Education In Spain Statistics [2026 Data]

More than half of all Spaniards aged 25 to 34 now hold a tertiary degree. At 52.6%, Spain’s young adult attainment rate surpasses both the OECD average of 48% and the EU average of 44.1%, according to the OECD’s Education at a Glance 2025 report. The country cleared the EU’s 2030 target of 45% years ahead of deadline. At the same time, early school leaving fell to a record low of 13.0% in 2024, and vocational training enrollment crossed one million students. These gains, however, sit alongside an overqualification rate of 34% — the highest in the EU — and per-student spending that still trails the OECD average by roughly $1,600.

Education In Spain Key Statistics (2025)

• 52.6% of 25–34 year-olds in Spain hold a tertiary degree, compared to 48% across the OECD (as of 2025).
• Spain’s early school leaving rate dropped to 13.0% in 2024, down from 20.0% in 2015.
• Overqualification stands at 34%, with the EU average at 21%.
• Public education spending reached approximately €63.4 billion in 2022, or 4.62% of GDP.
• 97.7% of children aged 3 to compulsory school age were enrolled in early childhood education in 2023.

Education In Spain: Tertiary Attainment Rates

Spain’s tertiary attainment rate among 25–34 year-olds hit 52.6% in the most recent data cycle. That puts it 4.6 points above the OECD average and 8.5 points above the EU average. Master’s degree holders in that age group account for 18%, up from 17% in 2019.

The problem is what happens after graduation. Spain’s overqualification rate — the share of degree holders working in jobs that don’t require their education level — is 34%. The EU-wide average is 21%, and the gap has barely moved in over a decade. For many graduates, the degree doesn’t translate into a matching career.

On the other end, 24% of young adults still lack upper secondary education. That’s down from 30% in 2019 but nearly double the OECD average of 13%.

PISA 2022 Scores for Education In Spain

Spain scored 473 in mathematics, 474 in reading, and 485 in science on the 2022 PISA assessment. All three figures land close to the OECD averages of 472, 476, and 485, respectively. But all three also dropped from 2018 — math by 8 points, reading by 3, and science by 2. These are the lowest scores Spain has recorded since PISA began in 2000.

One relative strength: 73% of Spanish students reached at least Level 2 proficiency in math, four points above the OECD average. At the top end, though, only 6% of students hit Level 5 or above, against 9% across the OECD. Grade repetition remains high at 22%, compared to 9% in other OECD countries.

Education In Spain: Early School Leaving Trends

Early school leaving has been Spain’s most persistent educational challenge. The 2024 rate of 13.0% is a record low. A decade earlier, it was 21.9%. Between 2014 and 2024, Spain cut its rate by 8.9 percentage points — the second-largest drop in the EU after Portugal.

The gender split is wide. The male early school leaving rate was 15.8% in 2024, compared to 10.0% for women. Spain still sits 3.7 points above the EU average and well short of the EU’s 2030 target of below 9%.

Government Spending on Education In Spain

Spain allocates $13,385 per student from primary through tertiary, about $1,600 less than the OECD average of $15,023. Public spending reached roughly €63.4 billion in 2022, equal to 4.62% of GDP.

When measured against economic capacity, the picture changes. Spain spends 26.5% of GDP per capita per student, which exceeds both the OECD figure of 25.3% and the EU25 figure of 24.3%. The State School Council has proposed locking education spending at 5.5% of GDP as part of a dropout reduction plan.

Early Childhood and Vocational Training in Spain

Spain enrolled 97.7% of children aged 3 to compulsory school age in early childhood education in 2023, clearing the EU target of 96%. For children under two, formal childcare participation reached 55% in 2024 — up from 39.8% in 2015 and well ahead of the EU average of 39.3%.

Vocational education and training (VET) has grown rapidly. Student numbers rose by more than a third over the past ten years, crossing the one-million mark. Since 2020, the government invested over €748 million to create 331,000 new VET places. Higher-level VET now accounts for 25.8% of tertiary enrollment in Spain, more than triple the EU average of 7.7%. Around 39% of students enter higher education through vocational pathways, against just 16% across the OECD.

Students interested in regional Spanish dialects may find these VET programs increasingly accessible across Spain’s 17 autonomous communities.

Public vs. Private Universities in Spain

Spain has 50 public and 46 private universities. Thirty-one of the private institutions were approved after 2008. Between 2016 and 2024, private universities gained 114,205 students while public universities lost 38,633.

By the most recent academic year with data, master’s degree students at private universities outnumbered those at public institutions for the first time. Total higher education enrollment stood at approximately 1.76 million for 2023/2024. The cost gap is stark: a medicine degree at a private university can cost up to €22,000 per year versus roughly €1,240 at a public one.

Education In Spain: Intergenerational Mobility and Gender Gaps

Upward educational mobility in Spain is above average. Among young adults whose parents did not finish secondary school, 30% went on to earn a tertiary degree — compared to 26% across the OECD. For those with at least one university-educated parent, 75% also attained a tertiary qualification.

Women make up 54% of first-time tertiary entrants, up from 51% in 2013. They also complete degrees faster: 49% finish within four years versus 30% for men, and 80% versus 65% after seven years. For students working to improve their Spanish grammar and verb skills, these completion rates suggest strong institutional support once enrolled.

The NEET rate (not in employment, education, or training) for 18–24 year-olds was 17.6% in 2024 — one of the highest in the OECD. The male NEET rate of 10.8% was higher than the female rate of 7.5%.

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