Education in statistical focus

Citation

(1999), "Education in statistical focus", Education + Training, Vol. 41 No. 9. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.1999.00441iab.020

Education in statistical focus

Keywords Young people, Employment

Younger people are entering working life at a later age than previously, according to the latest statistics from Eurostat, the EU statistics office. Living Conditions in Europe: Statistical Pocketbook 1999 shows that in 1997, only 47 per cent of people aged 50 to 59 had completed upper-secondary education, compared to 69 per cent of those between 25 and 29.

In the EU as a whole, half the population do not work 12 hours a week or more until the age of 23. People start much younger - before 19 - in Denmark, Germany, Austria and the UK. EU secondary-school pupils learn an average of 1.3 foreign languages. In Luxembourg, they study an average of almost three. English is the foreign language most commonly studied in almost all EU member states. It is the choice of almost all pupils in Denmark, Germany, Spain, France, Finland and Sweden. More women than men are currently enrolled in higher education in the EU. In Danish, French and Swedish universities, there are 120 women for every 100 men. In Portugal, the ratio is 130 to 100. In Germany, in contrast, there are only 80 women per 100 men in universities.