Compulsory education

According to the HarmoS Agreement, compulsory education lasts eleven years. It covers the primary and lower secondary levels. The primary level lasts eight years including Kindergarten or the first learning cycle, and the lower secondary level education lasts three years. Pupils requiring special needs education can be educated in special schools, special classes or are integrated into normal classes, where they receive additional specialised teaching support.

Pupils in compulsory education(1): change since 2000/01

	2000/01	2005/06	2010/11	2015/16	2018/19
Total	948 957	947 691	913 012	928 339	954 811
Female (%)	48.7	48.6	48.6	48.5	48.5
Foreign (%)	21.3	22.2	24.3	26.6	27.5
Primary level 1-22	148 167	146 474	148 879	170 557	176 229
Female (%)	48.4	48.4	48.7	48.7	48.2
Foreign (%)	23.4	24.0	25.7	27.3	28.2
Primary level 3-8	473 739	454 092	436 076	477 502	517 905
Female (%)	49.3	49.2	49.0	49.1	48.6
Foreign (%)	20.0	21.4	23.9	26.5	27.8
Lower secondary	278 457	298 436	290 927	249 074	260 677
Female (%)	49.7	49.6	49.4	49.0	48.7
Foreign (%)	18.8	19.3	22.0	24.0	26.3
Separate teaching	48 594	48 689	37 130	31 206	-
Female (%)	37.9	37.7	36.5	35.1	-
Foreign (%)	40.9	41.5	41.0	45.9	-

1 Since the school year 2017/18, pupils in special school classes, classes for foreign language speaking pupils, introduction classes and other special classes are included in the different levels of compulsory education and no longer in the category "separate teaching".
2 Kindergarten, first learning cycle Source: FSO – Statistics on pupils and students (SDL)
Data as of: February 2020

In 2018/19, almost 955 000 pupils were in compulsory education. 18% of them were at primary level 1-2 (Kindergarten, first learning cycle), 54% at primary level 3-8 and 27% at lower secondary level. Girls account for almost half of pupils at each level of compulsory education and pupils of foreign nationality for almost a quarter. After a stable period between 2000/01 and 2005/06, numbers of pupils in compulsory education decreased until 2012/13 when they rose again. These variations are largely driven by demographic changes in the corresponding age groups.

During the 2018/19 school year, foreigners accounted for an average of 27% of pupils in Switzerland. This figure varies greatly, however, depending on the canton. The canton of Geneva has the highest proportion of foreign pupils (43%) and the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden the lowest (almost 9%).

Further information

Data

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