Average years of schooling among adults in Spain

Spain: Average years of schooling among adults was 10.76 years in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
10.76 years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
80th
of 192 countries
All-time high
10.76 years
in 2021
All-time low
5.88 years
in 1990
Years of data
34
1990–2023

Average years of schooling among adults in Spain, 1990–2023

02.557.5101990200620231990: 5.9 years1991: 6.1 years1992: 6.3 years1993: 6.5 years1994: 6.7 years1995: 6.9 years1996: 7.1 years1997: 7.3 years1998: 7.5 years1999: 7.7 years2000: 7.8 years2001: 8 years2002: 8.2 years2003: 8.4 years2004: 8.6 years2005: 8.9 years2006: 9 years2007: 9.1 years2008: 9.2 years2009: 9.2 years2010: 9.4 years2011: 9.5 years2012: 9.5 years2013: 9.6 years2014: 9.7 years2015: 9.9 years2016: 10 years2017: 10.1 years2018: 10.1 years2019: 10.4 years2020: 10.6 years2021: 10.8 years2022: 10.8 years2023: 10.8 years

Source: UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.

Analysis

In 2023, average years of schooling among adults in Spain stood at 10.76 years. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.

That represents a change of up 11.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, average years of schooling among adults in Spain peaked at 10.76 years in 2021 and was at its lowest, 5.88 years, in 1990.

That places Spain 80th out of 192 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 6.76 years 5.88 years 7.65 years 10
2000s 8.67 years 7.85 years 9.25 years 10
2010s 9.82 years 9.36 years 10.38 years 10
2020s 10.72 years 10.61 years 10.76 years 4

Countries ranked near Spain

  1. 77 Qatar 10.77 years compare
  2. 77 Sri Lanka 10.77 years compare
  3. 79 Tuvalu 10.77 years compare
  4. 81 Cuba 10.63 years compare
  5. 82 Uruguay 10.54 years compare
  6. 83 Botswana 10.48 years compare

See the full ranking of 192 places →

More education data for Spain

All data for Spain →

Frequently asked questions

What is average years of schooling among adults in Spain?
Average years of schooling among adults in Spain was 10.76 years in 2023, according to UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest average years of schooling among adults recorded in Spain?
The highest recorded value was 10.76 years in 2021.
What is the lowest average years of schooling among adults recorded in Spain?
The lowest recorded value was 5.88 years in 1990.
How does Spain rank for average years of schooling among adults?
Spain ranks 80th out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
Is average years of schooling among adults rising or falling in Spain?
Over the last ten years it is up 11.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Spain data come from?
The figures come from UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Average years of schooling among adults. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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About this data

Indicator
Average years of schooling among adults
Unit
years
Source
UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
192 places, 6,079 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed

Average number of years (excluding years spent repeating individual grades) adults over 25 years participated in formal education.