The school abandonment rate in Spain reaches a historical minimum

The early educational abandonment rate has reached a historical minimum, descending to 13% in 2024, which represents 0.7 points less than the previous year. This is reflected in the data prepared by the Ministry of Education, Professional Training and Sports from the Active Population Survey published by the National Statistics Institute.

«Historical minimum of early educational abandonment: 13% in 2024. Since 2018 we have reduced this rate in 5 points and, more importantly, we have given training opportunities to the youth of our country to improve their lives and their future. We continue! ”, Hasted the Minister of Education, Professional Training and Sports, Pilar Alegría, in a publication in their social networks.

However, the school abandonment rate in Spain continues to be one of the highest in the European Union, which by 2030 has established the objective of setting this figure in 9%.

Early educational abandonment descended last year to 13%, that is, 0.7 points less than in 2023, marking the lowest rate in history. Since 2018, this indicator has dropped five points.

The early abandonment of education-formation is the percentage of people aged 18 to 24 who has not completed secondary secondary education (Middle, basic or high school FP) and who did not follow any type of training in the four weeks above.

Compared to a decade earlier, the percentage of abandonment has dropped 8.9 points (40.7%), from 21.9% in 2014 to current 13%. The distance with the average of the European Union has also been reduced, from 10.8 points of ten years ago to 3.5 points of 2024.

The population between 20 and 24 years that has reached at least the second stage level of secondary education reaches 79.9%in 2024, which represents 14.1 points more than the 2014 data (65.8%) and 0.9 points more than in 2023.

In addition, the percentage of population between 25 and 34 who has reached the level of higher education rises 0.6 points to 52.6%, exceeding the objective of conclusion of the higher education set by 2030, which is of at least 45%.

By sex, in 2024 the abandonment among men has been reduced slightly compared to the previous year (decreases 0.3 percentage points), standing at 15.8%. That of women clearly descends, 1.3 percentage points, until reaching a 10%rate.