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Data profiles:


Spain
Overview of the education system (EAG 2022)
  • Between 2000 and 2021, the share of 25-34 year-olds with tertiary attainment in Spain increased albeit at a slower pace than on average across OECD countries, by 15 percentage points (from 34% in 2000 to 49% in 2021).
  • In Spain, 49% of 25-34 year-olds had a tertiary qualification in 2021 compared to 47% on average across OECD countries.
  • In 2020, 97% of 3-5 year-olds in Spain were enrolled in early childhood education programmes education in Spain, compared to 83% on average across OECD countries. The share of children enrolled in private institutions at pre-primary level was 33%. In 2019, Spain spent USD 7 827 on pre-primary educational institutions, below the OECD average (USD 9 598%), 16% was funded by private sources.
  • In Spain, the share of women among general upper secondary graduates is 55% (OECD average 55%). Men make up 50% of all vocational upper secondary graduates, below the OECD average (55%).
  • The share of part-time students at the tertiary level in Spain is 25%, slightly above the OECD average (22%). Compared to 2013, it has decreased by 2 percentage points.
  • In 2019, Spain spent 4.3% of its GDP or a total of USD 10 694 per full-time equivalent student on primary to tertiary educational institutions compared to USD 11 990 on average across OECD countries. Education funding reached USD 14 237 per student at the tertiary level, 25% of which corresponds to expenditure for research and development (R&D).
  • Based on official regulations or agreements,annual teaching hours in Spain are 871 hours per year at pre-primary level, 871 hours at primary level, 665 hours at lower secondary level (general programmes) and 665 hours at upper secondary level (general programmes).
    • | Education at a Glance 2022 | Country Note | Country Note (in Spanish) | Annexes from Education at a Glance 2022 | 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 and partner countries. Find out more about the methodology here.

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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. (23.6 %, rank 41/42 , 2021) 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. (14.7 %, rank 5/33 , 2021) Download Indicator

    Attainment by gender

    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 %, rank 40/42 , 2021) 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. (5.4 %, rank 26/29 , 2021) Download Indicator

    The percentage of 25-64 year-olds with tertiary education who studied in the field of natural sciences, mathematics and statistics is one of the highest among OECD countries and partner economies with available data. (6.3 %, rank 4/31 , 2021) Download Indicator

    Participation in education

    The share of students enrolled in school- and work-based programmes among all upper secondary students enrolled in vocational programmes is one of the smallest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (1.9 %, rank 22/22 , 2020) Download Indicator

    The enrolment rate of students aged 19 in post-secondary non-tertiary programmes in Spain is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (0 %, rank 28/30 , 2020) Download Indicator

    The enrolment rate of students aged 19 tertiary programmes in Spain is one of the highest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (14.4 %, rank 4/33 , 2020) Download Indicator

    The enrolment rate of students aged 20 in post-secondary non-tertiary programmes in Spain is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (0 %, rank 29/29 , 2020) Download Indicator

    The enrolment rate of students aged 20 tertiary programmes in Spain is one of the highest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (13.6 %, rank 5/33 , 2020) Download Indicator

    Graduation

    The share of long first degree master's graduates in public institutions is relatively low in Spain. (77 %, rank 18/21 , 2020) Download Indicator

    The share of first-time short-cycle graduates is relatively high in Spain. (35.8 %, rank 5/27 , 2020) Download Indicator

    The percentage of first-time bachelor's graduates is relatively low in Spain. (49.7 %, rank 30/31 , 2020) Download Indicator

    Graduation by gender

    The share of male tertiary graduates in the field of education is relatively high in Spain. (9.8 %, rank 5/41 , 2020) Download Indicator

    In Spain, the percentage of female post-secondary non-tertiary graduates in the field of health and welfare is relatively small. (70.9 %, rank 19/21 , 2020) 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. (40.2 %, rank 34/35 , 2020) Download Indicator

    Graduation by age

    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 (37.7 Years, rank 3/23 , 2020) 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. (14.8 %, rank 31/33 , 2020) Download Indicator

    In Spain, the percentage of post-secondary non-tertiary vocational graduates in the field of engineering, manufacturing and construction is relatively low. (8.3 %, rank 18/22 , 2020) Download Indicator

