One in five students in the Balearic Islands is a foreign national. The islands have the highest proportion in Spain, with 19% of students holding foreign nationality, well above the national average of 12.9%. In total, the education system recorded 39,555 foreign students in the Balearic Islands in the 2024-2025 academic year.
The Balearic Islands ranks ahead of the Valencian Community, where foreign students account for 18.5%; La Rioja, with 17.6%; Aragon, with 16.7%; and Catalonia, with 16.5%. At the other end of the scale are Ceuta, with 3.6%; Extremadura, with 4.5%; and Galicia, with 6.3%.
These are the latest figures published by the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports and reflect the significant proportion of foreign students in the Balearic education system. The statistics define a foreign student as one who does not hold Spanish nationality.
Balearic Islands has Spain’s highest proportion of foreign students in Early Years, Primary and ESO
The proportion of foreign students is particularly high at the main stages of education. In Primary Education, the Balearic Islands reaches 21.4%, the highest percentage in Spain, followed by La Rioja with 20.2%, according to the Ministry’s Sistema Estatal de Indicadores de la Educación 2025 (State System of Education Indicators 2025).
The islands also top the ranking in Educación Secundaria Obligatoria (ESO, Compulsory Secondary Education), with 18.5% foreign students, ahead of the Valencian Community with 16.9% and Catalonia with 15.7%.
In Early Years Education, the Balearic Islands again ranks first, with 16.9%, slightly above Catalonia’s 16.8% and the Region of Murcia’s 15.8%.
The figures contrast with the national averages for these stages. Across Spain, foreign students account for 13.7% in Primary Education, 11.7% in ESO and 10.8% in Early Years Education.
Almost 4,000 students enrolled after the school year had already begun
The start of the 2026-2027 academic year once again highlights the Balearic education system’s capacity to adapt to the arrival of new students throughout the year. The Conselleria d’Educació i Universitats (Regional Ministry of Education and Universities) states that enrolment is an ongoing process and that 3,801 newly arrived students enrolled during the 2025-2026 academic year.
This does not mean that all 3,801 students were foreign nationals, as the Education Ministry does not specify their nationality. It does, however, reflect the number of new students that schools have to accommodate once classes have already begun.
The new academic year begins this Thursday, 10 September, with 158,859 students and 19,003 teachers at state and state-funded private schools covering Early Years, Primary, Secondary and Bachillerato (upper secondary education) in the Balearic Islands.
Despite the fall in initial enrolment, state schools are adding 198 more teachers this year, bringing the total to 14,375. State-funded private schools are adding another 26 teachers, bringing their total to 4,628. Since the start of the current parliamentary term, the Balearic public education system has added more than 1,315 teachers.
More resources for diversity support and language integration
The new academic year will also see an increase in professionals dedicated to supporting diversity. The Regional Ministry is adding 39 more educational support specialists, bringing the total to 1,711 professionals, as well as 15 new guidance counsellors and 10 educational support assistants.
The Education Ministry will also strengthen the Pla d’Acolliment Lingüístic i Cultural (PALIC, Language and Cultural Integration Plan), which aims to facilitate the linguistic and cultural integration of newly arrived students. The programme will have 1,582 hours this academic year, 335 more than the previous year.
These measures also include extending general health psychology services to Primary Education. The new team will consist of eleven professionals: six in Mallorca, two in Menorca and three in the Pitiüses (Pityusic Islands).
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