Comparative report

The Education and Training Monitor is the European Commission’s annual report on EU education and training systems, tracking their progress towards reaching the seven EU-level targets adopted as part of the 2021 Council Resolution on a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training towards the European Education Area (EEA).

An evolving political context

This year’s edition is framed by the Union of Skills, the Commission’s overarching strategy to ensure EU education and training systems drive competitiveness, prosperity, and preparedness.

The 2025 Education and Training Monitor focuses on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). This focus responds directly to the STEM education strategic plan, part of the Union of Skills, which reflects the call to address the insufficient supply of STEM talent, as highlighted in the Draghi report A sufficient pool of skilled STEM professionals is critical to safeguarding and further strengthening the EU’s competitiveness, strategic autonomy, and technological leadership. As the Monitor notes, education and training systems across the EU, beginning in early childhood, play a pivotal role in ensuring a steady supply of qualified specialists.

The 2025 Education and Training Monitor also highlights the importance of basic skills, in line with the Action Plan on Basic Skills, under the Union of Skills. Basic skills are essential for personal development, employability, active participation in democratic life, and for ensuring the EU’s long-term prosperity and resilience.

The Education and Training Monitor comprises a comparative report, 27 country reports, and an online Monitor toolbox with key indicators and sources.

This executive summary gives an overview of the main takeaways from the comparative report and includes country examples from the country reports.

Building a strong STEM workforce requires boosting enrolment and tackling barriers from the earliest years, especially for girls and women

STEM specialists are essential to the EU’s competitiveness, security, and technological leadership, as underlined by the STEM Education Strategic Plan, yet shortages are widespread, particularly in engineering, construction, and ICT professions. Employment rates for recent STEM graduates are among the highest across all education fields, reflecting strong demand. EU-wide projections to 2035 indicate sustained growth in STEM occupations over the next decade, in the context of the green and digital transitions, alongside significant replacement needs resulting from retirements. Compared to other advanced economies, the EU lags behind the UK and Canada in tertiary STEM graduate ratios and ranks last in ICT graduates.

Against this background, the share of students enrolled in STEM has not grown significantly in recent years. In 2023, 36.3% of medium-level vocational education and training (VET) students were enrolled in STEM fields, with significant variation and fluctuations across EU countries. STEM enrolment in tertiary education averages 26.9%, dropping by 0.7 percentage points over the past decade. At doctoral level, nearly four in ten students are enrolled in STEM fields. However, only a small share of them (3.8%) are enrolled in ICT.

Enrolment in STEM is driven by many factors, including early school experiences, family environment and institutional factors. Data show that women are under-represented in engineering and ICT. A number of factors contribute to a lack of diversity in STEM fields, hindering the expansion of the STEM workforce, such as perceptions about STEM careers. Many EU countries have launched targeted strategies to increase the number of STEM professionals (e.g., Cyprus, Croatia, Slovenia, and Sweden). To ensure high qualifications of STEM teachers, for instance, Germany and Estonia offer micro-credential courses allowing for targeted teacher training in STEM subjects. Moreover, a number of initiatives have been launched across the EU explicitly aimed at women, such as ‘STEAM Alliance for female talent’ and ‘ChicaSTEM’ in Spain, Austria’s Digital Skills Offensive and the Dutch Action Plan for Green and Digital Jobs.

Empowering teachers is key to reversing basic skills decline

The European Commission’s Action Plan on Basic Skills reinforces the basic skills framework by extending the concept of basic skills to citizenship skills. With the aim of boosting Europe’s competitiveness and preparedness, the Union of Skills proposes 2030 EU-level targets for top performance in reading, mathematics and science while integrating digital skills and citizenship. A closer look at Mathematics reveals drivers of recent performance drops such as digital distractions, shortages of teachers and waning parental involvement. Meanwhile, no less than 42.5% of students score below the minimum proficiency threshold in computer and information literacy, driven by inequality in access and insufficient teacher capacity.