    Fields of education

    The share of female who enter tertiary education in the field of information and communication technologies (ICTs) is one of the smallest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (13.7 %, rank 31/35 , 2020) Download Indicator

    The share of female students entering master's or equivalent programmes in engineering, manufacturing and construction in Spain is one of the largest compared to other OECD countries and partner economies. (38.6 %, rank 3/36 , 2020) Download Indicator

    The share of female students entering short cycle tertiary programmes in information and communication technologies in Spain is one of the smallest compared to other OECD countries and partner economies. (11.7 %, rank 22/26 , 2020) 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. (15.8 %, rank 21/22 , 2020) 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. (61.4 %, rank 34/36 , 2020) Download Indicator

    Student mobility

    In Spain, the proportion of international graduates among bachelor's first-time graduates is relatively low. (1.8 %, rank 27/30 , 2020) Download Indicator

    In Spain, the proportion of international or foreign students enrolled in bachelor's programmes is one of the smallest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (1.6 %, rank 34/38 , 2020) 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. (1.7 %, rank 34/37 , 2020) 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. (1.6 %, rank 34/37 , 2020) Download Indicator

    Student mobility by field of education

    In Spain, the share of international and foreign students among all students in the field of arts and humanities is one of the smallest among OECD and partner countries with avaialble data. (3.2 %, rank 32/36 , 2020) Download Indicator

    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 avaialble data. (1.8 %, rank 32/35 , 2020) Download Indicator

    In Spain, the share of students enrolled in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics among all international or foreign students is relatively low compared to other OECD and partner countries. (19.9 %, rank 29/33 , 2020) Download Indicator

    Expenditure in education and national wealth

    In Spain, the public expenditure as a percentage of GDP from initial source of funds on primary to post-secondary non-tertiary level is low. (2.6 %, rank 27/29 , 2019) Download Indicator

    Nature of expenditure

    In Spain, the share of capital expenditure on primary education is one of the smallest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (3.6 %, rank 29/33 , 2019) Download Indicator

    The percentage of capital expenditure on primary, secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education is relatively in Spain. (3.3 %, rank 30/33 , 2019) Download Indicator

    The percentage of capital expenditure on secondary education is relatively in Spain. (3.1 %, rank 30/33 , 2019) Download Indicator

    The percentage of current expenditure on secondary education is relatively in Spain. (96.9 %, rank 4/33 , 2019) Download Indicator

    Teachers

    The number of days of instruction in a school year in pre-primary school is especially low. (176 Days, rank 26/28 , 2021) Download Indicator

    Who the teachers are

    In Spain, the share of short-cycle tertiary teachers aged between 30 and 49 is relatively high, compared to other countries with data available. (56.3 %, rank 5/23 , 2019) Download Indicator

    In Spain, the share of bachelor's, master's and doctoral level teachers older than 50 is relatively high, compared to other countries with data available. (49.5 %, rank 5/29 , 2019) 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 3/28 , 2021) 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. (8.5 Ratio, rank 26/30 , 2019) Download Indicator

    In Spain, the number of students per teacher in private institutions short-cycle tertiary education is one of the highest among countries with available data. (15 Ratio, rank 5/17 , 2020) Download Indicator

    In Spain, the number of students per teacher in government-dependent private short-cycle tertiary education is one of the highest among countries with available data. (15.2 Ratio, rank 3/9 , 2019) Download Indicator

    Class size

    Classes in lower secondary private institutions are comparatively large in Spain. (26 Students, rank 4/31 , 2019) 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. (83.9 %, rank 35/39 , 2021) 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. (87.2 %, rank 34/35 , 2021) 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. (78.2 %, rank 23/27 , 2021) Download Indicator

    In Spain, the inactivity rate of 25-64 year-olds with a doctoral or equivalent tertiary education degree is one of the highest among countries with available data. (8.6 %, rank 3/30 , 2021) Download Indicator

    Employment by gender and educational attainment

    The employment rate among 25-34 year-old men with tertiary education is compartively low in Spain. (79.6 %, rank 39/43 , 2021) 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. (75.7 %, rank 29/31 , 2021) Download Indicator

