rate among 25-64 year-olds with a master's or equivalent tertiary education degree is low compared to other OECD and partner countries. (86.8 %, rank 31/35 , 2024) Download Indicator
The employment rate among 25-64 year-olds with a doctoral or equivalent tertiary education degree is low compared to other OECD and partner countries. (90.8 %, rank 25/29 , 2024) Download Indicator
The employment rate among 45-54 year-olds with a vocational upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education is relatively low compared to other OECD and partner countries. (78.7 %, rank 32/34 , 2024) Download Indicator
Compared to other countries with available data, the employment rate of 25-34 year-olds with a doctoral or equivalent tertiary education degree is relatively low in Spain. (84.4 %, rank 18/21 , 2024) Download Indicator
Employment by gender and educational attainment
The employment rate among 25-34 year-old men with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education is compartively low in Spain. (77.3 %, rank 34/37 , 2024) Download Indicator
In Spain, the employment rate among 25-34 year-old men with vocational upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education is comparatively low (82.4 %, rank 31/34 , 2024) Download Indicator
Compared to other countries with available data, the employment rate of 25-34 year-old men with general upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education is relatively low in Spain. (72.3 %, rank 31/35 , 2024) Download Indicator
Employment by field of education
The employment rate among 25-64 year-olds with tertiary education who studied in the field of educaton is low compared to other OECD and partner countries. (81.9 %, rank 25/28 , 2024) Download Indicator
The employment rate among 25-64 year-olds with tertiary education who studied in the field of arts and humanities, social sciences, journalism and information is low compared to other OECD and partner countries. (79.9 %, rank 25/28 , 2024) Download Indicator
The employment rate among 25-64 year-olds with tertiary education who studied in the field of business, administration and law is low compared to other OECD and partner countries. (83.9 %, rank 25/28 , 2024) Download Indicator
The employment rate among 25-64 year-olds with tertiary education who studied in the field of engineering, manufacturing and construction is low compared to other OECD and partner countries. (86.5 %, rank 24/28 , 2024) Download Indicator
Unemployment and educational attainment
The unemployment rate among 25-34 year-olds with below upper secondary education is comparatively high. (21.1 %, rank 5/36 , 2024) Download Indicator
The unemployment rate among 25-34 year-olds with tertiary education is comparatively high. (9.3 %, rank 5/39 , 2024) Download Indicator
The unemployment rate among 25-64 year-olds without upper secondary education is comparatively high. (15.6 %, rank 5/38 , 2024) Download Indicator
The unemployment rate among 25-64 year-olds with tertiary education is comparatively high. (6.3 %, rank 5/39 , 2024) Download Indicator
The unemployment rate among 25-64 year-olds with a bachelor's or equivalent tertiary education degree is one of the highest of all OECD countries and partner economies for which data are available. (6.9 %, rank 4/36 , 2024) Download Indicator
The unemployment rate among 25-64 year-olds with a master's or equivalent tertiary education degree is one of the highest of all OECD countries and partner economies for which data are available. (4.8 %, rank 4/34 , 2024) Download Indicator
The unemployment rate among 25-64 year-olds with a doctoral or equivalent tertiary education degree is one of the highest of all OECD countries and partner economies for which data are available. (4.4 %, rank 2/14 , 2024) Download Indicator
The unemployment rate among 25-64 year-olds with a vocational upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education is high compared to other OECD and partner countries. (10.5 %, rank 2/33 , 2024) Download Indicator
The unemployment rate among 25-64 year-olds with a general upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education is high compared to other OECD and partner countries. (10.7 %, rank 3/36 , 2024) Download Indicator
The unemployment rate among 25-34 year-olds with a vocational upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education is one of the highest of all OECD countries and partner economies for which data are available. (12.5 %, rank 2/33 , 2024) Download Indicator
The unemployment rate among 25-34 year-olds with a general upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education is one of the highest of all OECD countries and partner economies for which data are available. (15 %, rank 3/33 , 2024) Download Indicator
Compared to other countries with available data, the unemployment rate of 25-34 year-olds with a bachelor's or equivalent tertiary education degree is relatively high in Spain. (9.6 %, rank 4/35 , 2024) Download Indicator
Compared to other countries with available data, the unemployment rate of 25-34 year-old with a master's or equivalent tertiary education degree is relatively high in Spain. (7.3 %, rank 4/33 , 2024) Download Indicator
Compared to other countries with available data, the unemployment rate of 25-34 year-old with a short cycle tertiary education degree is relatively high in Spain. (11.3 %, rank 3/21 , 2024) Download Indicator
Unemployment by gender and educational attainment
The unemployment rate among 25-34 year-old men with tertiary education is compartively high in Spain. (9 %, rank 4/37 , 2024) Download Indicator
