Archive:Enlargement countries - education statistics

Data extracted in March 2018. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database. Planned article update: April 2019.

This article is part of an online publication and provides information on a range of education statistics for the European Union (EU) enlargement countries, in other words the candidate countries and potential candidates. Montenegro, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Albania, Serbia and Turkey currently have candidate status, while Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo ^[1] are potential candidates.

The article gives an overview of education developments in these seven countries, presenting an analysis of the different educational levels in terms of enrolment, educational attainment and tertiary education.

Table 1: Number of pupils and students by education level, 2016
(thousand)
Source: Eurostat (educ_uoe_enrp01) and (educ_uoe_enra01)

Figure 1: Early leavers from education and training among those aged 18-24 years, 2016
(% of male / female 18-24 year olds)
Source: Eurostat (edat_lfse_14)

Table 2: Upper secondary and tertiary education attainment among those aged 20-24 years, 2006, 2011 and 2016
(% of 20-24 year olds)
Source: Eurostat (edat_lfse_9903)

Figure 2: Average rate of change for the number of students in tertiary education, 2011-2016
(% per year)
Source: Eurostat (educ_uoe_enrt01)

Figure 3: Proportion of 30-34 year olds having completed tertiary or equivalent education, 2016
(%)
Source: Eurostat (tsdsc480)

Figure 4: Tertiary graduates in science and technology among those aged 20-29 years, 2016
(per 1 000 male / female inhabitants aged 20-29)
Source: Eurostat (educ_uoe_grad02) and (demo_pjangroup)

Main statistical findings

Number of pupils and students

In 2015, there were 108 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 28 million pupils and students enrolled (see Table 1 for the latest period available for each country); this was equivalent to just over one quarter (26.0 %) of the total number of pupils and students within education in the EU-28.

While the absolute number of pupils is closely linked to the size and age 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 and the availability and cost of tertiary education. In recent years, policy interest has focused on encouraging young persons to remain within educational systems 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 18.1 % of the overall number of pupils and students in 2015 were attending tertiary education establishments (as covered by ISCED levels 5-8; based on the 2011 version of this classification). Across the enlargement countries the share of tertiary students was generally close to the EU-28 average, as all but two countries lay within the range of 16.8 % (the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) to 21.4 % (Serbia) in 2016; Kosovo (24.1 %) and Turkey (29.4 %) were the only countries to record higher shares.

Early leavers from education and training

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

In 2016, 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 12.2 % in the EU-28 among young men and 9.2 % among young women (see Figure 1). There were lower proportions of early leavers from education and training in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. By contrast, Kosovo recorded a somewhat higher proportion of early leavers from education and training than in the EU-28, with much higher proportions in Albania and Turkey: in the latter, 32.8 % of young men were early leavers as well as 35.9 % of young women. In Albania and Serbia the proportion of early leavers was higher for young men than for young women, as in the EU-28, whereas in Turkey, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina the reverse situation was observed.

Youth education attainment

High levels of youth educational attainment in most enlargement countries

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 (at least ISCED level 3).

In 2016, the share of the EU-28 population aged 20-24 with at least an upper secondary level of education stood at 83.1 %, with a higher rate for women (85.6 %) than for men (80.8 %). The overall youth education attainment level in the EU-28 rose by 4.8 percentage points between 2006 and 2016, although it should be noted that there is a break in series. Compared with the EU, there were four enlargement countries which reported a higher proportion of persons aged 20-24 having attained at least an upper secondary level of education. This was most notably the case in Bosnia and Herzegovina (94.2 %), Montenegro (93.2 %) and Serbia (92.2 %), while it was also noted in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (88.0 %). A considerably lower level of youth educational attainment was recorded in Turkey (56.1 %) — see Table 2.

Although a time series is only available for some of the enlargement countries it can be noted that the proportion of persons aged 20-24 having attained at least an upper secondary level of education rose in all of them between 2006 and 2016, most notably in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Turkey, while the (percentage points) increase for Serbia was also higher than that recorded in the EU-28.

