This page compares the education systems of Switzerland and Indonesia.
Education System Overview
| Category | Switzerland | Indonesia |
|---|---|---|
| System Type | Public/private mix with a federal, decentralised governance model; the 26 cantons lead compulsory education, while the Confederation and cantons share post-compulsory responsibilities. [Source-1✅] | Mixed public/private system with decentralized school delivery. National ministries set core standards and policy, while provincial and district governments manage major parts of public-school provision. |
| Governing Body | Main bodies: 26 cantonal education authorities, the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education (EDK), the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER), and the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI). [Source-2✅] | Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen) for general school education; Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA) for the madrasah system; and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (Kemdiktisaintek) for higher education. [Kemendikdasmen] |
| Government Expenditure on Education (% of GDP) | 4.9% of GDP in 2022, based on World Bank/UIS education expenditure data for Switzerland. [Source-3✅] | Approximately 1.3% of GDP in 2023, the latest value reported in the World Bank/UNESCO Institute for Statistics series. [World Bank] |
Education Structure & Compulsory Schooling
| Category | Switzerland | Indonesia |
|---|---|---|
| Compulsory Age Range | Generally from age 4 to about age 15, with cantonal variation at transition points. [Source-4✅] | The statutory compulsory basic-education requirement covers approximately ages 7–15. Indonesia is separately expanding policy toward 13 years of compulsory education, including one preschool year and senior secondary education. [BPK] |
| Total Compulsory Duration (Years) | 11 years of compulsory education. [Source-5✅] | 9 years under the established statutory basic-education requirement; the current national policy direction is 13 years, structured as one preschool year plus 6 years primary, 3 years junior secondary, and 3 years senior secondary. [Kemendikdasmen] |
| Pre-primary Education (ECE) Access | Kindergarten / first learning cycle is part of compulsory schooling from age 4; OECD reports 50.3% enrolment for ages 3–5 in pre-primary education in 2023. [Source-6✅] | ECE is generally non-compulsory under the established statutory framework, while the 13-year policy prioritizes one preschool year for ages 5–6. Gross PAUD participation reached approximately 36.2% in 2025; this is a broad PAUD participation indicator rather than a strict ages 3–5 net-enrollment rate. [PAUDPEDIA] |
| Primary + Secondary Education Structure (Years) | 2 years kindergarten + 6 years primary + 3 years lower secondary; upper secondary usually follows as a 3–4 year post-compulsory pathway. [Source-7✅] | 6 + 3 + 3: 6 years of primary school, 3 years of junior secondary school, and 3 years of general or vocational senior secondary education. Some vocational programs may run for 4 years. [Kemendikdasmen] |
| Vocational vs. General Upper Secondary Split (%) | Approximately 66% vocational / 34% general; roughly two-thirds choose dual-track vocational education and training after compulsory school. [Source-8✅] | Approximately 33.5% vocational / 66.5% general, based on 2024/2025 senior-secondary enrollment totals across SMK and general/religious upper-secondary pathways. [Kemendikdasmen] |
Academic Calendar & Instruction Time
| Category | Switzerland | Indonesia |
|---|---|---|
| Academic Year Start (Typical Month) | August, commonly from mid-August to mid-September depending on canton. [Source-9✅] | Typically July. Exact starting dates are established through provincial/local education calendars. [Kemendikdasmen] |
| Academic Year End (Typical Month) | June to July, depending on the canton and local holiday calendar. [Source-10✅] | Typically June of the following calendar year, with exact dates varying by province and local education authority. |
| Instruction Weeks per Year | Usually 38–39 weeks per school year. [Source-11✅] | Approximately 36 effective instructional weeks for a typical full school year; the precise total varies by grade, regional calendar, holidays, and school program. |
| Instruction Days per Year | Approximately 190–195 instructional days, calculated from the typical 38–39 week school year and canton-based calendars. [Source-12✅] | Approximately 180 instructional days on a five-day-school equivalent basis; actual totals vary by regional calendar and school-week arrangement. |
Grading System
| Category | Switzerland | Indonesia |
|---|---|---|
| Primary/Secondary Grading Scale | Commonly a 1–6 scale, where 6 is highest and 4 is sufficient/pass; cantons may apply local reporting formats. [Source-13✅] | No single mandatory national A–F or fixed numeric passing scale. Under Kurikulum Merdeka, schools and teachers use learning-achievement criteria known as KKTP, which may combine numerical results, descriptors, rubrics, and competency evidence. [Kemendikdasmen] |
| Higher Education Grading Scale | Usually a 1.0–6.0 scale with 4.0 as the pass mark; ECTS credits are used across higher education. [Source-14✅] | Institution-specific, although a 4.00 GPA scale with letter grades is widely used. A common model ranges from A = 4.0 to E = 0, with some universities using intermediate grades. [ITB] |
