Early school leaving in the EU: progress and challenges

Rates of change

Early leaving from education and training (ELET) measures the share of young people aged 18–24 who have completed at most lower secondary education and who were not in education or training in the four weeks before the survey.

Since monitoring began in 2002, the EU's ELET rate has dropped from 16.9% to 9.4% in 2024. This is a remarkable improvement, but it still means around 3.1 million young people remain outside education and training without having attained upper secondary education.

The EU 2030 target

The EU has set a clear goal: by 2030, the share of early leavers from education and training should fall below 9%.

The chart shows that:

• 17 EU countries have already met the target
• the biggest reductions in the past decade were seen in Spain (-7.0 percentage points), Portugal (-6.9), Malta (-6.7), and Bulgaria (-5.2)

However:

• 7 countries still report rates above 10%
• between 2015 and 2024, the ELET rate actually increased in 8 countries, especially in Cyprus (+6.1 percentage points), Lithuania (+2.9), Germany (+2.8), and Denmark (+2.3)

As this chart shows, the labour market prospects for early school leavers remain difficult:

• fewer than half (47.8%) are employed
• employment rates vary widely - from 75% in Malta and 70% in the Netherlands to below 20% in Slovakia (17.3%) and Lithuania (19.0%)
• even among those employed, research shows job insecurity is high

Lifelong learning and second chances

Older groups show that ELET remains a persistent problem:

• 11.9% among 25–29-year-olds
• 12.6% among 25–34-year-olds

These figures suggest that second-chance education opportunities are not widely successful. Once young people disengage, returning to education is uncommon.

The way forward

The data is clear: prevention is more effective than cure. To reduce early school leaving further, education systems need a strong focus on prevention, timely intervention, and targeted support - ensuring that all young people can complete their education successfully.

Background

The 2022 Council Recommendation on Pathways to School Success proposes a new policy framework to simultaneously address underachievement in basic skills and early leaving from education and training. This framework provides guidance for policy makers and education practitioners. It outlines

• conditions for effective action
• key measures, to be promoted at school, local, regional and national levels
• specific actions for supporting school leaders, teachers, trainers and other educational staff

A European Toolkit for Schools offers policymakers and practitioners a wealth of resources and practical examples of effective practices to promote educational success and prevent early school leaving.