Several EU countries have introduced measures to improve students’ basic skills. Bulgaria and Czechia have updated their school curricula, Finland and Germany increased the number of hours of basic skills teaching, and Ireland, Malta, and the Netherlands have put in place targeted action plans. Belgium, Malta, and Portugal plan to hold standardised testing to improve the monitoring of students’ skills. To address the challenge of teacher shortages and improve student outcomes, several EU countries have modernised their initial teacher education (e.g. France, Luxembourg), continuous professional development (e.g. Flemish Community of Belgium, Hungary, Romania), or increased salaries (e.g. Bulgaria, Lithuania, Hungary, and Slovenia). Targeted support for top-performers is not yet common, but some countries, such as Austria, Denmark, or Germany have installed mechanisms to detect and support talented students. To increase wellbeing and to limit distractions in the classroom, more and more EU countries are recommending or adopting limitations on the use of smartphones in schools (e.g. Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, France, Poland, and Slovenia).

Although some disparities persist, participation in early childhood education and care keeps increasing, but its positive impact depends strongly on quality

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) participation in the EU for children aged three to the start of compulsory schooling reached 94.6% in 2023, close to the 2030 target of 96%. Eight EU countries have already met the target value, with most others exceeding 90%. This growth is attributed to policy reforms encouraging attendance and access, particularly for three-year-olds. However, participation for children under three in 2024 was 39.3% on average, with significant variations across countries. Disparities persist, notably for children at risk of poverty, especially in the 0-2 age group. In most EU countries, limited availability in the offer of ECEC places —particularly in disadvantaged areas—remains the principal obstacle to participation. On the demand side, high costs, low confidence in service quality, perceptions of insufficient standards, and limited awareness of the benefits further constrain uptake. To increase the participation of disadvantaged children, various initiatives have been put in place: Spain offers fee reductions and priority admission to ECEC facilities; Ireland set up a new support scheme ‘Equal Start’ that helps disadvantaged families make full use of ECEC services; Lithuania provides financial incentives at municipal level to support enrolment; and, in Portugal the ‘Creche Feliz’ programme has made daycare free in selected institutions.

Increasing participation in ECEC is important, but its positive impact is determined by its quality. Effective evaluation and monitoring are key to maintaining and improving that quality. While evaluations often emphasize structural quality, like compliance with health and staffing requirements, process quality such as the richness of development activities is frequently neglected, despite its considerable impact on child development. Challenges such as fragmented responsibilities and insufficient national-level data impede coherent evaluation and systemic improvement efforts. To improve ECEC quality, Malta, Poland, Portugal have introduced quality standards; and, in Estonia, childcare services and preschool education have been integrated into a single system with standardised requirements (e.g. for staff qualifications). Several EU countries are also working on other crucial aspects. For instance, Austria, Belgium, Hungary, and Latvia have recently established frameworks on ECEC staff conditions; and, Czechia, France, Lithuania, Slovenia, Sweden updated their curricula.

Tackling early school leaving and inequities requires quality, inclusive education and cross-sectoral action to help all students succeed

The share of early school leavers among 18-24-year-olds is down to 9.4%, close to the target of below 9%. Although most EU countries have achieved this target, a few experienced an increase in early school leaving between 2015 and 2024. On average, boys (10.9%) are more likely to become early school leavers than girls (7.7%). Significant rural disadvantages persist in several EU countries and students with disabilities are disproportionately affected. Newly arrived migrants are at particular risk of early school leaving, with rates of up to 28.6%. Early school leaving is a complex issue driven by interconnected factors, including socio-economic background, home and school environments, learning difficulties, limited access to relevant support, and weak student-teacher relationships. Effective strategies to combat absenteeism and disengagement require cross-sectoral, multi-targeted approaches that foster inclusive and accessible school environments, support the development of cognitive and socio-emotional skills, enhance vocational pathways, and implement early warning systems to address these diverse challenges. One example is the newly introduced Junior Master Apprenticeship in Denmark, which aims to reengage students at risk during secondary school. In line with its Recovery and Resilience Plan, Italy has recently launched an action plan ‘Agenda Sud’, which aims not only to increase basic skills in southern regions but also to combat early school leaving by promoting equal opportunities across the country.

A key objective in school education is to promote equity by helping all students succeed, including those at risk of leaving school early. However, only 16.3% of students from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds have a good level of achievement exceeding the minimum level in reading, mathematics or science – down from 20.8% in 2018 and 21.1% in 2015. The problem is further compounded by other determinants of educational disadvantage, such as migration, refugee status, special educational needs, poor health and disability. Some EU education systems are reforming to promote equity and inclusion, with the aim of reducing the impact of socio-economic status on educational achievement. Measures of this kind require cross-sectoral cooperation. One example is reducing sorting across schools by embracing greater diversity in schools and making sure that pathways between the different tracks remain permeable. Another example is that of remedial measures, such as active inclusion policies, promoting a positive learning climate and individualised instruction (including tutoring). In Malta, individualised instruction takes the form of alternative learning pathways with adapted grading to reduce exam anxiety and reward consistent effort. In Latvia, individual learning approaches are implemented in general education institutions. Greece promotes inclusive education through the creation of school networks in vulnerable areas to address the educational needs of communities facing economic and social challenges.

