According to a statistical report of the Spanish Federation of Religious in Education, over the past eight years Catholic schools have lost 326,330 pupils, representing 19.2% of the student population. Between the academic years 1991-92 and 1999-2000, enrollment in Catholic schools decreased from 1.7 million to 1.37 million.
Spanish public schools have the same problem. Over the same period, enrollment dropped 15.3%, or 1.25 million fewer students, according to the report´s data. U.S. government figures estimate Spain´s fertility rate at 1.15 children per woman.