Portugal was the country that most lowered early school dropouts since 2015

Portugal was the European Union country where the early dropout rates most decreased between 2015 and 2022, according to data disclosed by Eurostat.

Seven years ago, the percentage of students who dropped out of school early on was 13.7%. 2022 data show that rate has meanwhile dropped to 6%.

Portugal is among the top 10 countries with the lower rate of youths who make it to the job market aged between 18 and 24 years without their secondary schooling complete and that are not attending any training programme. The 6% places the country eighth among the 27 member states and is a positive development on the EU target set for 2030 (9%). 

According to the statistics published today, the worst countries are Romania (16%), Spain (14%), Hungary, German, and Italy (12%). Croatia is currently the EU country with the lowest school dropout rate, recording only 2%.