Share of the population with at least some formal education in Spain
Spain: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 99.3% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Latest (2020)
99.3%
World rank
20th
of 111 countries
All-time high
99.3%
in 2020
All-time low
25.8%
in 1870
Years of data
31
1870–2020
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Spain, 1870–2020
Source: Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Spain recorded 99.3% for share of the population with at least some formal education in 2020. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
The figure is up 0.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in Spain peaked at 99.3% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 25.8%, in 1870.
That places Spain 20th out of 111 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 31 years of available data.
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Spain, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 25.8% | — |
| 1875 | 30.1% | +16.7% |
| 1880 | 35.1% | +16.6% |
| 1885 | 40.2% | +14.5% |
| 1890 | 44.4% | +10.4% |
| 1895 | 47.7% | +7.4% |
| 1900 | 50.0% | +4.8% |
| 1905 | 51.4% | +2.8% |
| 1910 | 52.1% | +1.4% |
| 1915 | 49.7% | -4.6% |
| 1920 | 47.4% | -4.6% |
| 1925 | 45.2% | -4.6% |
| 1930 | 45.4% | +0.4% |
| 1935 | 44.5% | -2.0% |
| 1940 | 43.3% | -2.7% |
| 1945 | 45.2% | +4.4% |
| 1950 | 46.2% | +2.2% |
| 1955 | 48.3% | +4.5% |
| 1960 | 52.2% | +8.1% |
| 1965 | 57.4% | +10.0% |
| 1970 | 63.8% | +11.1% |
| 1975 | 69.6% | +9.1% |
| 1980 | 75.9% | +9.1% |
| 1985 | 77.9% | +2.6% |
| 1990 | 81.1% | +4.1% |
| 1995 | 87.0% | +7.3% |
| 2000 | 91.9% | +5.6% |
| 2005 | 99.1% | +7.8% |
| 2010 | 99.0% | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 99.2% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 99.3% | +0.1% |
Spain compared with similar countries
- Spain's 99.3% is above the median for high income countries, which is 99.0%, 1.0× the median. (41 countries reporting)
- Spain's 99.3% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 99.0%, 1.0× the median. (28 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 28.0% | 25.8% | 30.1% | 2 |
| 1880s | 37.7% | 35.1% | 40.2% | 2 |
| 1890s | 46.0% | 44.4% | 47.7% | 2 |
| 1900s | 50.7% | 50.0% | 51.4% | 2 |
| 1910s | 50.9% | 49.7% | 52.1% | 2 |
| 1920s | 46.3% | 45.2% | 47.4% | 2 |
| 1930s | 45.0% | 44.5% | 45.4% | 2 |
| 1940s | 44.2% | 43.3% | 45.2% | 2 |
| 1950s | 47.2% | 46.2% | 48.3% | 2 |
| 1960s | 54.8% | 52.2% | 57.4% | 2 |
| 1970s | 66.7% | 63.8% | 69.6% | 2 |
| 1980s | 76.9% | 75.9% | 77.9% | 2 |
| 1990s | 84.0% | 81.1% | 87.0% | 2 |
| 2000s | 95.5% | 91.9% | 99.1% | 2 |
| 2010s | 99.1% | 99.0% | 99.2% | 2 |
| 2020s | 99.3% | 99.3% | 99.3% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Spain
More education data for Spain
- 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)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.058 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with at least some formal education in Spain?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in Spain was 99.3% in 2020, according to Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Spain?
- The highest recorded value was 99.3% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Spain?
- The lowest recorded value was 25.8% in 1870.
- How does Spain rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- Spain ranks 20th out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in Spain?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Spain data come from?
- The figures come from Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of the population with at least some formal education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Based on the population aged 15 years and older.