    The employment rate among 25-64 year-olds with tertiary education who studied in the field of humanities (except languages), social sciences, journalism and information is low compared to other OECD and partner countries. (79.9 %, rank 25/29 , 2021) 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. (80.9 %, rank 27/31 , 2021) Download Indicator

    The employment rate among 25-64 year-olds with tertiary education who studied in the field of information and communication technologies is low compared to other OECD and partner countries. (86.5 %, rank 27/31 , 2021) 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. (85.1 %, rank 28/31 , 2021) Download Indicator

    Unemployment and educational attainment

    The unemployment rate among 25-34 year-olds with below upper secondary education is comparatively high. (27.5 %, rank 4/41 , 2021) Download Indicator

    The unemployment rate among 25-64 year-olds without upper secondary education is comparatively high. (19.8 %, rank 4/42 , 2021) Download Indicator

    The inactivity rate of 25-34 years-old adults with below upper secondary education is low in Spain. (18.3 %, rank 41/41 , 2021) 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. (12.2 %, rank 5/41 , 2021) 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. (11.8 %, rank 3/37 , 2021) 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. (15.3 %, rank 3/28 , 2021) Download Indicator

    Earnings and educational attainment

    Earnings of foreign-born aged between 25 and 64 who work full- and part-time with a short cycle tertiary education are comparatively low. (108.4 %, rank 25/28 , 2020) Download Indicator

    Compared to other countries with available data, earnings of 25-64 year-olds with below secondary education compared to those of adults with an upper secondary education are relatively low in Spain. (105.2 %, rank 27/29 , 2020) Download Indicator

    Neither in education nor employed

    The share of unemployed youth neither in formal education nor training among 18-24 year-olds in Spain is one of the highest among countries with available data. (11.7 %, rank 5/37 , 2021) Download Indicator

    The share of youth who have been unemployed for at least 3 months but less than a 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. (5.4 %, rank 1/26 , 2021) Download Indicator

    The share of youth who have been unemployed for less than 3 months and not in formal education or training among 18-24 year-olds in Spain is one of the highest among countries with available data. (3.3 %, rank 5/27 , 2021) Download Indicator

    Among 20-24 year-olds men in Spain, a large share of them are neither employed nor in education or training. (24.4 %, rank 4/37 , 2021) Download Indicator


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    General findings
    
                        
    
                            
    
                                
    • Tertiary attainment has increased strongly in most OECD countries among 25-34 year olds. The average share of younger adults with a tertiary degree has increased from 27% in 2000 to 48% in 2021.
    • Higher educational attainment leads to better labour-market outcomes including higher wages and higher employment rates.
    • Expenditure on tertiary education accounts for 1.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) on average across OECD countries or 30% of all education funding allocated to educational institutions.
    
                            
    
                            
    
                                | Education policies: Access and Participation - Tertiary | Education policies: Finance and Funding - Tertiary | Education policies: Labour market outcomes - Tertiary | 
    
                            
    
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    • Tertiary attainment has increased strongly in most OECD countries among 25-34 year-olds. The average share of younger adults with a tertiary degree has increased from 27% in 2000 to 48% in 2021. In this age group, the share of individuals with tertiary attainment is 7 percentage points higher than the share of individuals with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment on average across OECD countries. If current trends continue, a tertiary education will be the most common attainment among working-age adults on average across OECD countries within a few years.
    • Higher educational attainment leads to better labour-market outcomes. In 2021, on average, employment rates for tertiary-educated young adults (25-34 year-olds) are 8 percentage points higher than those who have attained upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education and 26 percentage points higher than those who have attained below upper secondary education across OECD countries. 
    • Greater educational attainment yields better earnings and this holds true for higher levels of tertiary attainment in most countries. On average across the OECD, full-time full-year workers who attained short-cycle tertiary education earned 20% more than those with upper secondary attainment in 2020. This earnings advantage increases to 44% among those who attained a bachelor's or equivalent qualification and to 88% among those with a master's or doctoral or equivalent degree.
    
