Archive:Enlargement countries - education statistics

Data from October 2014. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database. Planned article update: November 2015.

This article is part of an online publication and provides information on a range of education statistics for the enlargement (candidate countries and potential candidates) to the European Union (EU). Montenegro, Iceland ^[1], the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Albania, Serbia and Turkey currently have candidate country status, while Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo (this designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence) are potential candidates. The article gives an overview of education developments in seven countries, presenting an analysis of the different educational levels in terms of enrolment, educational attainment and tertiary education.

Main statistical findings

File:Number of pupils and students by education level, 2013 (¹) (thousand) 2014.png

Table 1: Number of pupils and students by education level, 2013 (¹)
(thousand) - Source: Eurostat (educ_ilev) and (cpc_pseduc)

File:Early leavers from education and training among those aged 18–24 years, 2013 (¹) (% of male female 18–24 year olds) 2014.png

Figure 1: Early leavers from education and training among those aged 18–24 years, 2013 (¹)
(% of male / female 18–24 year olds) - Source: Eurostat (edat_lfse_14) and (cpc_pseduc)

File:Upper secondary and tertiary educational attainment among those aged 20–24 years, 2003, 2008 and 2013 (¹) (% of 20–24 year olds) 2014.png

Table 2: Upper secondary and tertiary educational attainment among those aged 20–24 years, 2003, 2008 and 2013 (¹)
(% of 20–24 year olds) - Source: Eurostat (edat_lfse_08) and (cpc_siinr)

File:Average rate of change for the number of students in tertiary education, 2003–13 (¹) (% per annum) 2014.png

Figure 2: Average rate of change for the number of students in tertiary education, 2003–13 (¹)
(% per annum) - Source: Eurostat (educ_enrl1tl) and (cpc_pseduc)

File:Proportion of 30–34 year olds having completed tertiary or equivalent education, 2013 (¹) (%) 2014.png

Figure 3: Proportion of 30–34 year olds having completed tertiary or equivalent education, 2013 (¹)
(%) - Source: Eurostat (edat_lfse_07) and (cpc_pseduc)

File:Tertiary graduates in science and technology among those aged 20–29 years, 2013 (¹) (per 1 000 male female inhabitants aged 20–29) 2014.png

Figure 4: Tertiary graduates in science and technology among those aged 20–29 years, 2013 (¹)
(per 1 000 male / female inhabitants aged 20–29) - Source: Eurostat (educ_itertc) and (cpc_scienc)

Number of pupils and students

In 2013, there were 109 million pupils and students in the EU-28 across all forms of education from pre-primary to tertiary. In the enlargement countries, there were approximately 26 million pupils and students enrolled (see Table 1). While the absolute number of pupils is closely linked to the size and structure of populations, there are a range of other factors that influence how long pupils remain in the education system (such as the length of compulsory schooling, opportunities in the labour market, the availability and cost of tertiary education). In recent years, policy interest has focused on encouraging young persons to remain within the educational system so they may develop skills and gain qualifications that may help in the search for work in an increasingly knowledge-driven economy.

Within the EU-28, some 18.6 % of the overall number of pupils and students were attending tertiary education establishments (as covered by ISCED level 5 and ISCED level 6; based on the 1997 version of this classification). Across the enlargement countries the share of tertiary students was generally close to the EU-28 average, as all but one country lay within the range of 16.5 % (the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) to 21.6 % (Albania); Kosovo (13.7 %) was the only country to record a notably lower share.

Early leavers from education and training

Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia reported a high proportion of students remaining within the education system

In 2013, the proportion of early leavers from education and training (the share of persons aged 18–24 who finished no more than a lower secondary education and were not involved in further education or training) stood at 13.6 % in the EU-28 among males and 10.2 % among females (see Figure 1). There were much lower proportions in Serbia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina, while the proportions in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (2012 data) were of a similar magnitude to those in the EU-28. By contrast, Turkey and Albania (2012 data) recorded much higher proportions of early leavers from education and training than in the EU-28, peaking in Turkey at 35.0 % for males and 39.9 % for females. In Albania, the proportion of early leavers was slightly higher for males than for females, as it was in the EU-28. Elsewhere among the enlargement countries shown in Figure 1 the proportion of early leavers was higher among females than among males, most notably in Turkey where the gender gap was 5 percentage points.

