We consider the Schrödinger equation on Riemannian symmetric spaces of noncompact type. Previous studies in rank one included sharp-in-time pointwise estimates for the Schrödinger kernel, dispersive properties, Strichartz inequalities for a large family of admissible pairs, and global well-posedness and scattering, both for small initial data. In this paper we establish analogous results in the higher rank case. The kernel estimates, which is our main result, are obtained by combining a subordination formula, an improved Hadamard parametrix for the wave equation, and a barycentric decomposition initially developed for the wave equation, which allows us to overcome a well-known problem, namely the fact that the Plancherel density is not always a differential symbol.