Romania records highest share of early school leavers in the EU

Romania had the highest proportion of early leavers from education and training in the European Union in 2025, with 15.5% of people aged 18-24 leaving the education system prematurely, according to Eurostat data.

The figure was well above the EU average of 9.1%, which almost meets the bloc’s target of reducing the share of early school leavers to below 9.0% by 2030.

Across the EU, the share of young people leaving education early has steadily declined from 11.0% in 2015 to 9.1% in 2025. A total of 17 member states have already achieved the 2030 target.

After Romania, the highest rates of early school leaving were recorded in Germany, at 13.1%, and Spain, at 12.8%.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Croatia registered the lowest share, at 2.1%, followed by Greece with 3.0% and Ireland with 3.6%.

Compared with 2015, 19 EU countries reduced the proportion of early school leavers. Malta recorded the largest decline, by 7.7 percentage points, followed by Portugal with a reduction of 7.4 percentage points and Spain with 7.2 percentage points.

Among the seven countries where the indicator increased over the period, Cyprus posted the largest rise, up 4.6 percentage points. Germany followed with an increase of 3.0 percentage points, and Austria with 2.7 percentage points.

The EU has set a target of reducing early school leaving to below 9.0% by 2030 as part of its education and skills agenda. Despite overall progress at the bloc level, Romania remains the worst performer among the EU’s 27 member states.

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea)