In 2017, the rate was 12.6%, above the European average of 10.6%, an improvement compared to 17.4% in 2014 (EU 11.2%) but still far from the 10% average set in the Europe 2020 goals.

According to the 2018 Education and Training Monitor, Portugal “faces a major educational challenge with more than half the adult population at a low level of educational attainment.”

In figures, 52% of the population residing in Portugal aged between 25 and 64 did not complete secondary or higher education (EU 22.5%).

However, Brussels stressed that the number of students in higher education has grown, particularly in the polytechnic sector, but undergraduate degrees in scientific and mathematical areas are below the EU average.

The population aged between 30 and 34 who had attended higher education was 33.5% in 2017 (EU 39.9%) and the goal for 2020 is 40%.

As for compulsory education, the proportion of students aged up to 15 who did not meet reading standards was 17.2% in 2017 (EU 19.7%), in mathematics it was 23.8% (EU 22.2%) and for science it was 17.4% (EU 20.6%).

The employment rate of graduates increased from 69.4% in 2014 to 80.7% last year, below EU averages – 76% and 80.2%, respectively.