Overview

• Spain has 317,000 fewer children aged 3–5 than a decade ago in the second cycle of Infantil, including about 28,000 fewer in the last year.
• The public network has taken the heavier hit, losing more than 225,000 early‑childhood pupils versus over 91,000 in private/concertado centres, lowering the public share to 67.0%.
• For the first time compulsory stages are shrinking, even as bachillerato and vocational enrolment grow and foreign students reach 13% of the total (1,124,767).
• The contraction varies widely by region, led by Ceuta (-40.9%), Asturias (-31.4%) and Cantabria (-30.6%).
• Galicia will open 2025/26 with 302,843 students (4,255 fewer), a record teacher workforce above 31,603, lower ratios (9.9 per teacher), a union pact preserving 265 classrooms, and a digital education law headed to parliament.