Catalonia has a wide range of educational programmes, comprising more than 725 high-quality public and private schools. In addition, it has a network of 12 universities and some of the most prestigious business schools in Europe (IESE, ESADE). All of them have established collaborative agreements with important universities throughout the world.

The high concentration of educational centres makes it possible to offer a solid and comprehensive range of studies which responds actively to the different situations and educational needs. As a result of this excellent offer in education, Catalonia has grown to currently become a leading university destination in terms of the number of universities, qualifications and students. More than 225,000 students are enrolled in the public universities in Catalonia.

The prestige of the Catalan Universities plays a vital part in supporting the R&D activities in the private sector. Catalonia can also boast eleven technology transfer centres linked to the universities which have been awarded for innovative initiatives by the Directorate General for Enterprise and the Information Society at the European Union. This setting has allowed us to spread the new technologies within Catalan society and has defined the notably innovative character and acknowledged creativity of its people.

Among the leading developed economies, Catalonia offers very competitive labour costs. The regime for foreign workers transferred to Spain allows the cost for the company to be reduced and this reduction is applied not only in the first year after obtaining residency but also in the following five.

Cost of labour

Statutory minimum wage plus social-security contributions as % of labour cost of average worker. 2004 data.
Source: CIDEM, based on data provided by The Economist, 2005.

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