Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Spain
Spain: Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from was 16.9% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Spain, 1999–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Spain is 16.9%, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of up 5.9% on the previous year and up 22.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Spain peaked at 17.4% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 11.2%, in 2004.
That places Spain 35th out of 126 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Spain, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 11.9% | — |
| 2000 | 11.9% | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 12.1% | +1.4% |
| 2002 | 11.9% | -1.7% |
| 2003 | 11.2% | -5.6% |
| 2004 | 11.2% | -0.6% |
| 2005 | 11.3% | +0.9% |
| 2006 | 12.3% | +9.0% |
| 2007 | 12.6% | +2.4% |
| 2008 | 13.2% | +4.9% |
| 2009 | 13.2% | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 13.7% | +3.7% |
| 2011 | 15.8% | +15.6% |
| 2012 | 13.5% | -14.8% |
| 2013 | 13.7% | +1.7% |
| 2014 | 16.2% | +18.1% |
| 2015 | 16.2% | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 16.5% | +1.6% |
| 2017 | 16.4% | -0.8% |
| 2018 | 17.0% | +3.9% |
| 2020 | 17.4% | +2.4% |
| 2021 | 16.3% | -6.6% |
| 2022 | 15.9% | -2.1% |
| 2023 | 16.9% | +5.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 11.9% | 11.9% | 11.9% | 1 |
| 2000s | 12.1% | 11.2% | 13.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 15.5% | 13.5% | 17.0% | 9 |
| 2020s | 16.6% | 15.9% | 17.4% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Spain
More education data for Spain
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,023 tertiary education (2024)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0495 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 248,253 (2024)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 65.7% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 12.6% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Spain?
- Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Spain was 16.9% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in Spain?
- The highest recorded value was 17.4% in 2020.
- What is the lowest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in Spain?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.2% in 2004.
- How does Spain rank for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from?
- Spain ranks 35th out of 126 countries with data for 2023.
- Is percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from rising or falling in Spain?
- Over the last ten years it is up 22.8%. 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 Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Education programmes, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release