General education

In 2019, some 42 600 diplomas were awarded for general education courses at the upper secondary level, meaning an increase of almost 75% compared to the year 2000. This is for the most part due to the federal vocational baccalaureate, which has more than doubled since 2000. Between 2000 and 2019, the overall proportion of women in general education courses showed an increase (from 53% to 57%). For the academic baccalaureate it rose from 54% to 57% and for the vocational baccalaureate from 36% to 47%.

Diplomas in general education by training type, change in numbers since 2000
Training type	2000	2005	2010	2015	2019
Total	24 131	30 266	36 364	40 351	42 642
Male	11 462	13 671	15 723	17 600	18 503
Female	12 669	16 595	20 641	22 751	24 139
Academic baccalaureates	15 027	16 411	18 759	18 566	18 873
Male	6 903	7 089	7 940	7 932	8 114
Female	8 124	9 322	10 819	10 634	10 759
Vocational baccalaureates	6 475	10 719	12 249	14 023	14 524
Male	4 151	6 005	6 612	7 507	7 705
Female	2 324	4 714	5 637	6 516	6 819
Specialised baccalaureates	-	-	1 357	2 525	3 077
Male	-	-	212	487	668
Female	-	-	1 145	2 038	2 409
Transition programme Vocational baccalaureate - University	-	148	487	773	1 027
Male	-	90	286	455	540
Female	-	58	201	318	487
Transition programme Specialised baccalaureate - University	-	-	-	-	232
Male	-	-	-	-	73
Female	-	-	-	-	159
International baccalaureates	-	-	-	619	675
Male	-	-	-	328	337
Female	-	-	-	291	338
Specialised school certificates	1 865	2 617	3 357	3 845	4 234
Male	326	421	636	891	1 066
Female	1 539	2 196	2 721	2 954	3 168
Other programmes of general education	764	371	155	-	-
Male	82	66	37	-	-
Female	682	305	118	-	-

Source: FSO – Statistics on certificates (SBA)
Data as of: April 2020

General education covers the three types of baccalaureate as well as courses in one of the upper secondary specialised schools. The academic Baccalaureate is awarded, depending on the canton, after three or four years, the vocational Baccalaureate is awarded either during or after initial vocational education and the specialised Baccalaureate is awarded one year after the specialised diploma.

Between 2000 and 2019, the number of baccalaureates has increased dramatically (+70%). All three types of baccalaureate have contributed to this increase: the academic baccalaureate, with an increase in diplomas of 25%; the specialised baccalaureate, which was first introduced in 2006; and especially the vocational baccalaureate, which recorded a large rise in numbers between 2000 and 2005. A striking increase has been seen in the share of women taking baccalaureates: in 2000 the percentage of female candidates was just under 50%; in 2019 it was 55%.