Education and Training

Monitor 2020

EU targets for 2020

Education
and Training
1. Early leavers from education
and training
EUROPE 2020 HEADLINE TARGET: The share of
early leavers from education and training should be
below 10%.

BEST EU PERFORMERS: Croatia, Lithuania, Greece

MOST PROGRESS 2009 - 2019: Portugal, Spain, Greece

2019 2019
Trend
Total
Males Females

EU 10.2 -3.8 11.9 8.4

Belgium 8.4 -2.7 10.5 6.2
Bulgaria 13.9 -0.8 14.5 13.3
Czechia 6.7 1.3 6.6 6.8
Denmark 9.9 -1.6 12.1 7.6
Germany 10.3 -0.8 11.8 8.7
Estonia 9.8 -3.7 12.7 6.9
Ireland 5.1 -6.7 5.9 4.3
Greece 4.1 -10.1 4.9 3.2
Spain 17.3 -13.6 21.4 13.0
France 8.2 -4.2 9.6 6.9
Croatia (3.0) -2.2 3.1 3.0
Italy 13.5 -5.6 15.4 11.5
Cyprus 9.2 -2.5 11.1 7.5
Latvia 8.7 -5.6 10.5 6.8
Lithuania 4.0 -4.7 5.1 2.8
Luxembourg 7.2 -0.5 8.9 5.5
Hungary 11.8 0.3 12.7 10.9
Malta 17.2 -8.5 18.7 15.6
Netherlands 7.5b -3.8 9.5 5.5
Austria 7.8 -1.0 9.5 6.1
Poland 5.2 -0.1 6.7 3.6
Portugal 10.6 -20.3 13.7 7.4
Romania 15.3 -1.3 14.9 15.8
Slovenia 4.6 -0.7 5.2 3.8
Slovakia 8.3 3.4 8.8 7.9
Finland 7.3 -2.6 8.5 6.0
Sweden 6.5 -0.5 7.4 5.5
Iceland 17.9 -3.4 24.5 10.8
Norway 9.9 -7.7 11.6 8.1
Switzerland 4.4 -4.7 5.1 3.8
Montenegro 5.0 : 5.2 4.9
North
7.1 -9.1 5.9 8.4
Macedonia
Serbia 6.6 : 6.5 6.7
Turkey 28.7 -15.6 28.9 28.6

A CLOSER LOOK: Those who leave education without an upper

secondary qualification struggle with lower employment rates,
and lower participation in adult learning. Early school leaving
is higher among men; and among the foreign-born population
than among native born young adults.
Source: Eurostat (EU-LFS). online data code [edat_lfse_14]. Note: the indicator covers 18 to
24 year-olds with ISCED 2 at most and who are no longer in formal or non-formal education
and training. The trend depicted refers to the 2009-2019 change in percentage points.
2. Tertiary educational attainment

EUROPE 2020 HEADLINE TARGET: The share of 30 to 34

year-olds with tertiary educational attainment should be
at least 40%.

BEST EU PERFORMERS: Cyprus, Lithuania, Luxembourg

MOST PROGRESS 2009 - 2019: Slovakia, Austria, Czechia

2019
2019 Trend
Total Males Females
EU 40.3 9.2 35.1 45.6
Belgium 47.5 5.5 39.8 55.2
Bulgaria 32.5 4.6 26.4 39.0
Czechia 35.1 17.6 29.5 41.0
Denmark 49.0 8.6 41.2 57.1
Germany 35.5 6.1 35.1 35.9
Estonia 46.2 9.9 33.5 60.0
Ireland 55.4 5.0 50.8 59.7
Greece 43.1 16.5 36.7 49.3
Spain 44.7 4.0 38.5 50.8
France 47.5 4.5 42.4 52.3
Croatia 33.1 11.8 24.7 41.8
Italy 27.6 8.6 21.6 33.8
Cyprus 58.8 13.8 49.0 68.2
Latvia 45.7 15.2 35.0 57.0
Lithuania 57.8 17.4 46.9 69.5
Luxembourg 56.2 9.6 54.5 57.9
Hungary 33.4 9.4 27.2 39.8
Malta 38.1 16.2 31.8 45.6
Netherlands 51.4b 13.1 47.6 55.2
Austria 42.4 19.0 39.3 45.6
Poland 46.6 13.8 37.2 56.4
Portugal 36.2 14.9 29.7 42.5
Romania 25.8 9.0 22.2 29.8
Slovenia 44.9 13.3 34.5 57.1
Slovakia 40.1 22.5 32.2 48.3
Finland 47.3 1.4 38.6 56.6
Sweden 52.5 8.6 45.5 59.9
Iceland 52.8 11.1 41.3 65.7
Norway 49.1 2.1 41.7 56.9
Switzerland 56.1 12.7 55.1 57.1
Montenegro 36.8 : 35.4 38.1
North
35.7 : 32.1 39.4
Macedonia
Serbia 33.5 : 26.9 40.4
Turkey 31.4 16.7 32.7 30.0

