Youngsters in Latvia abandon their school studies less often than youngsters in the rest of the European Union (EU) on average. In the last ten years, however, the difference between two genders has even gone down, according to the European Commission’s Annual Report on Education and Training 2024.
Last year, 7.7% of young people aged 18-24 in Latvia had dropped out of school early. This is 1.8 percentage points lower than the EU average. EU Member States are committed to reducing the proportion of such young people to less than 9% by 2030.
Men (10%) are more likely to drop out of school early than women (5.5%). However, this gap has steadily decreased over the last decade from 7.8 percentage points in 2013 to 4.5 percentage points in 2023 and is approaching the EU average of 3.6 percentage points.
Nevertheless, the proportion of youngsters that abandon their studies remains the highest in rural regions – 9.5%, according to the report.
Country reports from the Education and Training Monitor reflect and assess recent and current policy developments at all levels of education in EU Member States. They are prepared on the basis of the latest available quantitative and qualitative evidence.