Spain: Secondary education, pupils (% female)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2017, Spain's secondary education, pupils (% female) rose 0.25 percentage points on 2016 (from 48.75% to 48.99%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1987 to 2016), the average change was −0.06 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.28 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.1 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 2.23 percentage points in 1973 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.08 percentage points in 1997. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2008 to 2017 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.12 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 58% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2017, Spain had the 28th highest value of the 63 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Spain in the 2017 ranking

• Israel — 24th of 63: 49.05%
• Slovak Republic — 25th of 63: 49.03%
• Netherlands — 26th of 63: 49.02%
• Denmark — 28th of 63: 48.97%
• France — 29th of 63: 48.95%
• Iceland — 30th of 63: 48.95%

What this measures

Female pupils as a percentage of total pupils at secondary level includes enrollments in public and private schools.

Limitations: The percentage of female enrollment is limited in assessing gender parity, because it's affected by the gender composition of population. Ratio of female to male in enrollment rate provides a population adjusted measure of gender parity.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 47 values

Secondary education, pupils (% female) in nearby economies

• Albania — 47.09% (2018)
• Andorra — 48.35% (2018)
• Armenia — 47.27% (2018)
• Austria — 47.66% (2017)
• Azerbaijan — 46.74% (2018)
• Belarus — 48.29% (2018)
• Belgium — 51.68% (2017)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 49.39% (2018)
• Bulgaria — 47.8% (2017)
• Croatia — 49.87% (2017)
• Cyprus

More education data for Spain

• Primary school starting age (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 12 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 2.83 million (2024)
• Secondary education, pupils — 3.71 million (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 1.01 (2020)
• School enrollment, primary and secondary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 1.02 (2020)
• School enrollment, secondary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 1.03 (2020)
• Tertiary education, academic staff (% female)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Spain's secondary education, pupils (% female)?

48.99% in 2017, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1971?

It is up 5.76 percentage points from 43.23% in 1971. The highest value was 51.29% in 1996 and the lowest 43.23% in 1971.

How does Spain rank?

28th highest of 63 economies with data for 2017.

Is the latest change in secondary education, pupils (% female) unusual for Spain?

In 2017, Spain's secondary education, pupils (% female) rose 0.25 percentage points on 2016 (from 48.75% to 48.99%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1987 to 2016), the average change was −0.06 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.28 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.1 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.SEC.ENRL.FE.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://uis.unesco.org/bdds, publisher: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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