Italy had the second worst
percentage of university graduates at 26.2% in 2016, only beaten
by Romania with 25.6%, Eurostat said Wednesday.
The percentage of graduates aged 30-34 rose in all EU members
compared to 2002.
The number of people with a higher-education certificate
doubled compared to 2002 when it was 13.1%, Eurostat said.
Lithuania topped the rankings with 58.7%, followed by
Luxembourg with 54.6% and Cyprus with 53.4%.
In line with all the other countries, more Italian women than
men got degrees, 32.5% against 19.9%.
Italy is fifth worst for people dropping out of school, with
only Portugal, Romania, Spain and Malta doing worse.
With 14% of 18-24-year-olds not getting a secondary-school
diploma, Italy reached its national objective but is still off
the EU drop-out target of 10%.
The Europe 2020 strategy aims to raise the percentage of
graduates to 40% in all EU members by that date.
The previous Italian government of ex-premier Matteo Renzi
introduced reforms aimed at boosting graduate numbers.
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