DREM releases Education indicators based on the 2025 Labour Force Survey 

As in previous years, the Regional Directorate of Statistics of Madeira (DREM) has released a set of education-related indicators for the Autonomous Region of Madeira (ARM), based on the 2025 Labour Force Survey (LFS).

Early leavers from education and training rate 

In the ARM, the early school leavers rate for 2025 (expressed as a 3-year moving average, the only method that allows the release of this indicator for the ARM, according to the current dissemination criteria) stood at 9.0%, reflecting an increase of 0.4 percentage points (pp) compared to the previous year. It should be noted that this indicator decreased consecutively between 2013, the first year of the series, when it stood at 28.2%, and 2024, reaching a minimum of 8.6%. The year 2025 is therefore the first year in which an increase is observed compared with the preceding period.

In 2025, at the national level, this indicator recorded a reduction of 0.1 pp compared with the previous year, standing at 6.9%, a value 2.1 pp lower than that of the Region. It is noteworthy however, that in 2013 the regional rate exceeded the national one by 7.5 pp.

In ARM, in 2025, as in the previous years, this rate was higher among men (13.0%) than among women (4.9%). This gap reached 8.1 pp. Compared to the previous year, the rate increased by 1.1 pp for men and decreased by 0.2 pp for women. Compared to the beginning of the series, the decrease of 23.2 pp in the rate for men and 14.9 pp in the rate for women stands out. 

Lifelong learning rate reaches the highest value in the time series 

In 2025, the lifelong learning rate was 13.6%, the highest value in the series that began in 2011. The rate was higher among women (14.6%) than among men (12.5%). Compared with 2024, there was an increase of 2.5 pp, more pronounced in men (+3.3 pp) than in women (+1.8 pp). At the national level, in 2025, the lifelong learning rate stood at 16.9%, increasing by 0.8 pp compared to the previous year.

Schooling rates in primary and secondary education increased compared with the previous year 

The schooling rates for primary education level, which reflect the proportion of the resident population aged between 20 and 64 years who have completed at least the lower secondary education, within the total resident population of the same age group, reached 69.9% in the last year (up from 48.2% in 2011 and 68.2% in 2024). As for the schooling rate for secondary education, which represents the proportion of the resident population who have completed secondary education, in the total resident population aged between 20 and 64 years, it increased to 54.5% (31.5% in 2011 and 51.8% in 2024). At the national level, the schooling rates in 2025 stood at 82.7% for primary (80.9% in 2024) and 66.6% for secondary education (64.0% in 2024).

Regarding the schooling rate for the tertiary education level of the resident population in the ARM aged between 30 and 34 years (3-year moving average), it stood at 35.3% in 2025 (44.8% for women and 25.8% for men). This value reflects a decrease of 0.6 pp compared with the previous year, mainly due to the decline observed among men (‑2.0 pp). The rate for women increased by 1.0 pp compared with the previous year. Although this percentage was still below the national average (41.1%), it represents an increment of 8.1 pp compared to 2013 (the first year of the time series with a rate equal to 27.2%).

Percentage of youth not employed nor in education or training reaches minimum 

In 2025, the percentage of young persons (16-34 years) not in employment, education or training (NEET) stood at 10.7%, 0.2 pp lower compared to 2024, constituting the minimum value of the series that began in 2011. It is noteworthy that this indicator decreased by around 2.1 pp in the 25-34 age group. In the last year, the percentage of women between 16 and 34 years not in education or training (12.1%) was higher than that of men (9.3%), by 2.8 pp. The percentage of 10.7% NEET in 2025 corresponds to 6.0 thousand young persons, distributed almost equally between inactive persons and unemployed persons.

At the national level, the NEET rate also declined between 2024 and 2025, with the 16–34 age group falling from 9.4% in 2024 to 8.6% in 2025 (-0.8 pp). In the latter year, the NEET rate for women (8.9%) exceeded that of men (8.4%) by 0.5 pp. By age group, in 2025, the NEET rate for young persons aged between 25 and 34 years was 9.5% (10.1% in 2024). 

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