(20 April 2015) – The EU is moving closer to its Europe 2020 goals on education.
The share of persons aged 30 to 34 in the EU who have completed tertiary education has constantly increased, from 23.6% in 2002 when the series started to 37.9% in 2014. The Europe 2020 strategy’s target is that at least 40% of 30-34-year-olds in the EU should have completed tertiary education by 2020.
Twelve Member States have already met or exceeded their 2020 national targets for this indicator: Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria, Slovenia, Finland and Sweden.
In addition, the share of early school leavers has steadily decreased in the EU, from 17.0% in 2002 to 11.1% in 2014. The Europe 2020 target is to reduce the rates of early school leaving in the EU to below 10% by 2020.
Fifteen Member States have already fulfilled their 2020 national targets for this indicator: the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Greece, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Austria, Slovenia and Sweden.