EU Early School Leavers: 2025 Statistics and Regional Trends

In 2025, 9.1% of young people aged 18 to 24 in the EU left school without pursuing further education or training, according to the latest Eurostat data.

The share of early leavers varied widely across member states, from a low of 2.1% in Croatia to a high of 15.5% in Romania.

More young men than women discontinue education early, although both groups have shown a downward trend. Over the past decade, the proportion of young men fell from 12.5% in 2015 to 10.6% in 2025, while the share of young women declined from 9.4% to 7.5%.

The EU aims to reduce early school‑leaving rates to below 9% by 2030, a target already met by 17 member states.

Countries with the lowest early‑leaver rates include Croatia, Greece, and Ireland, whereas Romania, Germany, and Spain recorded the highest shares in 2025.

Does where people live affect their willingness to pursue education?

Geographical location influences early‑leaving rates. In 2025, cities recorded the lowest share of early leavers at 8%, compared with 10.1% in suburban areas and 9.6% in rural regions.

Romania, Bulgaria, and Denmark had the highest proportions of rural youths aged 18‑24 who stopped their studies after lower secondary education. Young people from Romania, Spain, and Germany also featured prominently among early leavers living in towns or suburbs.

Do early leavers struggle to find a job?

Early leavers often face difficulties entering the labour market. In the most recent year, 46.2% of early leavers were employed, 30.8% were unemployed but actively seeking work, and 23.1% were neither employed nor looking for a job.

Only the Netherlands, Malta, Sweden, Cyprus, Portugal, Spain, Denmark, Germany and Latvia reported that at least 50% of early leavers were employed.

In most countries, early leavers were predominantly unemployed, with the highest unemployment rates among early leavers observed in Lithuania (86.4%), Slovakia (77.9%), Bulgaria (76.7%) and Croatia (76.2%).

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