The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 4, called “Quality Education,” aims to ensure access to equitable and quality education at all stages of life. In addition to enhancing formal qualifications, this goal focuses on increasing the number of young people and adults with relevant skills for employment, decent work, and entrepreneurship.
In the context of the European Union (EU), monitoring of SDG 4 focuses on progress made in promoting and increasing basic education, tertiary education, adult education, and digital skills.
In 2022, participation in early childhood education in the EU reached 93.1%, an increase of 0.7 percentage points compared to the 92.4% recorded in 2017. This progress reflects the importance placed on the early years of education.
Regarding tertiary education, the percentage of individuals aged 25 to 34 who attained advanced levels of education in 2023 increased by 4.4 percentage points, reaching 43.1%, compared to 38.7% recorded in 2018. This increase demonstrates significant effort in improving education at higher levels.
However, not all indicators show a positive trend. In 2022, the percentage of 15-year-old students with low performance in math on the PISA test increased to 29.5%, a 6.6 percentage point increase from the 22.9% recorded in 2018. This data highlights the need to improve educational quality in specific areas.
On the other hand, the proportion of adults with at least basic digital skills slightly increased in 2023, reaching 55.6%, an increase of 1.64 percentage points compared to the 53.9% recorded in 2021. This result underscores the need to continue promoting digital literacy among the adult population.
Do you know the proportion of children in your country participating in early childhood education? How has the percentage of students with low performance in math evolved? How many people have completed tertiary education in your country?
The data visualization tools “SDGs & me” will allow you to easily explore and evaluate the situation in your country and compare it with other countries. You can select your country and choose different indicators of SDG 4 to learn more details.
This data provides a clear perspective on the EU’s progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals and highlights areas that require attention and continuous improvement.
Source: MiMub in Spanish