Within the EU-28, the gender gap in youth education attainment levels showed levels for young women in 2016 were 4.8 percentage points higher than for young men. Serbia and Turkey also reported higher proportions for young women. Bosnia and Herzegovina recorded a higher rate of youth educational attainment for young men (compared with women), as did Montenegro and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in both of which the gap between the sexes exceeded 2.0 percentage points.

Tertiary education

Figure 2 shows the annual average growth rate of students in tertiary education (ISCED levels 5 to 8) between 2011 and 2016. The time series for the EU-28 is shorter: between 2013 and 2015 the number of tertiary education students (excluding data for Luxembourg and the Netherlands) fell by 0.7 % per year. Among the six enlargement countries for which data are available (no data for Kosovo), there was in all cases an increase in the number of tertiary students. Relatively small increases, less than 1.0 % per year, were recorded for Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia. By comparison, growth in the number of tertiary students was at a notably faster pace in Montenegro (4.5 % per year), Albania (7.1 % per year) and especially Turkey (11.6 % per year).

Just over one fifth of the population aged 30-34 had completed a tertiary level of education in Albania

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 (39.1 %) of this subpopulation by 2016. All of the enlargement countries for which data are available (no data for Kosovo) reported lower proportions of 30-34 year olds having completed a tertiary level of education, ranging in 2016 from just over one fifth in Albania, and close to one quarter in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Turkey, to close to three tenths in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia and just over one third in Montenegro (where the highest proportion was recorded, 33.9 %).

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-28 population aged 20-29 in 2015, the proportion of men with a science or technology degree (24.9 per 1 000 male inhabitants) was approximately twice as high as the corresponding ratio for women (13.1 per 1 000 female inhabitants).

In all of the enlargement countries for which data are available (no data for Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina or Kosovo), the ratio (relative to population) of men having graduated from a science or technology discipline was lower than in the EU-28, peaking in Serbia at 13.1 graduates per 1 000 male inhabitants aged 20-29 in 2016. However, Serbia stood out as its ratio of women having graduated from a science or technology discipline — 18.9 per 1 000 female inhabitants in 2016 — was higher than the EU-28 average (13.1 per 1 000 female inhabitants in 2015); each of the remaining enlargement countries recorded ratios for female tertiary graduates in science and technology that were below the EU-28 average. It is interesting to note that alongside Serbia, the ratio of young female tertiary graduates in science and technology was higher than the ratio for young men in both Montenegro and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

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 (EU).

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).

Tables in this article use the following notation:

Value in italics	data value is forecasted, provisional or estimated and is therefore likely to change;
:	not available, confidential or unreliable value.

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 in the EU-28 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 enlargement process. EU standards in the field of statistics require the existence of a statistical infrastructure based on principles such as professional independence, impartiality, relevance, confidentiality of individual data and easy access to official statistics; they cover methodology, classifications and standards for production.

Eurostat has the responsibility to ensure that statistical production of the enlargement countries complies 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 pilot surveys, training courses, traineeships, study visits, workshops and seminars, 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 statistical cooperation with the enlargement countries is provided here.

Further Eurostat information

Publications

Statistical books/pocketbooks

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition

Key figures on the enlargement countries — 2014 edition

Key figures on the enlargement countries — 2013 edition

Leaflets

Basic figures on enlargement countries — 2016 edition

Basic figures on enlargement countries — 2015 edition

Database

Candidate countries and potential candidates (cpc), see:

Population and social conditions (cpc_ps)

Candidate countries and potential candidates: education (cpc_pseduc)

Education and training (edtr), see:

Participation in education and training (educ_part)

Pupils and students — enrolments (educ_uoe_enrp)

Education and training outcomes (educ_outc)

Educational attainment level (edat)

Population by educational attainment level (edat1)

Transition from education to work (edatt)

Early leavers from education and training (edatt1)

Education administrative data until 2012 (ISCED 1997) (educ_uoe_h)

Education indicators — non-finance (educ_indic)

Distribution of pupils/ students by level (educ_ilev)

Tertiary education graduates (educ_itertc)

Enrolments, graduates, entrants, personnel and language learning — absolute numbers (educ_isced97)

Students by ISCED level, age and sex (educ_enrl1tl)

External links

Notes

↑ This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.

[1] This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.

[1]