The share of young people in the EU leaving education or training early fell to 9.1% in 2025.
Early school leavers are defined as 18 to 24-year-olds who leave education and training before completing upper secondary education, Eurostat noted in a release on Thursday.
The overall rate has declined steadily over the past decade, down from 11.0% in 2015.
A higher proportion of young men than young women left education and training early in 2025, with 10.6% of men classed as early leavers compared with 7.5% of women.
In 2015, the figures were 12.5% for young men and 9.4% for young women, it added.
Compared with 2015, 19 EU countries recorded a smaller share of early school leavers in 2025, with the biggest declines in Malta (down 7.7 percentage points), Portugal (down 7.4) and Spain (down 7.2).
Seven countries saw increases over the period, led by Cyprus (up 4.6 percentage points), Germany (up 3.0) and Austria (up 2.7).
Which countries are below 9% — and which are not
Seventeen EU countries were already at or below the EU-level target of 9.0% set for 2030, Eurostat said.
The lowest shares in 2025 were recorded in Croatia (2.1%), Greece (3.0%) and Ireland (3.6%).
The highest shares were reported in Romania (15.5%), Germany (13.1%) and Spain (12.8%).
