Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper urban both in Spain
Spain: Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper urban both was 57.9% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Spain, 1970–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Spain recorded 57.9% for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in 2023.
That represents a change of up 2.3% on the previous year and up 13.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Spain peaked at 69.7% in 1981 and was at its lowest, 25.4%, in 1993.
Spain ranks 64th of 108 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 33 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper urban both in Spain, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 35.0% | — |
| 1981 | 69.7% | +99.4% |
| 1993 | 25.4% | -63.5% |
| 1994 | 27.2% | +6.9% |
| 1995 | 29.0% | +6.6% |
| 1996 | 31.2% | +7.6% |
| 1997 | 32.3% | +3.6% |
| 1998 | 32.8% | +1.4% |
| 1999 | 34.2% | +4.4% |
| 2000 | 36.1% | +5.4% |
| 2001 | 37.7% | +4.5% |
| 2002 | 39.7% | +5.3% |
| 2003 | 40.4% | +1.9% |
| 2004 | 40.9% | +1.1% |
| 2005 | 44.3% | +8.4% |
| 2006 | 45.3% | +2.3% |
| 2007 | 46.2% | +1.8% |
| 2008 | 46.5% | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 46.9% | +0.9% |
| 2010 | 47.6% | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 48.5% | +1.8% |
| 2012 | 48.7% | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 51.3% | +5.2% |
| 2014 | 50.5% | -1.6% |
| 2015 | 51.0% | +1.0% |
| 2016 | 51.7% | +1.5% |
| 2017 | 53.3% | +3.0% |
| 2018 | 53.5% | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 55.2% | +3.2% |
| 2020 | 56.1% | +1.7% |
| 2021 | 57.4% | +2.3% |
| 2022 | 56.7% | -1.4% |
| 2023 | 57.9% | +2.3% |
Spain compared with similar countries
- Spain's 57.9% is below the median for high income countries, which is 81.8%, 71% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Spain's 57.9% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 83.5%, 69% of the median. (43 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper urban both in Spain changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | +99.4% | 35.0% | 69.7% |
| 1993 | -63.5% | 69.7% | 25.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 35.0% | 35.0% | 35.0% | 1 |
| 1980s | 69.7% | 69.7% | 69.7% | 1 |
| 1990s | 30.3% | 25.4% | 34.2% | 7 |
| 2000s | 42.4% | 36.1% | 46.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 51.1% | 47.6% | 55.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 57.1% | 56.1% | 57.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Spain
More education data for Spain
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 98.71 (2024)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 98.76 (2024)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 344,203 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 37,817 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 570,954 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 538,977 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.71 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.83 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -1.08 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Spain?
- Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Spain was 57.9% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Spain?
- The highest recorded value was 69.7% in 1981.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Spain?
- The lowest recorded value was 25.4% in 1993.
- How does Spain rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- Spain ranks 64th out of 108 countries with data for 2023.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or rising or falling in Spain?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Spain data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or higher, population 25+ years, urban, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 33 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release