Is the Swiss Matura more difficult than the German Abitur?

Published: 21.07.2026, 21:28

The question of whether the Swiss Matura (Swiss grammar school diploma) is more difficult than the German Abitur (German grammar school diploma) is a particular concern for expats from Germany.

But parents of children living near the border between Germany and Switzerland also repeatedly consider whether it might be tactically smarter to send their child to a grammar school in the neighboring country, because the graduation might be easier there.

In the following article, we compare the Swiss Matura and the German Abitur and explore which of the two grammar school qualifications is more difficult.

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The most important points in brief:

According to reports from parents, the Swiss Matura is clearly more difficult than the German Abitur, something the parents were able to observe directly in their own children, some of whom took the Matura and others the Abitur.
Education researchers believe Swiss average grammar school graduates are better than German average grammar school graduates.
Others say that the difficulty of the Swiss Matura and the German Abitur depends on the individual profile, since the requirements for both qualifications are basically comparable, only the structure is different.
Comparing the Swiss Matura and the German Abitur is difficult because both are organized federally and there is neither a nationwide uniform Swiss Matura nor a nationwide uniform German Abitur.
The different quotas of Swiss grammar school diplomas and German grammar school diplomas do not provide any information about the difficulty of the respective qualification.
The actual grammar school graduation exam is similar in Switzerland and Germany.
However, the passing grades are stricter in Switzerland, which is one factor why the Swiss Matura is more difficult than the German Abitur.
The options to drop courses and not submit grades in the German Abitur also make it easier than the Swiss Matura.
In addition, the final thesis (Matura thesis) for the Swiss Matura presents a challenge that German Abitur students do not face in the same way.
All in all, one concludes that the Swiss Matura is more difficult than the German Abitur.

Table of contents

Swiss Matura vs. German Abitur: Differences
Conclusion: The Matura is more difficult than the Abitur

Swiss Matura vs. German Abitur: Differences

Parents in Switzerland who live on the German border, and whose children have completed the German Abitur and the Swiss Matura, say: The Swiss Matura is "clearly more difficult".

Education expert Stefan Wolter’s comments to the Süddeutsche Zeitung regarding the quality of grammar school education also point in the same direction: “The average Swiss grammar school graduate is simply better than the average German grammar school graduate.”

Stefan Wolter also offers a plausible explanation for why grammar school in Switzerland remains more challenging than in Germany to this day. According to him, the 1968 movement played no major role in Switzerland. Unlike in Germany, the 1968 movement’s demand that as many people as possible should have the opportunity to attend university had largely no effect in Switzerland.

Nevertheless, more people in Switzerland aged 25 to 34 hold a tertiary education degree than in Germany. This is due in particular to the fact that in Switzerland, after completing an apprenticeship, one can study at a university of applied sciences by obtaining, for example, an additional vocational baccalaureate. In Switzerland, it is also possible to pursue advanced vocational training after gaining some work experience.

In this context, read our article «Dual education system: high income without university degree».

Other voices - like the one of Birklehof private boarding school and grammar school from Germany - are more differentiated regarding the question of whether the Swiss Matura or the German Abitur is more difficult: "The requirements [of the Swiss Matura and the Abitur] are comparable, but structured differently. An objective statement about the difficulty depends on the individual profile."

Before we can answer the question of whether the Swiss Matura is really more difficult than the German Abitur, we must understand the differences between these two grammar school qualifications.

Challenges in comparing the Swiss Matura and the Abitur

What makes comparing the Swiss Matura and the German Abitur somewhat difficult is that education in both countries is organized on a federal basis. This means that neither Switzerland nor Germany has a uniform grammar school diploma; rather, the Matura and the Abitur differ depending on the canton or federal state.

However, there are certain standardizations among the cantons and federal states in both countries to ensure that the Swiss Matura and the German Abitur are comparable nationwide. We will use these standardizations as the basis for our comparison of the Swiss Matura and the German Abitur below.

In Germany, there is even a kind of centralized Abitur in certain subjects, but generally speaking, the Abitur in Germany varies greatly depending on the federal state in which it is taken. This is because the federal states are permitted to deviate from the centralized Abitur in many respects.

