Education · Europe & Central Asia · High income
Spain: education in numbers
Pre-primary enrolment is 101.8% (2020), 21st of 176 in the world and 11th of 51 in Europe & Central Asia. Primary enrolment is 102.9% (2024), 63rd of 191 in the world and 14th of 53 in Europe & Central Asia. Primary completion is 98.5% (2024), 50th of 168 in the world and 21st of 47 in Europe & Central Asia.
Pre-primary enrolment
SpainEurope & Central AsiaHigh incomeWorld
Primary enrolment
SpainEurope & Central AsiaHigh incomeWorld
12 indicators
Education: Spain in detail
Latest reported value, world rank and rank within Europe & Central Asia; values around 2000, 2010, 2020; group and world columns are World Bank aggregates.
| Indicator | Latest | World rank | In region | ~2000 | ~2010 | ~2020 | 10-year change | Region | Income group | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary enrolmentPre-primary enrolment, % gross | 101.8%2020 | 21/176 | 11/51 | 96.7%1998 | · | 101.8% | +5.1 ppsince 1998 | 78.3% | 83.8% | 60.9% | |
| Primary enrolmentPrimary school enrolment, % gross | 102.9%2024 | 63/191 | 14/53 | 104.6%2001 | 101.2% | 103.9% | +0.2 ppsince 2014 | 99.9% | 99.8% | 102.2% | |
| Primary completionPrimary completion rate, % of age group | 98.5%2024 | 50/168 | 21/47 | · | 99.2% | 96.6% | +1.8 ppsince 2014 | 98.1% | 97.8% | 88.0% | |
| Secondary enrolmentSecondary school enrolment, % gross | 118.5%2024 | 19/176 | 10/53 | 115.3%2001 | 122.6% | 118.3% | −7.0 ppsince 2014 | 103.3% | 103.2% | 77.3% | |
| Lower secondary completionLower secondary completion rate, % of age group | 93.4%2024 | 71/168 | 36/50 | · | 81.5% | 91.2% | +4.5 ppsince 2014 | 91.9% | 95.6% | 77.9% | |
| Tertiary enrolmentTertiary enrolment, % gross | 93.8%2024 | 15/172 | 6/52 | 61.0%2001 | 76.4% | 91.6% | +5.8 ppsince 2014 | 84.9% | 82.0% | 43.6% | |
| Out-of-school childrenChildren out of school, % of primary school age | 1.2%2024 | 129/178 | 28/51 | 0.0%2001 | 1.8% | 1.4% | −1.4 ppsince 2014 | — | 2.5% | — | |
| Adult literacyAdult literacy rate, % of people 15+ | 99.7%2021 | 15/141 | 13/27 | · | 97.8% | 98.6% | +1.9 ppsince 2011 | 98.8% | 97.7% | 87.7% | |
| Youth literacyYouth literacy rate, % of people 15–24 | 99.7%2021 | 30/148 | 18/27 | · | 99.6% | 99.6% | ±0.0 ppsince 2011 | 99.8% | 99.3% | 93.1% | |
| Pupils per teacherPupils per teacher, primary | 13.12017 | 132/173 | 24/48 | 14.5 | 12.4 | · | +2.4%since 2007 | 14.9 | 14.0 | 23.4 | |
| Education spendingPublic spending on education, % of GDP | 4.6%2022 | 74/184 | 24/49 | 4.2% | 4.8% | 4.9% | +0.1 ppsince 2012 | 4.6% | 4.7% | 3.6% | |
| Education, % of budgetEducation spending, % of government expenditure | 9.9%2022 | 143/179 | 38/49 | 10.7% | 10.5% | 9.4% | +0.8 ppsince 2012 | 11.7% | 12.0% | 14.0% |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)“·” — no value reported within two years of that date. World rank counts countries with a recent value.
Better than ten years ago
- Pre-primary enrolment+5.1 pp101.8% in 2020
- Primary completion+1.8 pp98.5% in 2024
- Lower secondary completion+4.5 pp93.4% in 2024
- Tertiary enrolment+5.8 pp93.8% in 2024
Worse than ten years ago
- Secondary enrolment−7.0 pp118.5% in 2024
- Pupils per teacher+2.4%13.1 in 2017
Only indicators where higher or lower is clearly better are rated (for example, unemployment down is better, life expectancy up is better).
neighbours
Spain and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with Spain. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | Spain | France | Morocco | Portugal | Andorra | Gibraltar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary enrolment | 101.8%2020 | 106.7%2020 | 59.9%2021 | 99.4%2020 | — | 105.6%2021 |
| Primary enrolment | 102.9%2024 | 103.4%2024 | 116.6%2024 | 111.0%2023 | 99.9%2024 | 101.8%2024 |
| Primary completion | 98.5%2024 | — | 106.4%2024 | 104.5%2023 | 67.4%2024 | 95.4%2024 |
| Secondary enrolment | 118.5%2024 | 103.8%2024 | 90.0%2024 | 120.3%2023 | 101.9%2024 | 78.5%2024 |
| Lower secondary completion | 93.4%2024 | 99.5%2024 | 77.2%2024 | 100.6%2023 | 93.4%2024 | 110.3%2024 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 93.8%2024 | 71.5%2024 | 48.2%2024 | 77.7%2023 | 67.7%2024 | — |
| Out-of-school children | 1.2%2024 | 0.2%2024 | 0.5%2021 | 0.5%2023 | 2.4%2024 | 1.6%2024 |
| Adult literacy | 99.7%2021 | — | 64.3%2014 | 94.5%2011 | — | — |
| Youth literacy | 99.7%2021 | — | 89.1%2014 | 99.4%2011 | — | — |