education in italy

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Education in Italy - Statistics & Facts

Education in Italy is free and is compulsory for children aged between 6 and 16 years. The Italian education system is divided into nursery, kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, and high school. University is usually undertaken at the age of 19. Primary education is the first stage of compulsory education. In the last school years, there have been around 2.7 million children enrolled in almost 17 thousand elementary schools . On average, Italian elementary schools have around 19 pupils in each class. However, regional differences are remarkable: the average number of children per class in Emilia-Romagna is 20.6, whereas a class in Aosta Valley had on average 14.6 scholars. Factors like urbanization and rural exodus could explain such differences. Indeed, Aosta Valley is a mountainous region, while Emilia Romagna is one of the main industrial centers of Italy. Elementary education is followed by middle school. Students usually attend middle school for three years, from the age of 10 to 13. In the 2018/2019 school year, a total of 1.7 million students were enrolled in Italian middle schools . The Northern region of Lombardy counts the largest number of schools nationwide, followed by the Southern regions of Campania and Sicily. Together with the number of middle schools in the country , the average count of pupils per class has decreased slightly in recent years, reaching 20.8 children per class. High school education follows to middle school and it has a duration of five years. Generally, students can choose among three different types of upper secondary schools : lyceums, technical schools, and vocational schools. Among the different types of Italian upper secondary schools, lyceums are those most of all preparing students for the tertiary education the most. Moreover, technical high schools offer both a technical and a theoretical preparation, while vocational schools mostly focus on practical training. Nevertheless, all these types of secondary schools allow students to apply to university. About 40 percent of students who graduate from high school enroll at university. In the 2018/2019 academic year, the Central regions of Italy registered the highest enrollment rate , where 46 percent of all high school graduates decided to attend university. In the same year, there were over one million bachelor students in Italy, accounting for approximately 60 percent of all university students in the country. The most popular field of study in Italy is economics, followed by engineering. The largest Italian universities are La Sapienza University of Rome, in the Capital, the University of Bologna, which also ranks as the best Italian university, and the University of Turin. This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text. Show more Published by Statista Research Department , Jan 10, 2024

Key insights

Detailed statistics

Enrollment in elementary schools in Italy 2012-2022

Government expenditure on education as percentage of GDP in Italy 2008-2016

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Current statistics on this topic.

Educational Institutions & Market

Number of students at leading Italian universities 2019/2020

Number of enrolled students in Italy 2020-2021, by field of study

Share of foreign students enrolled at university 2019-2020, by county of origin

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Recommended statistics

Kindergarten.

• Basic Statistic Number of pre-primary schools 2012-2019
• Premium Statistic Number of pre-primary schools in Italy 2018-2019, by region
• Basic Statistic Enrollment in kindergartens schools in Italy 2012-2022
• Basic Statistic Enrollment in pre-primary schools in Italy 2018-2019, by region
• Premium Statistic Average number of children per class in kindergartens in Italy 2012-2019

Number of pre-primary schools 2012-2019

Number of kindergartens in Italy in the school years between 2012 and 2019

Number of pre-primary schools in Italy 2018-2019, by region

Number of kindergartens in Italy in the school year 2018/2019, by region

Enrollment in kindergartens schools in Italy 2012-2022

Number of children enrolled in kindergartens in Italy in the school years between 2012 and 2022

Enrollment in pre-primary schools in Italy 2018-2019, by region

Number of children enrolled in kindergartens in Italy in the school year 2018/2019, by region

Average number of children per class in kindergartens in Italy 2012-2019

Average number of children per class in kindergartens in Italy in the school years between 2012 and 2019

Elementary school

• Basic Statistic Number of elementary schools in Italy 2012-2019
• Premium Statistic Number of elementary schools in Italy 2018-2019, by region
• Basic Statistic Enrollment in elementary schools in Italy 2012-2022
• Premium Statistic Number of children in elementary schools 2018-2019, by region
• Premium Statistic Average number of children per class in elementary schools in Italy 2012-2019