Language of Instruction
| Category | Switzerland | Indonesia |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Instruction Languages (K–12) | German, French, Italian, or Romansh, depending on the language region; students also learn a second Swiss official language and English. [Source-15✅] | Bahasa Indonesia is the principal national language of instruction. Regional languages may support instruction during early stages where appropriate. [BPK] |
| Other Official / Minority Instruction Languages (K–12) | Romansh in Romansh-speaking municipalities, plus bilingual German/French or regional bilingual models in selected cantons. | Regional/local languages may be used as supporting instructional languages, particularly in early education. English is primarily taught as a foreign language; it is scheduled to become a compulsory primary-school subject from the 2027/2028 academic year. [Kemendikdasmen] |
School Provision & Access (K–12)
| Category | Switzerland | Indonesia |
|---|---|---|
| Public School Enrollment Share (K–12, % of Students) | At compulsory level, about 95% of pupils attend state schools. [Source-16✅] | Approximately 66.5%, calculated from 2024/2025 primary, junior-secondary, and senior-secondary enrollment by school status. Public shares were about 73.2% at primary, 60.9% at junior secondary, and 57.3% at senior secondary. [Kemendikdasmen] |
| Public School Tuition Fee (Annual, Local Currency) | $0; public compulsory education is free of charge for all children. [Source-17✅] | $0 tuition for compulsory basic education in government schools under the national education framework. Permitted ancillary costs and locally administered support arrangements can vary. [BPK] |
| Public Schools Nationwide Availability | Yes; public schools are organised locally by municipalities and cantons with nationwide compulsory access. [Source-18✅] | Yes. Public primary and secondary schools operate nationwide across Indonesia’s provinces and districts, complemented by the public religious-school network. |
| Private School Enrollment Share (K–12, % of Students) | About 5% at compulsory level; at upper secondary level, private schools educate around 16% of students. [Source-19✅] | Approximately 33.5% across primary through senior-secondary education, derived from official 2024/2025 student totals by school status. [Kemendikdasmen] |
| Private Schools (Geographic Concentration) | Mostly concentrated in urban areas, international hubs such as Geneva, Zurich, Basel, Lausanne, and selected boarding-school regions. | Nationwide presence, with particularly extensive provision in densely populated and urban areas and through community, foundation, and religious education networks. |
International Schools (K–12)
| Category | Switzerland | Indonesia |
|---|---|---|
| Number of International Schools (Total) | 113 international schools listed in Switzerland by an international-school directory count. [Source-20✅] | Approximately 146 directory-listed international schools as of 2026; this figure represents a specialist international-school directory rather than an official government census. [International Schools Database] |
| Number of IB World Schools | About 53–56 IB World Schools, depending on live authorization updates and programme filters. [Source-21✅] | Approximately 80 IB World Schools listed for Indonesia in 2026. [IB] |
| Main International Programmes Offered | IB PYP, MYP, DP, CP, Cambridge, British, American, French, bilingual Swiss programmes, and international boarding-school curricula. [Source-22✅] | IB, Cambridge International, British, American, Australian, Singaporean, French, and bilingual/internationalized Indonesian curricula are among the principal options. |
Resources & Learning Environment (K–12)
| Category | Switzerland | Indonesia |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Teacher Qualification (Public Schools) | Tertiary teacher-education qualification; graduates receive a level-specific teaching qualification and usually a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree. [Source-23✅] | A minimum academic qualification of S-1 bachelor’s degree or D-IV applied bachelor’s level is the national professional benchmark, alongside teacher-certification requirements for eligible professional teachers. [Kemendikdasmen] |
| Average Class Size (Primary) | Approximately 18.7–19 students per class, with local variation by municipality and canton. [Source-24✅] | Approximately 21 students per class group nationally, based on the official primary student-to-class-group ratio dataset. [Data Indonesia] |
| Average Class Size (Lower Secondary) | Approximately 19 students per class in comparable OECD-style reporting for Switzerland. [Source-25✅] | Approximately 28 students per class group at junior-secondary level. [Data Indonesia] |
| Average Class Size (Upper Secondary) | Typically around 19–25 students, varying by canton, programme type, and school organisation. | Approximately 30 students overall as an indicative upper-secondary figure. General senior-secondary classes average about 32 students, while vocational classes are closer to 27 students. [Data Indonesia]; vocational reference: [Data Indonesia] |
System Performance & Learning Outcomes (OECD/PISA)
| Category | Switzerland | Indonesia |
|---|---|---|