A CLOSER LOOK: The EU has met its target of raising the rate
of tertiary educational attainment to at least 40% of the 30-34
year-old population. On average in the EU, there is a large gap
between the tertiary educational attainment rate of women and
men, in favour of the former. The social dimension of higher
education requires urgent attention, notably to support participa-
tion of disadvantaged groups.
Source: Eurostat (EU-LFS). online data code [edat_lfse_03]. Note: the indicator covers 30
to 34 year-olds having successfully completed ISCED 5 to 8. The trend depicted refers to
the 2009-2019 change in percentage points.
3. Early childhood education

BENCHMARK 2020: At least 95% of children between

the age of four and the age for starting compulsory primary
education should participate in education.

BEST EU PERFORMERS: France, Denmark, Ireland

MOST PROGRESS 2009 - 2018: Ireland, Poland, Finland

2018
2018 Trend
Total Age 4 Age 5+
EU 94.8 4.5 93.0 96.4d
Belgium 98.5 -0.8 98.3 98.7
Bulgaria 82.4 -1.8 76.6 85.2
Czechia 91.5 0.9 89.1 93.8
Denmark 100.0 8.1 99.8 100.0
Germany 96.0 0.0 95.0 97.0
Estonia 92.8 -3.3 92.0 93.2
Ireland 100.0 26.4 100.0 100.0
Greece 75.2b 1.1 55.6 93.9
Spain 98.0 -0.4 97.6 98.4
France 100.0 0.0 100.0 100.0
Croatia 81.0 11.8 69.6 86.6
Italy 94.9 -4.9 94.4 95.4
Cyprus 95.3 10.6 91.9 98.3
Latvia 96.0 4.3 93.5 97.4
Lithuania 91.0 6.7 86.1 93.4
Luxembourg 96.1 1.5 96.7 95.6
Hungary 95.7 0.9 95.5 95.8
Malta 95.3 0.7 95.3 :
Netherlands 96.9 -2.6 94.9 98.9
Austria 96.0 4.7 93.9 98.0
Poland 93.0e 22.1 86.7e 96.1e
Portugal 93.7 3.6 93.2 94.2
Romania 86.3 -1.7 80.6 92.3
Slovenia 93.1 5.4 91.8 94.3
Slovakia 82.2 4.8 79.3 85.0
Finland 89.3 17.4 82.6 92.5
Sweden 95.9 1.2 94.1 96.9
Iceland 97.4 2.3 97.1 97.6
Norway 97.5 0.9 97.3 97.6
Switzerland 73.6 -4.3 48.6 98.4
Montenegro : : : :
North
43.3 14.8 39.0 47.5
Macedonia
Serbia : : 58.4 :
Turkey 59.7 27.2 39.3 80.1

A CLOSER LOOK: The attendance of children from the age of 4

in early childhood education is, by now, almost universal. It is also
high for children aged above 3 (90%). However, it drops to 77.8%
for children “at risk of poverty or social exclusion”. High-quality
education in the early years of life correlates with better learning
outcomes later in life, and particularly so for children from
socio-economically disadvantaged homes.
Source: Eurostat (UOE), online data code [educ_uoe_enra10; educ_uoe_enra19 (age4);
educ_uoe_enra18 (age5+)]. Note: the age for starting compulsory primary education
is different from country to country. See Section 2.3 of the Education and Training Monitor
2020 for more information (ec.europa.eu/education/monitor). The trend depicted refers to
the 2009-2018 change in percentage points.
4. Underachievement in reading,
maths and science
BENCHMARK 2020: The share of 15 year-olds with
underachievement in reading, mathematics and science
should be below 15%.

BEST EU PERFORMERS:
Reading: Estonia, Ireland, Finland
Maths: Estonia, Poland, Denmark
Science: Estonia, Finland, Poland