The unemployment rate among 25-34 year-old women with tertiary education is compartively high in Spain. (9.6 %, rank 5/37 , 2024) Download Indicator
The employment rate among 25-34 year-old men with vocational upper secondary or a post-secondary non-tertiary education is comparatively high. (11.2 %, rank 1/32 , 2024) Download Indicator
The employment rate among 25-34 year-old women with vocational upper secondary or a post-secondary non-tertiary education is comparatively high. (14.5 %, rank 4/31 , 2024) Download Indicator
In Spain, the share of unemployed 25-64 year-old women with general upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education is relatively high, compared to other OECD and partner countries with available data. (12.2 %, rank 5/33 , 2024) Download Indicator
In Spain, the share of unemployed 25-64 year-old men with general upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education is relatively high, compared to other OECD and partner countries with available data. (9.4 %, rank 3/33 , 2024) Download Indicator
In Spain, the share of unemployed 25-64 year-old women with vocational upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education is relatively high, compared to other OECD and partner countries with available data. (12.7 %, rank 3/33 , 2024) Download Indicator
In Spain, the share of unemployed 25-64 year-old men with vocational upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education is relatively high, compared to other OECD and partner countries with available data. (8.6 %, rank 1/32 , 2024) Download Indicator
Compared to other countries with available data, the unemployment rate of 25-34 year-old women with general upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education is relatively high in Spain. (16.4 %, rank 5/33 , 2024) Download Indicator
Compared to other countries with available data, the unemployment rate of 25-34 year-old men with general upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education is relatively high in Spain. (13.7 %, rank 3/33 , 2024) Download Indicator
Inactivity and educational attainment
The inactivity rate of 25-34 years-old adults with below upper secondary education is low in Spain. (21.2 %, rank 34/38 , 2024) Download Indicator
Inactivity by gender and educational attainment
In Spain, the inactivity rate of 25-34 year-old women without an upper secondary education is relatively low. (30.6 %, rank 34/37 , 2024) Download Indicator
Earnings and educational attainment
Compared to other countries with available data, earnings of 25-34 year-olds working full-time and full-year with vocational upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education compared to those of adults without an upper secondary education are relatively low in Spain. (107 Index, rank 18/21 , 2023) Download Indicator
The share of 25-64 year-old workers with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education earning more than twice the overall median in Spain is one of the highest among countries with available data. (9 Index, rank 4/28 , 2023) Download Indicator
The share of 25-64 year-old workers with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education earning at or below half the overall median in Spain is one of the highest among countries with available data. (22 Index, rank 5/29 , 2023) Download Indicator
In Spain, the distribution of worker earning more than the median but at or below 1.5 times the median among those with tertiary education is comparatively low. (21 Index, rank 26/30 , 2023) Download Indicator
Earnings, gender and educational attainment
The earnings of women as a percentage of men's earnings (25-34 year-olds without an upper secondary education working full-time full-year) are one of the lowest among countries with available data. (76.8 %, rank 20/24 , 2023) Download Indicator
Earnings of women as a percentage of men's earnings (45-54 year-olds with vocational upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education working full-time full-year) are one of the lowest among countries with available data. (73.6 %, rank 18/20 , 2023) Download Indicator
Neither in education nor employed
The share of youth who have been unemployed for at least one year and not in formal education or training among 18-24 year-olds in Spain is one of the highest among countries with available data. (1.9 %, rank 5/31 , 2024) Download Indicator
The share of men with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education neither in employment nor in education and training (25-29 year-olds) in Spain is relatively high. (21.9 %, rank 3/35 , 2024) Download Indicator
The share of men with tertiary education neither in employment nor in education and training (25-29 year-olds) in Spain is relatively high. (14.5 %, rank 5/31 , 2024) Download Indicator
The share of women who are unemployed NEET (15-29 year-olds) in Spain is relatively high. (7.6 %, rank 4/36 , 2024) Download Indicator
The share of men who are unemployed NEET (15-29 year-olds) in Spain is relatively high. (9.3 %, rank 3/37 , 2024) Download Indicator
The share of men who are unemployed NEET (18-24 year-olds) in Spain is relatively high. (10.8 %, rank 3/36 , 2024) Download Indicator
The share of unemployed NEET (15-29 year-olds) in Spain is relatively high. (8.4 %, rank 3/38 , 2024) Download Indicator
Among 20-24 year-old men in Spain, a large share of them are neither employed nor in education or training. (21.2 %, rank 2/37 , 2024) Download Indicator
Among 25-29 year-old men in Spain, a large share of them are neither employed nor in education or training. (20.9 %, rank 3/37 , 2024) Download Indicator
The data table will display up to six selected countries.
