Spain
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Spain
Overview of the education system (EAG 2026)
| Education at a Glance 2026 (EAG 2026): OECD Indicators | Country note | Country note in Spanish | Annexes from Education at a Glance 2026 | 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) |
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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
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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. (23 %, rank 41/41 , 2025) 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 40/41 , 2025) 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 37/41 , 2025) 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 %, rank 29/33 , 2025) 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. (15.4 %, rank 4/30 , 2025) 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 largest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (28.6 %, rank 4/40 , 2025) 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 smallest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (24.8 %, rank 41/41 , 2025) 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 smallest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (21.1 %, rank 38/41 , 2025) 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 smallest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (23.1 %, rank 40/41 , 2025) 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 smallest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (23 %, rank 39/41 , 2025) 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 smallest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (22.9 %, rank 37/41 , 2025) Download Indicator
Entrance
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 22/23 , 2024) 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. (46.2 %, rank 32/34 , 2024) Download Indicator
Entrance by field of education and gender
The proportion of female new entrants in services bachelor’s programmes was among the smallest across countries with available data. (35.9 %, rank 26/28 , 2024) Download Indicator
In Spain, the share of female new entrants to doctoral programmes in business, administration and law was among the smallest internationally. (42.8 %, rank 25/27 , 2024) Download Indicator
In Spain, the share of female among new entrants in doctoral programmes enrolled in the field of education is relatively small. (58.4 %, rank 23/25 , 2024) Download Indicator
In Spain, the share of female among new entrants in doctoral programmes enrolled in the field of information and communication technologies is relatively small. (21.8 %, rank 24/27 , 2024) Download Indicator
The share of female students entering master's or equivalent programmes in education in Spain is one of the smallest compared to other OECD countries and partner economies. (63.6 %, rank 28/28 , 2024) 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. (45.3 %, rank 26/28 , 2024) 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. (20.6 %, rank 19/20 , 2024) 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. (56.6 %, rank 28/28 , 2024) 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. (97.7 %, rank 4/37 , 2024) Download Indicator
The percentage of four-year-olds in early childhood and primary education in Spain is one of the highest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (97.9 %, rank 4/43 , 2024) 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. (2.4 %, rank 21/22 , 2024) Download Indicator
Graduation
The percentage of first-time bachelor's graduates is relatively low in Spain. (40.7 %, rank 31/32 , 2024) Download Indicator
The average age of bachelor's or equivalent graduates in Spain is among the youngest. (23.6 Years, rank 26/30 , 2024) 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. (55.3 %, rank 29/32 , 2024) 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. (15.5 %, rank 31/33 , 2024) Download Indicator
Graduation by field of education and gender
In Spain, the share of female tertiary graduates in the field of sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (10.6 %, rank 34/38 , 2024) Download Indicator
In Spain, the percentage of female post-secondary non-tertiary graduates in the field of health and welfare is relatively small. (68.2 %, rank 18/19 , 2024) 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. (42.9 %, rank 27/30 , 2024) 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. (47.9 %, rank 31/34 , 2024) 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. (27.5 %, rank 32/34 , 2024) 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. (14.4 %, rank 33/34 , 2024) Download Indicator
Completion rates
A relatively low share of upper secondary students complete their studies within the theoretical programme duration. (67 %, rank 22/26 , 2022) Download Indicator
Student mobility
In Spain, the proportion of international graduates among bachelor's first-time graduates is relatively low. (2.3 %, rank 26/30 , 2024) Download Indicator
Who the teachers are
The percentage of teachers under 30 in early childhood educational development is especially low in Spain. (8.9 %, rank 19/22 , 2024) 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 3/42 , 2025) Download Indicator
Teacher shortages
The gap in job satisfaction between teachers and other similarly educated employed adults aged 16-65 is especially wide in favor of teachers in Spain. (7.6 % points, rank 2/27 , 2023) Download Indicator
Ratio of student to teaching staff
