General education

In 2020, some 43 447 diplomas were awarded for general education courses at the upper secondary level, meaning an increase of almost 80% 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 2020, the overall proportion of women in general education courses showed an increase (from 53% to 57%). For the Baccalaureate, it rose from 54% to 58% and for the federal vocational Baccalaureate from 36% to 47%.

Diplomas in general education by training type, change in numbers since 2000
Training type	2000	2005	2010	2015	2020
Total	24 131	30 266	36 364	40 351	43 447
Male	11 462	13 671	15 723	17 600	18 790
Female	12 669	16 595	20 641	22 751	24 657
Baccalaureates	15 027	16 411	18 759	18 566	19 098
Male	6 903	7 089	7 940	7 932	8 021
Female	8 124	9 322	10 819	10 634	11 077
Federal vocational baccalaureates	6 475	10 719	12 249	14 023	14 418
Male	4 151	6 005	6 612	7 507	7 703
Female	2 324	4 714	5 637	6 516	6 715
Specialised baccalaureates	.	.	1 357	2 525	3 168
Male	.	.	212	487	745
Female	.	.	1 145	2 038	2 423
Transition programme Vocational baccalaureate - University¹	.	148	487	773	1 032
Male	.	90	286	455	554
Female	.	58	201	318	478
Transition programme Specialised baccalaureate - University¹	.	.	.	.	246
Male	.	.	.	.	88
Female	.	.	.	.	158
International baccalaureates	.	.	.	619	760
Male	.	.	.	328	418
Female	.	.	.	291	342
Specialised school certificates	1 865	2 617	3 357	3 845	4 725
Male	326	421	636	891	1 261
Female	1 539	2 196	2 721	2 954	3 464
Other programmes of general education	764	371	155	.	.
Male	82	66	37	.	.
Female	682	305	118	.	.

1 Certificates of university aptitude test Source: FSO – Statistics on certificates (SBA)
Data as of: April 2021

General education covers the three types of baccalaureate as well as courses in one of the upper secondary specialised schools. The Baccalaureate is awarded, depending on the canton, after three or four years, the federal 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 2020, the number of baccalaureates has increased dramatically (+70%). All three types of baccalaureate have contributed to this increase: the Baccalaureate, with an increase in diplomas of 25%; the specialised Baccalaureate, which was first introduced in 2006; and especially the federal 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 2020 it was 55%.