General findings
- Tertiary attainment among young adults has reached 48% on average across the OECD, the highest level ever, but progress has slowed since 2021. Attainment remains unequal, with women generally outpacing men, and older generations showing lower rates.
- Employment outcomes for tertiary-educated adults remain strong overall: 87% of them are employed compared to 60% of those without upper seconday. Tertiary education offers good protection against unemployment, but women and disadvantaged groups still face labour market gaps, and inactivity persists among some adults. Moreover, adults with tertiary education earn on average 54% more than those with only upper secondary education.
- Gender pay gaps remain significant. Despite higher attainment, women with tertiary education consistently earn less than men, even when working full-time, and this gap persists across age groups (73% on average for women aged 25 to 64).
- Fields of study strongly influence labour market outcomes. Graduates in engineering and in health and welfare fare particularly well, while women’s participation in STEM remains below parity (14% of graduates at tertiary level) despite being 58% of all tertiary graduates.
- Internationalisation continues to expand in tertiary education. The share of international students has grown steadily, and OECD countries host a large proportion of the world’s mobile students, reinforcing their global role in higher education.
- Sustaining tertiary education requires adequate investment. Spending per student is already at 21 021 USD and rising, and tertiary expenditure represents a notable share of GDP (1.4% on average in OECD), making efficiency and equity crucial for long-term sustainability.
| Education policies: Attainment | Education policies: Access and Participation | Education policies: Finance and Funding | Education policies: Labour market outcomes |
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- Although many countries have near universal upper secondary attainment among 25–34 year-olds, on average across the OECD 13% of younger adults still lack an upper secondary qualification.
- NEET shares are now below pre-pandemic levels in about half of OECD and partner countries with trend data; in 8 of these 16 countries the decline exceeds 1 percentage point, while 17 countries exceed pre-pandemic benchmarks and 6 saw increases of more than 2 percentage points.
- Employment rates rise steadily with higher tertiary attainment: short-cycle 83%, bachelor’s 86%, master’s 90%, and doctoral or equivalent 93% among 25–64 year-olds.
- Earnings premiums also increase with qualification level: on average across the OECD, short-cycle graduates earn 17% more than those with upper secondary; the advantage is 39% for bachelor’s and 83% for master’s/doctoral graduates.
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- Most children aged 3 to 5 are enrolled in early childhood education, with an average participation rate of 85% across the OECD. By contrast, only 29% of children under the age of 3 are enrolled.
- Participation in early childhood education has grown over the past decade, with enrolment for children under age 3 increasing by 9 percentage points to 29%, and enrolment for ages 3 and above rising by 5 points to 85%.
- The majority of students in vocational upper secondary education follow programmes that grant full access to tertiary education, with 76% of students enrolled in such programmes on average across the OECD.
- Completion rates for bachelor’s programmes increase after the theoretical duration of programmes: on average, 44% of students graduate on time, compared to 69% three years after.
- Students from Asia form the largest regional group of internationally mobile students in tertiary education, representing 58% of all foreign or international students across the OECD in 2023.
- Only 43% of students complete a bachelor’s degree within the expected duration, though this rises to 59% with one additional year and 70% with three additional years on average across the OECD.
