Figures from the Portuguese National Statistics Institute (INE) released late last week show that in 2014, the drop-out rate was 17.4 percent, compared with 23 percent in 2011, but is still somewhat higher than the EU average of 11.1 percent.
Portugal’s rate is even further from the average defined in the Europa 2020 strategy, which aims to bring drop-out rates down to below the 10 percent mark.
The fall in the rates could be seen in all parts of Portugal, but none reached the EU average.
The best-performing regions were the Centre (at 14 percent) and the Greater Lisbon area (14.4 percent), while the highest rates were in the Azores, with over 30 percent, and 20 percent in Madeira and the Algarve.