                            
    
                            
    
                                | Education policies: Attainment | Education policies: Labour market outcomes | 
    
                            
    
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    • On average, the vast majority (88%) of children between the age of 3 and 5 are enrolled in early childhood education (ECE) across the OECD. In a few countries, it is also common for younger children between the age of 0 and 2 to participate in ECE and over 50% of children in this age group are enrolled. However, only 27% of under-threes are enrolled in ECE on average across the OECD.
    • In almost all countries with available data, the majority of upper secondary graduates from general programmes are women. Men dominate graduation from vocational programmes in almost three-quarters of the countries.
    • While the average age of first-time graduates from general upper secondary education does not differ much across countries, the difference widens in vocational education, ranging from 16 to 34 years.
    • Around one-fifth of tertiary students are enrolled on a part-time basis, but large differences exist across OECD countries. Studying part-time is especially common in many Nordic countries, Australia, New Zealand and the United States, where more than 30% of students study part-time. However, in some countries like the Czech Republic, and Greece, less than 5% of students study part-time.
    • Students are more likely to cross borders to pursue their studies as they reach more advanced levels of education. Internationally mobile students account for only 7% of bachelor's students, but 17% of master's students and 26% of doctoral students on average in OECD countries.
    
                            
    
                            
    
                                | Education policies: Access and Participation  | 
    
                            
    
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    • Total public spending on education (from primary to tertiary level) averages 10.6% of total government expenditure across OECD countries, from around 7% to 17%. The largest share of government funding is devoted to primary and secondary levels, explained by near-universal enrolment rates at those levels of education and the greater contribution of private sources at tertiary level.
    • On average across OECD countries, expenditure on primary education amounts to 30% of the funding for educational institutions, while secondary education accounts for 39%.
    • In 2019, OECD countries spent an average of USD 17 559 per student per year at the tertiary level. However, this average is driven up by high values in a few countries, reaching over USD 25 000 in Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.
    • On average across OECD countries, 63% of total expenditure on tertiary educational institutions goes to core services (e.g. teachers' salaries, school buildings, teaching materials and administration), 33% on research and development activities, and 4% on ancillary services (e.g. meals and transport).
    • Expenditure on tertiary education accounts for 1.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) on average across OECD countries or 30% of all education funding allocated to educational institutions.
    • On average across OECD countries, public funds account for 83% of total spending on educational institutions. Private sources are more important at the tertiary level, where they make up 31% of all expenditure compared to just 10% at the non-tertiary levels (primary, secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary).
    
                            
    
                            
    
                                | Education policies: Finance and Funding | 
    
                            
    
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    • Teachers' actual salaries at pre-primary, primary and general secondary level are 4-14% lower than the earnings of tertiary-educated workers on average across OECD countries and other participants. School heads' actual salaries are substantially higher than those of teachers across primary and secondary education.
    • Teachers in public schools in OECD and partner countries are required to teach on average 987 hours per year at pre-primary level, 784 hours at primary level, 711 hours at lower secondary level (general programmes) and 684 hours at upper secondary level (general and vocational programmes).
    • Typically, the duration of initial teacher education programmes varies from 3 years to 6.5 years, for prospective lower secondary teachers of general subjects. A tertiary qualification is awarded upon completion of the programme in most countries, regardless of the level of education at which the teacher will teach.
    • Continuing professional development is compulsory to some extent for teachers of general subjects at least at one level of education in most countries with data, except Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands and New Zealand. It can be either generally compulsory for all teachers as a regular part of their work, or for some teachers for specific purposes such as promotion or salary increases, or in some cases, both.
    
                            
    
                            
    
                                | Education policies: Teachers | OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS)  | 
    
                            
    
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            Diagram of funding flows - Spain
            
    
            
    
        
    


        
		
    
            
    
			Click on the coverpage to see the full OECD iLibrary version
			
    
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            Country Reviews for Spain
            
    
            
    
			
    
        
    
		
              
              
              
              
              
              
              
        
    
            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: http://www.oecd.org/about/membersandpartners/
            

    
	    *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 2021 for more details about the data collections.
            

    
			B-S-J-Z (China) refers to the four PISA-participating provinces/municipalities of the People's Republic of China:
Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
			

    
            For additional notes, please refer to annexes in the list of links below the introductory country profile text.