Work-based learning increases the attractiveness of VET programmes and enhances the permeability between VET and tertiary education

Nearly two thirds (65.2%) of recent VET graduates in the EU have experienced work-based learning, which improves their employability. While the EU-level target of at least 60% by 2025 has been exceeded, a very wide dispersion across EU countries remains. Progress towards achieving the VET employability target of at least 82% by 2025 saw a minor setback, with a decrease from 80.9.% in 2023 to 80.0% in 2024, part of a broader pattern of labour market slowdown. VET learners’ mobility increased slightly from 5.0% to 5.3% but is not on track towards reaching the 2030 EU-level target of at least 12%. Across the EU, 70.2% of VET graduates from upper secondary education can directly access (some form of) tertiary education. While formal qualification requirements matter, they are not the only factor that influences VET learners’ progression to tertiary education. Short-cycle tertiary vocational programmes have been increasing in recent years, now making up 11.9% of all VET enrolments and 7.7% of all tertiary students. In some EU countries, ‘professional’ bachelor’s and master’s programmes make up a sizeable share of overall tertiary education.

The past decade saw a strong rise in tertiary attainment, but more action is needed to advance equity and international mobility

Tertiary education plays a crucial role in driving economic growth and in contributing to upward social mobility. Over the past decade, there has been a significant rise in tertiary educational attainment as a result of improved access and demand for skilled labour. The average share of 25–34-year-olds with a tertiary qualification has increased from 36.5% in 2015 to 44.1% in 2024. In ten EU countries, more than half of all 25–34-year-olds now hold a tertiary degree. However, disparities still exist by sex, country of birth, degree of urbanisation, region, disability, and parental background. Monitoring diversity in tertiary education is crucial to understanding and addressing the needs of a more varied student population and improving retention and completion rates. Flexible study options (e.g. in Slovakia) and a better validation of non-formal learning, as in the case of Spain, provide for a more equitable education system and increase the number of people with a tertiary degree entering the labour market.

Only 11.0% of the 4 million tertiary education graduates originating from EU countries are mobile, with 4.4% going abroad for a full degree and around 6.6% for credit mobility. As such, graduate outward mobility remains far from the 23% EU-level target set for 2030. Multiple data limitations persist, however, which may lead to an underestimation of progress towards reaching the target. Meanwhile, the EU has 249 340 inward mobile tertiary graduates coming from non-EU countries, reflecting a growth of 18.2% between 2020 and 2023, and a positive trajectory towards the proposed EU-level 2030 target of 350 000. Growth is recorded at all education levels except for short-cycle programmes and across almost all countries. The highest proportion of inward mobile graduates come from Asia (37.3%), followed by Africa (26.3%), whereas relatively few come from the United States (2.8%). Some countries have recently established internationalisation strategies (e.g. Cyprus, Germany, Greece, and Poland) to increase mobility and internationalisation in higher education.

Worrying trends in basic skills proficiency of adults calls for further improvements in participation in adult learning

The participation of adults in formal and non-formal learning reached 39.5% in 2022. While other data sources point to increases in recent years, achieving the EU-level target of 60% by 2030 will require a renewed momentum. The various data sources tracking adult learning in the last 12 months reveal consistent patterns across age, educational attainment, and employment status. Gender appears to have limited influence on overall participation rates. However, a closer look at job-related learning reveals higher rates among men, although that gap has narrowed. Basic skills form the foundation of lifelong learning. Yet, over the past decade, adult literacy proficiency has declined, numeracy skills have largely stagnated, and skill inequalities have widened. Around one in five adults (21.8%) now performs below basic proficiency in both literacy and numeracy – a substantial figure that has increased in most EU countries. Furthermore, in 2023, only 56% of people aged 16 to 74 in the EU possessed at least basic digital skills. Several countries, including Croatia, Malta, Romania, and Slovakia, have introduced measures to face the challenge of declining adult competences.