Youth education attainment

Turkey’s youth education attainment level increasing rapidly and the gender gap closing

An alternative measure for analysing the outcomes of education systems is the youth education attainment level. This indicator is defined as the proportion of 20–24 year olds who have achieved at least an upper secondary level of education attainment (as defined by ISCED level 3).

In 2013, the share of the EU-28 population with at least an upper secondary level of education stood at 81.0 %, with a higher rate for females (83.8 %) than for males (78.4 %). The overall youth education attainment level in the EU-28 rose by 3.8 percentage points between 2003 and 2013. Among the enlargement countries, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia recorded youth education attainment levels above the EU-28 average, reaching 86.4 % and 83.2 % respectively. Lower levels of youth educational attainment were recorded in Albania (2012 data), Bosnia and Herzegovina and especially Turkey (55.0 %) — see Table 2.

Although a time series is only available for a few of the enlargement countries it can be noted that the proportion of students attaining at least an upper secondary level of education rose rapidly in Turkey between 2003 and 2013, increasing by just over 10 percentage points. This was largely due to a particularly large increase among female youths, up 15.4 percentage points, such that the gap between males and females in Turkey narrowed from 15.5 percentage points in 2003 to just 5.0 percentage points by 2013. In 2013, Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia reported a similar gender gap to that observed for Turkey, with the youth education attainment level for males between 5 and 7 percentage points higher than that for females, whereas in Albania the proportions for males and females were almost equal. Like in the EU-28, Bosnia and Herzegovina reported a higher youth educational attainment level for females than for males, although the gap was considerably greater in Bosnia and Herzegovina, reaching 14.8 percentage points.

Tertiary education

Figure 2 shows the annual average growth rate of students in tertiary education (ISCED levels 5 and 6) between 2003 and 2013. The number of tertiary students in the EU-28 rose, on average, by 1.4 % per annum (between 2003 and 2012), a rate that was similar to that in Serbia (also between 2003 and 2012; ISCED level 5 only) and notably lower than in all other enlargement countries. In fact, the number of students in tertiary education grew in each of the six remaining enlargement countries by at least double the average for the EU-28. Albania recorded the fastest annual average growth, the number of (ISCED level 5) students increasing by 14.5 % per year on average, while Kosovo and Montenegro also recorded double-digit annual growth.

Less than one fifth of the population aged 30–34 had completed a tertiary level of education in Turkey, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina

Figure 3 shows the proportion of 30–34 year olds who had completed a tertiary level of education. Within the EU-28, this ratio reached more than one third (36.9 %) of this subpopulation by 2012. All of the enlargement countries (for which data are available) reported lower proportions in 2013, ranging from less than one fifth of those aged 30–34 in Turkey, Albania (2012 data) and Bosnia and Herzegovina to around one quarter in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia.

Relatively high proportion of women graduating from science and technology disciplines in Serbia

There has been considerable focus on differences between subjects that are studied by men and women at university. Figure 4 shows that across the EU’s population aged 20–29 in 2012, the proportion of men with a science or technology degree (22.9 per 1 000 male inhabitants) was approximately twice as high as the corresponding ratio for women (11.2 per 1 000 female inhabitants).

In all of the enlargement countries for which data are available, the proportion of men having graduated from a science or technology discipline was lower than in the EU-28, peaking in Serbia at 18.2 graduates per 1 000 male inhabitants aged 20–29 in 2013. By contrast, Serbia stood out as its proportion of women having graduated from a science or technology discipline was almost the same as that recorded for men: in Serbia there were 17.6 female graduates per 1 000 female inhabitants aged 20–29 in 2013, which was therefore higher than the EU-28 average.