2018 Trend 2018 Trend 2018 Trend

Reading Maths Science
EU 22.5 2.8 22.9 0.2 22.3 4.5
Belgium 21.3 3.6 19.7 0.6 20.0 2.0
Bulgaria 47.1 6.1 44.4 -2.7 46.5 7.7
Czechia 20.7 -2.4 20.4 -2.0 18.8 1.5
Denmark 16.0 0.8 14.6 -2.5 18.7 2.1
Germany 20.7 2.2 21.1 2.4 19.6 4.8
Estonia 11.1 -2.2 10.2 -2.5 8.8 0.5
Ireland 11.8 -5.4 15.7 -5.2 17.0 1.8
Greece 30.5 9.2 35.8 5.4 31.7 6.4
Spain : : 24.7 0.9 21.3 3.1
France 20.9 1.1 21.3 -1.2 20.5 1.2
Croatia 21.6 -0.8 31.2 -2.0 25.4 6.9
Italy 23.3 2.3 23.8 -1.2 25.9 5.3
Cyprus 43.7 : 36.9 : 39.0 :
Latvia 22.4 4.8 17.3 -5.3 18.5 3.8
Lithuania 24.4 0.0 25.6 -0.8 22.2 5.2
Luxembourg 29.3 3.3 27.2 3.3 26.8 3.1
Hungary 25.3 7.7 25.6 3.3 24.1 10.0
Malta 35.9 -0.4 30.2 -3.5 33.5 1.0
Netherlands 24.1 9.8 15.8 2.4 20.0 6.8
Austria 23.6 : 21.1 : 21.9 :
Poland 14.7 -0.3 14.7 -5.8 13.8 0.7
Portugal 20.2 2.6 23.3 -0.5 19.6 3.1
Romania 40.8 0.4 46.6 -0.4 43.9 2.5
Slovenia 17.9 -3.3 16.4 -4.0 14.6 -0.2
Slovakia 31.4 9.2 25.1 4.1 29.3 10.0
Finland 13.5 5.4 15.0 7.1 12.9 6.9
Sweden 18.4 1.0 18.8 -2.3 19.0 -0.1
Iceland 26.4 9.6 20.7 3.7 25.0 7.1
Norway 19.3 4.3 18.9 0.7 20.8 5.0
Switzerland 23.6 6.8 16.8 3.3 20.2 6.2
Montenegro 44.4 -5.1 46.2 -12.3 48.2 -5.4
North
55.1 : 61.0 : 49.5 :
Macedonia
Serbia 37.7 4.9 39.7 -0.9 38.3 3.9
Turkey 26.1 1.6 36.7 -5.5 25.2 -4.8

A CLOSER LOOK: Reducing the number of pupils who

cannot complete basic maths, science and reading tasks remains
a challenge. Between 2012 and 2015, the EU actually moved
further away from its target on basic skills. In most countries,
pupils with a migrant background tend to perform worse than
pupils without, signalling that investing in equal opportunities
for all pupils remains a top priority in the EU.
Source: OECD (PISA 2009, 2018). Note: underachievement means failing Level 2 on the
PISA scale for reading, mathematics or science. The trend depicted refers to the 2009-
2018 change in percentage points.
5. Employment rate of recent graduates

BENCHMARK 2020: 82% of recent graduates from upper

secondary to tertiary education (age group 20-34) who are
no longer in education or training should be in employment.

BEST EU PERFORMERS: Malta, Germany, Netherlands

MOST PROGRESS 2009 - 2019: Estonia, Latvia, Hungary

Trend 2019
2019 ISCED ISCED
Total 3 - 4 5 - 8
EU 80.9 2.9 75.9 85.0
Belgium 83.5 2.5 74.1 89.7
Bulgaria 80.7 7.1 67.5 88.4
Czechia 87.3 2.8 86.1 88.2
Denmark 85.1 -1.1 81.6 87.9
Germany 92.7 7.4 91.0 94.8
Estonia 83.3 15.6 79.4 87.5
Ireland 84.5 7.2 73.0 91.0
Greece 59.4 -5.8 51.0 64.2
Spain 73.0 0.0 61.5 77.2
France 75.7 -1.6 65.2 82.0
Croatia 75.8 -0.5 71.8 79.1
Italy 58.7 -1.9 52.9 64.9
Cyprus 81.7 0.6 72.3 83.9
Latvia 84.1 14.4 70.4 96.6
Lithuania 80.1 7.1 68.1 87.6
Luxembourg 89.4 3.9 78.2 94.2
Hungary 85.6 10.1 82.6 89.5
Malta 93.4 0.5 89.0 95.3
Netherlands 91.9b -0.4 88.8 94.0
Austria 89.0 1.1 86.3 91.4
Poland 84.0 5.6 77.3 90.1
Portugal 80.3 -2.1 74.4 85.3
Romania 76.1 -1.5 66.9 87.6
Slovenia 86.0 3.7 79.0 89.6
Slovakia 83.9 9.5 84.8 83.4
Finland 84.4 6.6 80.8 89.1
Sweden 88.7 7.1 84.9 91.7
Iceland 91.5 7.1 90.8 91.9
Norway 90.5 : 86.6 93.3
Switzerland 87.9 1.2 82.6 92.4
Montenegro 65.4 : 57.1 70.2
North
57.2 12.6 51.3 61.2
Macedonia
Serbia 66.5 : 60.8 70.7
Turkey 57.8 -0.3 48.3 61.3