| PISA Participation (First Year) | 2000. | 2001, through the PISA 2000 Plus administration; Indonesia has subsequently participated regularly in PISA. |
| PISA 2018 Scores (Mathematics / Reading / Science) | 515 / 484 / 495. [Source-26✅] | 379 / 371 / 396. [OECD PISA 2018] |
| PISA 2022 Scores (Mathematics / Reading / Science) | 508 / 483 / 503. [Source-27✅] | 366 / 359 / 383. [OECD] |
| Average PISA Rank 2000–2022 (Math / Reading / Science) | Unofficial score-table average position: Math ~15 / Reading ~24 / Science ~19; OECD publishes scores rather than one official 2000–2022 average-rank metric. | Not officially published as a standardized OECD metric. Participant numbers and economies included differ by PISA cycle, so a single comparable 2000–2022 average rank is not reported by OECD. [OECD] |
| Strongest Subject Area (PISA 2022) | Mathematics, with a 2022 score of 508. [Source-28✅] | Science, with a score of 383, compared with 366 in mathematics and 359 in reading. [OECD] |
Higher Education System
| Category | Switzerland | Indonesia |
|---|---|---|
| Number of Higher Education Institutions (Total) | 55 HEdA-accredited or officially recognised higher education institutions: universities, universities of applied sciences, universities of teacher education, and other recognised institutions. [Source-29✅] | 4,303 institutions in the 2025 national higher-education statistics. [Kemdiktisaintek] |
| Number of Universities (Research Universities) | 12 research universities, including 10 cantonal universities and 2 federal institutes of technology. [Source-30✅] | 981 institutions classified as Universitas. Indonesia’s national statistics do not publish a separate statutory count specifically labeled research universities. [Kemdiktisaintek] |
| Number of Universities of Applied Sciences / Colleges | 10 universities of applied sciences plus 18 universities of teacher education; tertiary professional education also includes colleges of higher education. [Source-31✅] | 885 vocational/applied institutions: 389 polytechnics, 465 academies, and 31 community academies. Indonesia also reports 2,006 Sekolah Tinggi, specialized higher-education schools/colleges. [Kemdiktisaintek] |
| Main Institution Types | Research universities, federal institutes of technology, universities of applied sciences, universities of teacher education, and tertiary professional education institutions. [Source-32✅] | Universities; institutes; Sekolah Tinggi; polytechnics; academies; and community academies. [Kemdiktisaintek] |
| Tertiary Enrollment Share by Ownership | Public/non-profit: 92.5% | Private/for-profit: 7.5%. [Source-33✅] | State/public-managed: approximately 50.3% | Society/private-managed: approximately 49.7% of registered students in 2025. National statistics classify institutions primarily by management/ownership group rather than a strict nonprofit-versus-for-profit distinction. [Kemdiktisaintek] |
| English-Taught Degree Programmes (Bachelor + Master, Total) | Approximately 550+ English-taught bachelor’s and master’s degrees in public and private listings, with English provision concentrated at master’s level. [Source-34✅] | Not centrally published as a national total. English-medium International Undergraduate Programs and international/English-track master’s programs are reported primarily by individual universities. |
| Share of Tertiary Programmes Taught in National Languages (%) | Estimated at about 80–85%, with German, French, Italian, and multilingual national-language routes forming the core programme base. [Source-35✅] | No verified nationwide percentage is centrally published. Bahasa Indonesia is the predominant national instructional language, while individual institutions may operate bilingual or English-medium programs. |
| Share of Tertiary Programmes Taught in English (%) | Estimated at about 15–20%, mainly at master’s, doctoral, business, science, and engineering levels. [Source-36✅] | No verified nationwide percentage is centrally published. English-medium provision represents a specialized subset of programs, particularly international undergraduate and postgraduate tracks. |
| Main Global Ranking Used | Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026. [Source-37✅] | QS World University Rankings is used here as the selected international comparison framework. [QS] |
| Universities in Top 100 (Selected Ranking) | 2 universities in the THE World University Rankings 2026 top 100. [Source-38✅] | 0 universities in the global Top 100 of the QS World University Rankings 2027. [QS] |
| Universities in Top 500 (Selected Ranking) | 9 universities in the THE World University Rankings 2026 top 500. [Source-39✅] | 7 universities in the global Top 500 of the QS World University Rankings 2027. [QS] |
| Universities in Top 1000 (Selected Ranking) | 10 universities in the THE World University Rankings 2026 top 1000. [Source-40✅] | 12 universities in the global Top 1000 of the QS World University Rankings 2027. [QS] |
| National Accreditation / QA Agency (Higher Education) | Swiss Accreditation Council and the Swiss Agency of Accreditation and Quality Assurance (AAQ). [Source-41✅] | BAN-PT (National Accreditation Agency for Higher Education), complemented by discipline-specific Independent Accreditation Agencies (LAM). [BAN-PT] |