The ratio of students to teaching staff at the vocational upper secondary level is especially low in Spain. (7 Ratio, rank 32/32 , 2024) Download Indicator
In Spain, the number of students per teacher in public upper secondary education is one of the smallest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (8.3 Ratio, rank 42/44 , 2024) Download Indicator
In Spain, the number of students per teacher in all public secondary education is one of the smallest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (8.8 Ratio, rank 37/41 , 2024) 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. (8.8 Ratio, rank 17/20 , 2024) Download Indicator
Organisation of the education system
Classes in lower secondary private institutions are comparatively large in Spain. (26 Students, rank 5/37 , 2024) Download Indicator
Employment and educational attainment
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. (79.9 %, rank 28/32 , 2025) 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 comparatively low in Spain. (77.1 %, rank 37/40 , 2025) 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 (82.9 %, rank 30/32 , 2025) Download Indicator
Unemployment and educational attainment
The unemployment rate among 25-34 year-olds with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education is comparatively high. (12.5 %, rank 2/40 , 2025) Download Indicator
The unemployment rate among 25-34 year-olds with tertiary education is comparatively high. (7.9 %, rank 5/40 , 2025) Download Indicator
The unemployment rate among 25-64 year-olds without upper secondary education is comparatively high. (14.5 %, rank 5/39 , 2025) Download Indicator
The unemployment rate among 25-64 year-olds with tertiary education is comparatively high. (5.7 %, rank 5/40 , 2025) 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 %, rank 1/33 , 2025) 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. (10.1 %, rank 2/35 , 2025) Download Indicator
Unemployment by gender and educational attainment
The unemployment rate among 25-34 year-old women with tertiary education is comparatively high in Spain. (8.5 %, rank 5/38 , 2025) Download Indicator
Inactivity and educational attainment
The inactivity rate of 25-34 years-old adults with below upper secondary education is low in Spain. (20.8 %, rank 37/39 , 2025) Download Indicator
In Spain, the inactivity rate of 25-64 year-olds with below upper secondary education is one of the lowest among countries with available data. (25.7 %, rank 35/39 , 2025) 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. (31.4 %, rank 35/38 , 2025) Download Indicator
Earnings and educational attainment
Compared to other countries with available data, the relative earnings of full-time, full-year workers aged 25-34 with general upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education (relative to those without an upper secondary education) are comparatively low in Spain. (109 Index, rank 14/18 , 2024) Download Indicator
Compared to other countries with available data, the relative earnings of full-time, full-year workers aged 45-54 with general upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education (relative to those without an upper secondary education) are comparatively low in Spain. (120 Index, rank 16/20 , 2024) Download Indicator
Compared to other countries with available data, the relative earnings of full-time, full-year workers aged 25-34 with vocational upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education (relative to those without an upper secondary education) are comparatively low in Spain. (105 Index, rank 16/18 , 2024) Download Indicator
Earnings and skill level
The share of high earners aged 25-64 with high numeracy, literacy and adaptive problem-solving skills in the Adult Skills Survey was among the greatest in Spain compared with other countries with available data. (74.9 %, rank 2/21 , 2023) Download Indicator
Earnings, gender and educational attainment
Earnings of women as a percentage of men's earnings (among 25-64 year-olds with tertiary education and income from employment) are one of the highest among countries with available data. (84.8 %, rank 4/29 , 2024) Download Indicator
Earnings of women as a percentage of men's earnings (25-34 year-olds with general upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education working full-time full-year) are one of the lowest among countries with available data. (76.9 %, rank 18/19 , 2024) Download Indicator
Women's earnings as a percentage of men's earnings (25-34 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. (73.4 %, rank 17/19 , 2024) Download Indicator
Earnings of women as a percentage of men's earnings (25-64 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. (76.3 %, rank 16/20 , 2024) Download Indicator
Neither in education nor employed
The share of women without an upper secondary education neither in employment nor in education and training (25-29 year-olds) in Spain is relatively low (37.6 %, rank 29/31 , 2025) Download Indicator
Social outcomes
In Spain, the share of employed men aged 25-64 with tertiary education reporting high or very high flexibility in their main job was among the lowest across countries with available data. (32.4 %, rank 28/30 , 2023) Download Indicator
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General findings
- Educational attainment remains at an all-time high in 2025 as more people obtain advanced qualifications. Across the OECD, 43% of working-age adults have a tertiary qualification, while the share of adults with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment is slightly lower at 39%.
