In 2003/04 the total number of pupils, both in General and Special Education in the A.C. of the Basque Country came to 430,202, which represented a 1% rise in the number of registrations with regard to the previous year, according to Eustat data. This rise was more significant for those levels included in non-university general education (Infant, Primary and Secondary), and affected all three provinces, in particular Gipuzkoa with a 2.8% increase.

With regard to the governing body and for the whole of education, 60% of pupils studied in the public network. In addition, while the number of registrations grew in public centres (1.6%), there was a drop of 0.1% in private centres.

In special education, which includes education such as Arts and Crafts, Languages, Dance and Sports, there was also an increase in registration (4.1%). This education, with 32,315 pupils, represents 7.5% of total education pupils, compared to 75% of non university general education, or 17% of university education.

In general education, the number of pupils at secondary level (E.S.O, Baccalaureate and Training Cycles) fell (-3.2%), the Infant-Primary level registering the most significant growth; Infant education in particular increased by 7.5% while Primary rose by 0.7%. With regard to the governing body, in Infant Education we should highlight the rise in registration at private centres (11.1%) compared to public centres (3.9%).

The starting age for schooling in the A.C. of the Basque Country continues to fall

84% of two year olds are in education. The same effect occurs at younger ages (0-1 years), although to a smaller extent. It should be said that 34% of the population aged between 0 and 2 are registered at school centres in the Basque network.

With regard to the options chosen by students after Compulsory Secondary Education (E.S.O), we should point out that 64.5% of the population aged between 16 and 17 chose Baccalaureate compared to 5% who study Medium Grade Technical Training. With regard to higher studies, 30.5% of the population aged between 18 and 24 chooses to do a university degree, compared with 9.1% who opt for some kind of professional higher grade model. Sex also determines the option to be chosen, because more females choose baccalaureate and university studies than levels of technical training.

Comparing schooling rates with other countries, in the 15-19 age group the A.C. of the Basque Country, with 85%, is above the average for OECD countries (79.4%) and on a par with countries like Finland (85%), Sweden (86.2%) and Holland (86.5%).

82.4% of pupils pass in 4th grade E.S.O.

96.2% of pupils in Primary passed in 2002-2003, 83.5%, in E.S.O, 79.7% in Baccalaureate and, finally 84% in Training Cycles. By sex, females passed more than males: differences are not significant in Primary, while at other levels there is a greater disparity; 80% of males passed in E.S.O compared to 87% of females; as for Baccalaureate, 72% of males passed compared to 89% of females and, finally, more differences existed in training cycles, with 80% of males passing compared to 91% of females. With regard to the governing bodies, private centres registered higher pass rates in general. The divergence occurs fundamentally at secondary level, while in primary the pass rate is very similar.

The A.C. of the Basque Country has 882 educational centres where general non university education is taught. 60% belong to the Basque public network and the remaining 40% to private centres, most with state funding. With regard to centres where university studies are taught, there was a total of 56 centres including faculties, higher technical schools, university schools and other kinds of institutions. 63% of these centres are public. Finally, the number of centres teaching special education is 121. 84% of these centres teach music.

74,557 students enrolled at university during the year 2003/04

With 2.7% fewer registrations than the previous year, the downward trend that started six years ago continues in university education. In any case, we must take into consideration that the proportion of 18 to 29 year olds registered at university is similar to the previous year (21.6%). Comparing the net rate of the age groups of 18 to 21 year olds and 22 to 25 year olds at university level, we can see that the proportion of the population that studies at these ages is higher in the first group (36.0%) than in the second (21.6%). With regard to the type of studies, degrees leading to an official diploma qualification, architect or technical engineer increased their number of registrations (0.9%); on the other hand, studies that last two cycles fell (6.6), with regard to the previous year, in all the provinces in the A.C. of the Basque Country. There was also an increase in the number of registrations in doctorate courses (8.6%).

With regard to the governing body, while in private centres the decrease affected both long and short cycle degree courses, in public institutions the decrease only affected those studies that lead to an official graduate qualification, architect or engineer.

60% of university pupils study long cycle degrees, which include degree courses in Business Management and Administration, Law, Industry Engineering, Psychology, Computer Engineering, Economic Sciences and Fine Arts, as the most popular among students. With regard to short cycle degree courses, the most representative are Business Studies, Engineering Studies (industrial mechanics, electronics and IT management), Infant Education Teacher Training and Social Education.

More women took university studies (55%) than men, as is the trend in Europe.

In Basic Education, model D reached 62.4% of registrations in Infant and 53.7% in Primary

At pre-university levels, excluding Education for adults, the distribution of pupils, according to the bilingual education in 2003/04, was 28.5% in model A (with Basque as a subject), 22.5% in model B (bilingual) and 48.3% in model D (in Basque).

In Infant Education 62.4% of pupils studied under model D, 28.7% under B and only 8.4% studied under model A. In Primary Education, model D was most popular, with 53.7% of pupils, while model B took second place with 30.0% and A took third with 15.5%. Both in E.S.O. and Baccalaureate the proportion of pupils who studied in Basque was over 40%, while in Technical Training the number of registrations in this model was 13.9%. In any case, generally, the trends for all levels is an increase in registrations in model D with regard to the previous academic year.

5.5% of the working population in our Autonomous Community work in the private sector

49,126 people were working in the education system of the A.C. of the Basque Country over the academic year 2003/04, which represented 5.5% of the working population. The personnel is divided between teachers, with a total of 35,601 persons, 64% of which were women and non teachers with 13,525 people. The university accounted for 14.7% of teachers.