Spain’s early school-leaving rate has more than halved over the past 20 years, from a shocking 32.2% in 2004 to 13% in 2024, but is still well above the EU-27 average and that of neighbouring (and poorer) Portugal, whose rate dropped from an even higher 39.3% to 8.1% (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. Early leavers from education and training, 2004 and 2023 (% of 18-24 year-olds) (1)
| 2004 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| France | 12.3 | 7.6 |
| Germany | 12.1 | 12.8 |
| EU-27 | 16.0 | 9.5 |
| Italy | 23.1 | 10.5 |
| Portugal | 39.3 | 8.1 |
| Spain | 32.2 | 13.0 (2) |
Many factors are behind this improvement, not least the lessons learnt from Spain’s 1996-2007 economic boom and subsequent crash and Grand Recession, following the bursting of an immense property bubble. During the period known as vacas gordas (‘fat cows’), many students saw no need to stay on at school beyond the compulsory age of 16. It was easy to find work, particularly in the construction, tourism and catering sectors.
Even so, the unemployment rate never dropped below 8%, which by the standards of other developed countries, such as the US, the UK and Germany, is a disaster. The rate hit 27% in 2013, and youth unemployment (under-25s) 55%. Today, the respective rates are 11% and 25%.
Those with just basic education were among the first to lose their jobs as of 2008. If they were of the right age, they went back to school. If not, they formed what came to be known as a ‘lost generation’, with dismal prospects. Since then, parents and students have become more aware of the importance of education for a more secure and better-paid job.
Degree courses at private universities cost considerably more than those at public ones, putting them out of reach of poorer families.
While the drop-out rate has steadily declined, students from the poorest and least-educated families remain severely disadvantaged. The drop-out rate for these students is four times the average. Parents’ education has a strong impact on the educational attainment of their children.
Another positive factor, and one that can be measured, behind the continued drop in the early school-leaving rate is the significant rise in the number of students in vocational training (VT), an area that Spain has been lamentably slow to develop, particularly compared with the opportunities offered by Germany.
Since 2020 the government has spent more than €748 million on creating 331,000 new VT places. The number of VT students has increased by more than a third in the past 10 years to over one million. These students often find a job, particularly in IT, building and civil engineering, medical care, marketing and renewable energies, more quickly than those with a university degree. Last year, the age group where youth employment grew the most was the 16-19 group (+16.6% compared with +7.4% for those aged 20-24).
There are several types of VT. The most basic one is for those aged 14 to 16 in lower secondary education who do not want to study but cannot drop out of school and want to acquire some kind of skill. These students account for around 10% of the total in VT. Medium VT is for those aged 16 to 18 and advanced (the majority) for those over 18 who have the upper secondary qualification. VT can be combined with studying, in some cases at a university, and is known as dual vocational education (DVE). The main problem in DVE is finding a sufficient number of appropriate companies willing to take on students for the work experience required as part of their course and in the right conditions.
Tertiary education has become the most common level of educational achievement among 25-34 year-olds in Spain. The share of that age group with tertiary education increased from 41% in 2016 to 52% in 2023, well above the OECD average of 47% (see Figure 2).
Figure 2. The share of 25-34 year-olds with a tertiary qualification, 2023 (%)
| % | |
|---|---|
| UK | 60.0 |
| US | 52.0 |
| Spain | 52.0 |
| Germany | 38.5 |
| Italy | 30.5 |
At the other end of the educational attainment spectrum, 26% of 25-34 year olds in Spain still have not completed upper secondary education, which is a substantial decline from 2016, when the share was 35%, but still way above the OECD average of 14%.
According to a recent survey by the ESdeES Observatory, students at private universities, a relatively new development, are much more satisfied with their experience than those at public universities. The net promoter score, which measures customer loyalty and how likely they are to recommend a product or service, of private university students, is 24 points higher than that of public university students.
Spain has 50 public universities (the last one opened in 1998), and 46 private ones (31 of them approved since 2008), many of them connected to the Roman Catholic Church. The total number of students at private universities, which are easier to get into, rose by 114,205 between 2016 and 2024 compared with a fall of 38,633 in those at public universities (see Figure 3). Last year, more students were studying for a master’s degree at private universities than at public ones (see Figure 4).
Figure 3. Students at Spain’s universities, 2016-24
| 2016-17 | 2023-24 | 2016-24 change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public universities | 1,116,463 | 1,077,830 | -38,633 |
| Private universities | 186,789 | 300,994 | +114,205 |
| Total students | 1,303,252 | 1,378,824 | +75,572 |
Figure 4. Students studying for a master’s degree at Spain’s universities, 2016-24
| 2016-17 | 2023-24 | 2016-24 change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public universities | 124,892 | 143,649 | +18,757 |
| Private universities | 65,251 | 145,306 | +80,055 |
| Total students | 190,143 | 288,955 | +98,812 |
Degree courses at private universities cost considerably more than those at public ones, putting them out of reach of poorer families. For example, a medicine degree costs up to €22,000 a year at a private university compared with €1,240 at a public one.
The public universities, ranked higher than private ones in international rankings, play an important role in social mobility. The first three ranked Spanish universities in the latest Times Higher Education ranking of more than 2,000 institutions are all public: the University of Barcelona, Pompeu Fabra and the Autonomous University of Barcelona in, respectively, 149th, 176th and 199th position. The first ranked private university, the University of Navarre, is 251st.
Responsibility for education was devolved to the regions several decades ago. Madrid, controlled at the regional and city level by the conservative Popular Party (PP), is the region where the number of private universities has increased the most and where investment per student is the lowest among the 17 regions, despite having the highest per capita income. One-third of undergraduates and half of those studying for a Master’s are in Madrid’s private universities.
The finances of Madrid’s six public universities are in a critical state, particularly the Complutense, the largest university (65,000 students), which ended 2023 with a deficit of €65 million. The rectors of these universities said last year they needed €200 million to survive. The Madrid government agreed last month to increase the funding by €47 million, leaving them still in dire straits.
Thousands of public university and state school-teachers in Madrid joined with students in February, for the first time, to protest against the regional government’s education policies, carrying banners reading ‘Education is a right, not a business’.
Despite the greater realisation of the importance of education, the compulsory school leaving age in Spain is still 16 compared, for example, with 18 in Portugal and 16 in the UK, but where students are obliged to stay in some form of full-time education until 18 unless they start an apprenticeship or traineeship.
Raising the minimum school age is the subject of debate in Spain’s education circles. One issue is whether raising the age should go hand in hand with new learning formulas rather than merely extending the present system. The 2020 law known as LOMLOE, which came into force in 2021, modifies the 2006 LOE law, giving those over the age of 16 the option of combining a job with academic or professional study.
The government appears to have done its homework on this issue and now needs to take action.