- On a similar note, the share of young adults without upper secondary attainment continues to decline across the OECD, standing at 12% in 2025. Therefore, while more young adults obtain a tertiary qualification, the share of individuals whose highest qualification is upper secondary with a vocational orientation is decreasing in almost all OECD countries.
- Regarding the share of young people being neither in employment nor in education or training, it stood at 14% as of 2025 across OECD countries. However, cross-country comparisons reveal a wide variety of trends, ranging from large falls in Croatia or Ireland to increases in Germany or Latvia.
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- Most children aged 3 to 5 are enrolled in early childhood education, with an average participation rate of 86% across the OECD in 2024. Participation in early childhood education increases with age and tends to be higher in countries with stronger institutional support for participation.
- 76.2% of students complete upper secondary programmes within the theoretical programme duration. This rises to 84.9% with two additional years on average across the OECD.
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- In 2023, OECD countries allocated an average of 9.8% of total government expenditure to education, equivalent to 4.2% of GDP.
- Total expenditure on education tends to rise with the level of education. In primary education, expenditure per student was USD 13 552 in 2023 on average across the OECD. This amount rises to USD 14 923 in secondary education and to USD 22 402 in tertiary education.
- 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. However, as a whole most investment in education comes from public sources. On average, across the OECD, government expenditure on primary to tertiary education corresponded to 4% of GDP in 2023, while private expenditure corresponded to 0.6%. Both of these figures are measured as initial source of funds, which implies that we are tracking the original provider.
- Research and development represents around one-third of total expenditure across the OECD on tertiary educational institutions, underlining their dual role in both teaching and research. On average across the OECD, in 2023, USD 8 060 were invested annually into research and development for every student enrolled in tertiary education.
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- Compulsory teaching time averages 770 hours per year for primary students and 710 hours for lower secondary students (general programmes), a difference of about 60 hours annually.
- The ratio of children to teachers in primary education has slightly fallen across most OECD countries, decreasing from an average of 15 children per teacher in 2015 to 14 in 2024.
- Teachers’ statutory salaries increase with the level of education taught. On average, across OECD countries and economies, the salaries of teachers with the most prevalent qualifications with 15 years of experience range from USD 60 437 at pre-primary level to USD 68 928 at upper secondary level.
- Teachers’ actual salaries at primary and general secondary levels of education are 87-95% of the average earnings of tertiary-educated workers across OECD countries. School heads' actual salaries are usually higher than those of tertiary-educated workers.
| Education policies: Teachers | Education policies: Learning environment | OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) |
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- On average across OECD countries, 9.1% of teachers in primary and secondary education are non-fully qualified, with shares exceeding 18% in Chile, Denmark, Estonia and Germany.
- Furthermore, the share of fully qualified teachers leaving the profession in primary and secondary schools stands at 6.4% of the total teaching workforce.
- The ratio of children to teachers in primary education has slightly fallen across most OECD countries, decreasing from an average of 15 children per teacher in 2015 to 14 in 2024.
- Regarding job satisfaction among teachers, participating countries show wide differences. Japan, Spain and Czechia reported that teachers tend to be much more satisfied with their jobs than other employed adults. On the other hand, teachers in Hungary, Chile or Latvia tend to be less satisfied with their jobs than other employed adults.
| Education policies: Teachers | Education policies: Teacher working conditions | Education policies: Teacher employment |
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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. However, OECD averages from Education at a Glance coming from the OECD database are the averages for the indicator reference year appearing in the Education GPS and may differ from averages in the book where averages can include data from multiple reference years, based on countries' data availability.
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 in the Northern Hemisphere.
*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 Sources Methodologies and Technical Notes of EAG 2025 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. However, OECD averages from Education at a Glance coming from the OECD database are the averages for the indicator reference year appearing in the Education GPS and may differ from averages in the book where averages can include data from multiple reference years, based on countries' data availability.
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 in the Northern Hemisphere.
*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 Sources Methodologies and Technical Notes of EAG 2025 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.