| International Students (Total) | Approximately 57,000 international tertiary students when applying the OECD 19.7% share to the Swiss higher-education student base. [Source-42✅] | No standalone, current nationwide international-student total is published in the 2025 public higher-education dashboard. International-student study-permit administration is maintained through the ministry’s dedicated foreign-student service. [Kemdiktisaintek] |
| International Students Share of Total Tertiary Enrollment (%) | 19.7% of tertiary students in 2023. [Source-43✅] | Not centrally published as a verified current nationwide percentage; therefore, a national share cannot be stated reliably from the 2025 public statistics. Total registered tertiary enrollment was approximately 10.75 million students. [Kemdiktisaintek] |
Education Costs (Indicative)
| Category | Switzerland | Indonesia |
|---|---|---|
| Public University Tuition Fees – Domestic / Regional (Annual, Local Currency) | Typically about $1,000–$2,500 per year; OECD reports an average public master’s fee of $1,427 for national students. [Source-44✅] | Approximately $60–$1,600 per year for regular means-tiered undergraduate tuition in a representative public-university program; exact UKT charges vary substantially by university, program, and assigned fee band. [Universitas Indonesia] |
| Public University Tuition Fees – International / Non-EU (Annual, Local Currency) | Typically about $1,500–$4,500 per year; OECD reports an average public master’s fee of $3,159 for foreign students. [Source-45✅] | Approximately $1,700–$7,500 per year as an indicative range across foreign-student bachelor’s tuition categories at a major public university, excluding any one-time institutional-development charges. [UGM] |
| Typical Tuition Fees for English-Taught Programmes (Annual, Local Currency) | Indicative range: $1,000–$55,000+ per year; public English-taught degrees often follow normal public fee bands, while private business, hospitality, and specialised programmes can be higher. [Source-46✅] | Approximately $3,000–$8,000 per year for many English-medium/international undergraduate tracks at major public universities. Dual-degree arrangements, medicine, and partner-university components can cost more. [ITB] |
| Language School Costs (Monthly, Local Currency) | Typical private group-course range: about $550–$1,650 per month, depending on language, city, intensity, and class format. [Source-47✅] | Approximately $180–$210 per month equivalent for a university-based Indonesian-language course, based on UGM INCULS semester tuition spread across a 15–17 week term. [UGM] |
Major Education Updates & Policy Changes
| Category | Switzerland | Indonesia |
|---|---|---|
| 2010–2020: Key Updates & Reforms | ||
| 2020–2024: Key Updates & Reforms | ||
| 2025–2026: Key Updates & Reforms |
General Overview (Narrative)
| Category | Switzerland | Indonesia |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | Switzerland has a federal, decentralised education system built around cantonal responsibility, strong public provision, and shared federal-cantonal coordination after compulsory schooling. Compulsory education lasts 11 years, normally beginning at age 4, and most children attend local public schools free of charge. The system is multilingual, with instruction mainly in German, French, Italian, or Romansh according to region. A distinctive feature is the balance between general academic routes and the highly established dual vocational education and training pathway, which connects school-based learning with workplace training. Higher education includes research universities, federal institutes of technology, universities of applied sciences, universities of teacher education, and tertiary professional education. Switzerland performs strongly in international comparisons, especially in mathematics, and maintains a high-profile university sector with ETH Zurich and EPFL among global leaders. Current development priorities focus on quality assurance, digitalisation, open science, sustainability, permeability between pathways, and evidence-based education monitoring. | Indonesia has a large, mixed, and decentralized education system. National ministries establish curriculum, quality, and policy frameworks, while provincial and district governments manage much of public-school delivery; the Ministry of Religious Affairs operates the extensive madrasah sector. The standard school structure is 6 years of primary, 3 years of junior secondary, and 3 years of senior secondary education, with both general and vocational pathways. The established compulsory basic-education framework covers ages 7–15, while current policy is moving toward a 13-year model that adds one preschool year and extends participation through senior secondary school. Public schools educate roughly two-thirds of students across primary and secondary levels, alongside a substantial private, foundation, and religious-school sector. Bahasa Indonesia is the principal instructional language, with regional-language support permitted and English education expanding. Higher education includes more than 4,300 institutions across universities, institutes, colleges, polytechnics, and academies. Recent reforms emphasize Kurikulum Merdeka, deeper learning, competency-based assessment, digital learning systems, coding and artificial intelligence options, broader preschool and secondary participation, and preparation for compulsory primary English from 2027/2028. |