Germany Sees Third Consecutive Decline in Students Earning University Qualifications

The number of students achieving Abitur or Fachhochschulreife dropped by 1.7% in 2024, despite an increase in the 17-to-19-year-old age group due to immigration.

• In 2024, approximately 373,000 students in Germany earned the Abitur or Fachhochschulreife, marking a 1.7% decline from the previous year.
• This is the third consecutive year of declining numbers of students qualified for university education in Germany.
• The 17-to-19-year-old age group grew by 1.9% in 2024, driven by immigration, primarily from Ukraine, but this increase did not translate into higher qualification rates.
• Some regions, such as Bremen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and Hessen, saw slight increases in university qualification numbers, bucking the national trend.
• Female students continued to outperform males in achieving university qualifications, with women making up 54% of all qualified students in 2024.

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Süddeutsche Zeitung Stern Stern