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- Governments spend on average USD 12 438 per student in primary, secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education, and USD 15 102 per student in tertiary education including R&D.
- Expenditure per student has risen in absolute terms since 2015, but its share in public budgets has declined, with government spending on education at almost 15% of total government expenditure on average in 2022.
- Annual spending per student at primary and secondary levels varies widely across OECD countries, from under USD 3 000 in some systems to over USD 25 000 in the most highly funded ones.
- Tertiary education continues to expand, placing pressure on public budgets. Private sources represent a larger share of total funding at the tertiary level than at any other level of education.
- Spending per student differs markedly between public and private institutions, with expenditure in public tertiary institutions exceeding USD 33 000 in some countries, compared to less than USD 10 000 in others.
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- Students in OECD countries receive an average of 7 604 hours of compulsory instruction during primary and lower secondary education, with total hours ranging widely across education systems.
- Compulsory instruction time averages 804 hours per year for primary students and 909 hours for lower secondary students, a difference of about 105 hours annually.
- The ratio of children to teachers in pre-primary education has fallen across most OECD countries, decreasing from an average of 15 children per teacher in 2013 to 13 in 2023.
- Teachers’ statutory salaries increase with the level of education taught. On average, teachers with 15 years of experience earn USD 55 725 at pre-primary level and USD 63 925 at upper secondary level.
- Teachers’ actual salaries are 83–91% of the earnings of similarly educated tertiary-educated workers, while school heads usually earn more than tertiary-educated workers on average across OECD countries.
- The ratio of students to academic staff is lower in public than in private institutions, averaging about 14 students per staff member in public tertiary institutions compared to 18 in private ones.
- Nearly half of OECD and partner countries operate non-selective admission systems for first degrees, providing broad access to tertiary education, while entrance exams and centralised systems are also common.
- The salaries of academic staff in tertiary education vary by seniority. On average, junior staff earn about 62 000 USD, while senior staff earn about 108 000 USD.
| Education policies: Teachers | Education policies: Teachers | OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) |
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Note: These values should be interpreted with care since they are influenced by countries' specific contexts and trade-offs. In education, there is often no simple
most- or least-efficient model. For instance, the share of private expenditure in education must be read against other measures designed to mitigate inequities,
such as loans and grants; longer learning time is an opportunity to convey more and better content to students, but may hinder investments in other important
areas. If you want further information on the nature of different variables, please take the time to read the analysis and contextual information, available at the website
for each publication.
All rankings for individual variables are compiled on the basis of OECD and G20 countries for which data are available. The OECD average includes only OECD countries which are listed here: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/members-partners.html
Reference years displayed in the Education GPS correspond to the most common year of reference among countries for which data is available on each variable. Data for the latest available year is preferred and some countries may have provided data refering to a more recent or late year. To know more about possible exceptions on data please click on the "Download Indicator" link on each variable. When a year of reference corresponds to a school year encompassing two years, the reference reads as follows: 2026 for school year 2025/2026.
*TALIS averages are based on all countries participating in the TALIS survey, including partner countries and economies. This explains the difference between the OECD average and the TALIS averages. Data from the TALIS survey and Education at a Glance (EAG) may differ. See Annex E of the TALIS technical report and Annex 3 of EAG 2024 for more details about the data collections.
For additional notes, please refer to annexes in the list of links below the introductory country profile text.
All rankings for individual variables are compiled on the basis of OECD and G20 countries for which data are available. The OECD average includes only OECD countries which are listed here: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/members-partners.html
Reference years displayed in the Education GPS correspond to the most common year of reference among countries for which data is available on each variable. Data for the latest available year is preferred and some countries may have provided data refering to a more recent or late year. To know more about possible exceptions on data please click on the "Download Indicator" link on each variable. When a year of reference corresponds to a school year encompassing two years, the reference reads as follows: 2026 for school year 2025/2026.
*TALIS averages are based on all countries participating in the TALIS survey, including partner countries and economies. This explains the difference between the OECD average and the TALIS averages. Data from the TALIS survey and Education at a Glance (EAG) may differ. See Annex E of the TALIS technical report and Annex 3 of EAG 2024 for more details about the data collections.
For additional notes, please refer to annexes in the list of links below the introductory country profile text.