Academic Inequality in Europe 2018

Luxembourg had the highest disparity between advantaged and disadvantaged students when it came to educational attainment in 2018, with students from better economic backgrounds achieving on average 122 points more than poorer students.

Difference between advantaged and disadvantaged students in PISA reading attainment in European countries in 2018*

Characteristic	Score difference between advantaged and disadvantaged students
Luxembourg	122
Hungary	113
Germany	113
Belgium	109
Romania	109
France	107
Slovakia	106
Bulgaria	106
Czechia	105
Switzerland	104
Moldova	102
Belarus	102
Portugal	95
Austria	93
Poland	90
Ukraine	90
Sweden	89
Lithuania	89
Netherlands	88
Malta	87
Greece	84
United Kingdom	80
Slovenia	80
North Macedonia	80
Finland	79
Denmark	78
Turkey	76
Ireland	75
Italy	75
Serbia	73
Norway	73
Iceland	72
Russia	67
Latvia	65
Croatia	63
Estonia	61
Albania	61
Bosnia and Herzegovina	58
Montenegro	55
Kosovo	40

Loading statistic...

Download

Source

Show detailed source information?

Already a member?

Source

Use Ask Statista Research Service

Release date

December 2019

More information

Region

Europe

Survey time period

2018

Age group

15 years old

Supplementary notes

*A socio-economically advantaged (disadvantaged) student is a student in the top (bottom) quarter of ESCS in his or her own country/economy

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a triennial survey of 15-year-old students that assesses the extent to which they have acquired the key knowledge and skills essential for full participation in society. The assessment focuses on proficiency in reading, mathematics, science and an innovative domain (in 2018, the innovative domain was global competence), and on students’ well-being.
Some 600 000 students completed the assessment in 2018, representing about 32 million 15-year-olds in the schools of the 79 participating countries and economies.

Citation formats