Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper rural both in Spain
Spain: Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper rural both was 42.8% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Spain, 1970–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Spain stood at 42.8%. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.1% on the previous year and up 23.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Spain peaked at 42.8% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 2.0%, in 1970.
Spain ranks 57th of 113 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper rural both in Spain, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 2.0% | — |
| 1981 | 5.1% | +157.1% |
| 1992 | 11.6% | +127.5% |
| 1993 | 12.0% | +3.7% |
| 1994 | 13.3% | +11.2% |
| 1995 | 13.8% | +3.9% |
| 1996 | 15.9% | +15.0% |
| 1997 | 16.9% | +5.9% |
| 1998 | 17.4% | +3.5% |
| 1999 | 18.6% | +6.5% |
| 2000 | 19.5% | +4.9% |
| 2001 | 20.6% | +5.6% |
| 2002 | 21.7% | +5.4% |
| 2003 | 23.1% | +6.5% |
| 2004 | 26.4% | +14.3% |
| 2005 | 27.5% | +3.8% |
| 2006 | 28.7% | +4.4% |
| 2007 | 29.7% | +3.5% |
| 2008 | 30.7% | +3.5% |
| 2009 | 31.6% | +3.0% |
| 2010 | 33.3% | +5.3% |
| 2011 | 34.8% | +4.5% |
| 2012 | 35.5% | +2.1% |
| 2013 | 34.6% | -2.6% |
| 2014 | 36.7% | +6.0% |
| 2015 | 36.0% | -1.9% |
| 2016 | 36.8% | +2.2% |
| 2017 | 38.2% | +3.9% |
| 2018 | 38.7% | +1.1% |
| 2019 | 39.1% | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 41.8% | +6.9% |
| 2021 | 41.7% | -0.3% |
| 2022 | 42.3% | +1.6% |
| 2023 | 42.8% | +1.1% |
Spain compared with similar countries
- Spain's 42.8% is below the median for high income countries, which is 73.5%, 58% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Spain's 42.8% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 77.6%, 55% of the median. (43 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper rural 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 | +157.1% | 2.0% | 5.1% |
| 1992 | +127.5% | 5.1% | 11.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.0% | 2.0% | 2.0% | 1 |
| 1980s | 5.1% | 5.1% | 5.1% | 1 |
| 1990s | 14.9% | 11.6% | 18.6% | 8 |
| 2000s | 25.9% | 19.5% | 31.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 36.4% | 33.3% | 39.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 42.2% | 41.7% | 42.8% | 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 42.8% 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 42.8% in 2023.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Spain?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.0% in 1970.
- How does Spain rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- Spain ranks 57th out of 113 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 23.7%. 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, rural, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release