Matura rate vs. Abitur rate

In Switzerland, the average grammar school graduation rate for the years 2022 through 2024 was 23.2 percent. In Germany, the comparable average rate—that is, the percentage of students earning the Abitur (a diploma granting general university entrance qualifications)—for the years 2022 through 2024 was 33.07 percent.

While the higher grammar school graduation rate in Germany suggests that the Abitur is easier than the Swiss Matura, this perspective is too narrow. This is because the grammar school graduation rate in some Swiss cantons is politically controlled. In Zurich, for example, the grammar school graduation rate is kept artificially low by limiting the number of students admitted to grammar school through the grammar school entrance exam.

Read also our article «Grammar school graduation quota - canton controls since 2007».

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Grading system and passing grades

Aside from the different grading scales, the passing thresholds for the Swiss Matura and the German Abitur also differ.

In Switzerland, the grading scale ranges from 6 to 1, with 6 being the highest grade and 1 the lowest. In Germany, the scale is exactly the opposite, with 1 being the highest grade and 6 the lowest.

However, the passing grades are set differently. While a 4 is still a passing grade in Germany, in Switzerland you also need a 4 to pass, even though the grading scale starts at 6. In Germany, therefore, you pass on 4 grade levels from 1 to 4, while in Switzerland you pass on only 3 grade levels, namely from 6 to 4.

As for passing thresholds, in Switzerland it is generally required to achieve 60 percent of the points to pass an exam, whereas in Germany, generally only 50 percent of the points are needed. It is therefore significantly more difficult to pass an exam in Switzerland than in Germany.

Preliminary grades and final thesis

In both Switzerland and Germany, the final grade is determined not only by the grades from the grammar school graduation exams (Matura and Abitur exam grades) but also by preliminary grades—specifically, grades in a wide range of subjects from the student’s school years, with the relevant time period varying by country.

In Switzerland, preliminary grades include the grades in the Matura subjects, which consist of core subjects, a focus subject, and a supplementary subject. The grades from the final year of study in which the subject was taught are considered. In addition, the grade for the Matura thesis (final thesis) is also included in the calculation in Switzerland. There is no such final thesis in Germany. However, some federal states require a so-called “Facharbeit” (specialized research paper), which counts as a substitute for an exam in the relevant course during the qualification phase and does not contribute directly to the final grade as a separate grade.

In Germany, the preliminary grades include the grades from the so-called qualification phase—which generally spans two years or four semesters; basic courses are counted once, while advanced courses are counted twice.

The actual Matura and Abitur exams in both countries are generally taken in five subjects, with the required core subjects—German (in German-speaking Switzerland), mathematics, and a foreign language—being essentially identical in both countries.

Dropping and not including subjects

Unlike the Swiss Matura, the German Abitur allows students to drop certain subjects under specific conditions—except for core subjects (German, mathematics, a foreign language, a natural science, and a social science subject such as history).

In addition, the German Abitur allows students to exclude certain subject grades from their final Abitur grade, provided they meet specific requirements.

The German Abitur thus offers significantly more flexibility to exclude grades from subjects in which you are not as strong from the final Abitur grade. The options available in the Swiss Matura are limited to choosing a focus subject and a supplementary subject.

Conclusion: The Matura is more difficult than the Abitur

In terms of content, there are now only a few differences between the Swiss Matura and the German Abitur in the individual subjects. Preparatory institutes in Switzerland therefore use the same materials in their Swiss Matura preparation courses as those used by German Abitur students to prepare for their exams. This used to be different, when all subjects—including the basic subjects—had to be completed at the advanced level in Switzerland, a requirement that now applies only to the focus subjects. As a result, the Swiss system is now similar in terms of academic level to the German system with its advanced and basic courses.

However, the flexibility in dropping courses and not adding grades in the German Abitur alone makes it considerably easier than the Swiss Matura, where the only choice lies in selecting focus and supplementary subjects.

In addition, the passing threshold of 60% correct answers on exam questions in Switzerland makes the Matura more difficult than the Abitur, where a student passes an exam with 50% correct answers.

The final thesis required for the Swiss Matura also presents an additional challenge that is only partially present in Germany with the Facharbeit; furthermore, the Facharbeit does not directly contribute to the final grade, but only indirectly.

Overall, it must be concluded that the Swiss Matura is more difficult than the German Abitur.

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