Number of elementary schools in Italy 2012-2019

Number of elementary schools in Italy in the school years between 2012 and 2019

Number of elementary schools in Italy 2018-2019, by region

Number of elementary schools in Italy in the school year 2018/2019, by region

Number of children enrolled in elementary schools in Italy in the school years between 2012 and 2022

Number of children in elementary schools 2018-2019, by region

Number of children enrolled in elementary schools in Italy in the school year 2018/2019, by region

Average number of children per class in elementary schools in Italy 2012-2019

Average number of children per class in elementary schools in Italy in the school years between 2012 and 2019

Middle school

• Basic Statistic Number of middle schools in Italy 2012-2019
• Premium Statistic Number of middle schools in Italy 2018-2019, by region
• Basic Statistic Enrollment in middle schools in Italy 2012-2019
• Premium Statistic Enrollment in middle schools in Italy 2018-2019, by region
• Premium Statistic Average number of students per class in middle schools in Italy 2012-2019

Number of middle schools in Italy 2012-2019

Number of middle schools in Italy in the school years between 2012 and 2019

Number of middle schools in Italy 2018-2019, by region

Number of middle schools in Italy in the school year 2018/2019, by region

Enrollment in middle schools in Italy 2012-2019

Number of students enrolled in middle schools in Italy in the school years between 2012 and 2019

Enrollment in middle schools in Italy 2018-2019, by region

Number of students enrolled in middle schools in Italy in the school year 2018/2019, by region

Average number of students per class in middle schools in Italy 2012-2019

Average number of students per class in middle schools in Italy in the school years between 2012 and 2019

High school

• Premium Statistic Number of high schools in Italy 2018-2019, by region
• Basic Statistic Enrollment in high schools in Italy 2012-2019
• Premium Statistic Enrollment in upper secondary schools in Italy 2018-2019, by region
• Premium Statistic Average number of students per class in high schools in Italy 2012-2019
• Premium Statistic Distribution of students enrolled in upper secondary schools 2019-2020, by gender

Number of high schools in Italy 2018-2019, by region

Number of high schools in Italy in the school year 2018/2019, by region

Enrollment in high schools in Italy 2012-2019

Number of students enrolled in upper secondary schools in Italy in the school years between 2012 and 2019

Enrollment in upper secondary schools in Italy 2018-2019, by region

Number of students enrolled in high schools in Italy in the school year 2018/2019, by region

Average number of students per class in high schools in Italy 2012-2019

Average number of students per class in high schools in Italy in the school years between 2012 and 2019

Distribution of students enrolled in upper secondary schools 2019-2020, by gender

Distribution of students enrolled in high schools in Italy for the school year 2019/2020, by type of school and gender

• Premium Statistic Number of enrolled students in Italy 2020-2021, by field of study
• Premium Statistic Distribution of enrolled students at Italian universities 2019-2020, by area
• Basic Statistic Number of students at leading Italian universities 2019/2020
• Basic Statistic Number of university students in Italy 2017-2019, by course
• Premium Statistic Enrollment in PhD courses in Italy 2018-2019, by region
• Premium Statistic Share of foreign students enrolled at university 2019-2020, by county of origin
• Basic Statistic Leading big public universities in Italy 2021. by score ranking

Number of students enrolled at university in Italy in the academic year 2020/2021, by field of study

Distribution of enrolled students at Italian universities 2019-2020, by area

Distribution of students enrolled at university in Italy in the academic year 2019/2020, by macro-area of studies

Number of students enrolled at university in Italy in the academic year 2019/2020, by leading universities

Number of university students in Italy 2017-2019, by course

Number of university students in Italy in the academic years between 2017 and 2019, by course

Enrollment in PhD courses in Italy 2018-2019, by region

Number of students enrolled in doctoral courses in Italy in the academic year 2018/2019, by region of the university

Share of foreign students enrolled at university in Italy in the academic year 2019/2020, by most frequent county of origin

Leading big public universities in Italy 2021. by score ranking

Leading big public universities in Italy in 2021, by score ranking

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