Data sources and availability

Data for the enlargement countries are collected for a wide range of indicators each year through a questionnaire that is sent by Eurostat to partner countries which have either the status of being candidate countries or potential candidates. A network of contacts in each country has been established for updating these questionnaires, generally within the national statistical offices, but potentially including representatives of other data-producing organisations (for example, central banks or government ministries). The statistics shown in this article are made available free-of-charge on Eurostat’s website, together with a wide range of other socio-economic indicators collected as part of this initiative.

Education statistics cover a range of subjects, including: expenditure, personnel, participation and attainment. The standards for international statistics on education are set by three organisations:

the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) institute for statistics (UIS);
the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD);
Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

The main source of data for the EU-28 aggregate is a joint UNESCO/OECD/Eurostat (UOE) questionnaire on education systems and this is the basis for the core components of the Eurostat database on education statistics; Eurostat also collects data on regional enrolments and foreign language learning. EU-28 data on educational attainment are mainly provided through household surveys, in particular the EU labour force survey (LFS).

Context

Each EU Member State is responsible for its own education and training systems. As such, EU policy in this area is designed to support national action and address common challenges, by providing a forum for exchanging best practices. Through the strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (known as ET 2020), which was adopted by the Council in May 2009, EU Member States identified four common objectives for 2020: making lifelong learning and mobility a reality; improving the quality and efficiency of education and training; promoting equity, social cohesion, and active citizenship; and enhancing creativity and innovation, including entrepreneurship, at all levels of education and training. The strategy sets a number of benchmarks in relation to education that are to be achieved by 2020, including:

at least 95 % of children between the age of four and the age for starting compulsory primary education should participate in early childhood education;
the share of early leavers from education and training should be less than 10 %;
the share of low-achieving 15-year olds in reading, mathematics and science should be less than 15 %;
the share of 30–34 year olds with tertiary educational attainment should be at least 40 %.

While basic principles and institutional frameworks for producing statistics are already in place, the enlargement countries are expected to increase progressively the volume and quality of their data and to transmit these data to Eurostat in the context of the EU accession process. Indeed, reliable and comparable statistics are a precondition for joining the EU: the EU acquis in the field of statistics requires the existence of a statistical infrastructure based on principles such as impartiality, reliability, transparency, confidentiality of individual data and dissemination of official statistics; it covers methodology, classifications and procedures for data collection.

Eurostat has the responsibility to ensure that the national statistical systems of the enlargement countries comply with the EU acquis in the field of statistics. To do so, Eurostat supports the national statistical offices and other producers of official statistics through a range of initiatives, such as training courses, traineeships, study visits, management training, and participation in meetings within the European statistical system (ESS). The ultimate goal is the provision of harmonised, high-quality data that conforms to European and international standards.

Additional information on international statistical cooperation with the enlargement countries is provided here.

Further Eurostat information

Publications

Key figures on the enlargement countries — 2014 edition
Key figures on the enlargement countries — 2013 edition
Pocketbook on the enlargement countries — 2012 edition

Database

Enlargement countries, see:

Candidate countries and potential candidates (cpc)

Population and social conditions (cpc_ps)

Candidate countries and potential candidates: population — demography (cpc_psdemo)

Candidate countries and potential candidates: education (cpc_pseduc)

Population, see:

Demography (pop)

Demography — National data (demo)

Population (demo_pop)

Education and training, see:

Education (educ)

Education indicators — non-finance (educ_indic)

Distribution of pupils/ Students by level (educ_ilev)

External links

Notes

↑ Accession negotiations started in July 2010 and were put on hold by the Icelandic government in May 2013. Iceland is therefore not included in this article

[1] Accession negotiations started in July 2010 and were put on hold by the Icelandic government in May 2013. Iceland is therefore not included in this article

[1]