The school dropout rate in Cyprus stood at 9.8% in 2025, according to new data published by Eurostat on Thursday, remaining above the European Union’s 9% target set for 2030.
The figure refers to young people aged 18 to 24 who have left education or training prematurely.
Improvement compared to 2024
Despite the latest figure, Cyprus showed improvement compared to 2024, when the rate reached 11.3%.
However, the country continues to perform slightly worse than the EU average, which stood at 9.1% in 2025.
Long-term increase over the decade
Eurostat data shows that the school dropout rate has increased significantly over the past decade.
In 2015, the rate was 5.2%, meaning Cyprus recorded a rise of 4.6 percentage points by 2025 – the largest increase among EU member states.
Germany followed with a 3% increase, while Austria recorded a 2.7% rise.
Gender gap persists across EU
Across the European Union, school dropout remains higher among young men than women.
In 2025, the rate for men stood at 10.6%, down from 12.5% in 2015, while the rate for women fell from 9.4% to 7.5% over the same period.
EU trends and best performers
Overall, 19 EU member states recorded improvements compared to 2015, with Malta, Portugal and Spain showing the largest declines.
Seventeen countries have already met the 9% EU target.
The lowest school dropout rates in 2025 were recorded in Croatia (2.1%), Greece (3%) and Ireland (3.6%), while the highest were seen in Romania (15.5%), Germany (13.1%) and Hungary (12.8%).
Also read: Cyprus to host Informal Migration Pact meeting on June 12
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