A CLOSER LOOK: There is a general recovery in the prospects

for recent graduates in the labour market, and the EU is close to
reaching the target of 82% set in 2009. Tertiary graduates enjoy
a higher employment rate (85.5%) than those holding an up-
per-secondary or post-secondary vocational qualification (79.5%);
graduates of general upper-secondary qualification have a lower
employment rate (66.3%).
Source: Eurostat (EU-LFS). online data code [edat_lfse_24]. Note: the indicator measures
the employment rate of persons aged 20-34. who graduated from ISCED 3-8 one to
three years earlier and who are no longer in education or training. The trend depicted
refers to the 2009-2019 change in percentage points.
6. Adult participation in learning

BENCHMARK 2020: An average of at least 15% of adults

(age group 25-64) should participate in formal or non-
formal learning [1].

BEST EU PERFORMERS: Sweden, Finland, Denmark

MOST PROGRESS 2009- 2019: France, Sweden, Estonia

Trend 2019
2019 ISCED ISCED ISCED
Total 0 - 2 3 - 4 5 - 8
EU 10.8 2.9 4.3 8.5 18.7
Belgium 8.2 1.1 3.4 5.4 13.4
Bulgaria 2.0 0.4 (0.6) 1.8 3.1
Czechia 8.1 1.0 3.0 6.3 14.6
Denmark 25.3 -6.1 17.7 22.6 31.4
Germany 8.2 0.2 4.1 7.0 12.4
Estonia 20.2 9.7 9.2 14.7 29.2
Ireland 12.6 6.0 4.2 9.5 18.2
Greece 3.9 0.4 0.8 3.8 6.4
Spain 10.6 -0.2 3.8 10.6 17.5
France 19.5 13.8 7.9 15.2 30.4
Croatia 3.5 0.5 : 2.6 7.5
Italy 8.1 2.1 2.1 8.8 18.3
Cyprus 5.9 -2.4 (1.0) 3.1 10.2
Latvia 7.4 1.8 3.4 4.6 12.8
Lithuania 7.0 2.4 (1.6) 3.8 11.5
Luxembourg 19.1 5.3 6.8 14.8 26.9
Hungary 5.8 2.8 2.5 4.8 10.0
Malta 11.9 5.7 4.3 11.2 24.2
Netherlands 19.5 2.4 10.2 19.0 25.1
Austria 14.7 0.8 5.7 10.8 24.5
Poland 4.8 0.1 (0.6) 2.4 10.3
Portugal 10.5 4.1 4.2 11.3 21.2
Romania 1.3 -0.5 : 1.3 2.5
Slovenia 11.2 -3.6 (2.3) 7.7 20.0
Slovakia 3.6 0.5 : 2.7 7.0
Finland 29.0 6.9 16.8 24.0 36.4
Sweden 34.3 11.8 23.7 28.6 43.2
Iceland 22.2 -2.9 11.7 20.9 28.0
Norway 19.3 0.8 12.6 16.1 24.6
Switzerland 32.3 8.4 9.8 25.6 44.6
Montenegro 2.5 : : 3.0 2.6
North
2.8 -0.7 (0.2) 3.4 4.5
Macedonia
Serbia 4.3 : (0.3) 3.8 8.6
Turkey 5.7 3.1 2.8 7.6 12.4

A CLOSER LOOK: Over the years, there has been some growth
of adults participating in learning in the EU – from 7.1% in 2002,
to 9.5% in 2008, to 11.1% in 2018. However, despite promising
examples (notably France, Portugal, Hungary, Estonia and
Finland), overall progress on this indicator has been slow.
Source: Eurostat (EU-LFS). online data code [trng_lfs_02]. Note: [1] the indicator covers
formal and non-formal learning but excludes informal learning. The trend depicted refers
to the 2009-2019 change in percentage points.
 NC-AM-20-001-EN-N
General notes:
The percentage point trends and progress shown in
this leaflet are calculated with 1-decimal figures and
do not exclude any intermediate breaks in series.
( ) = low reliability
: = data either not available or not reliable due to very
small sample size
b = break in time series
d = definition differs
e = estimate

Member States that have reached EU

benchmark at national level for the given year

ISCED: International Standard Classification

of Education (2011)
0 Early childhood education
1 Primary education
2 Lower secondary education
3 Upper secondary education
4 Post-secondary non-tertiary education
5 Short-cycle tertiary education
6 Bachelor’s or equivalent level
7 Master’s or equivalent level
8 Doctoral or equivalent level

For further descriptions, analysis and notes see the

Education and Training Monitor 2020

ec.europa.eu/education/monitor

European Commission
Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture
B-1049 Bruxelles / Brussel
eac-monitor@ec.europa.eu
Release: November 2020

ISBN: 978-92-76-20438-1
ISSN: 2466-9954
doi: 10.2766/2563

© European Union, 2020

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