Germany: Over-age students, primary (% of enrollment)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2017, Germany's over-age students, primary (% of enrollment) fell 0.06 percentage points on 2016 (from 11.89% to 11.83%).

Across the 15 yearly changes before that (2002 to 2016), the average change was −0.43 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.32 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.06 percentage points in 2007 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.13 percentage points in 2010. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2008 to 2017 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.36 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 94% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 10.45% for 2020. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2015 to 2017 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 0.25%, against 0.54% for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2017, Germany had the 12th highest value of the 65 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Germany in the 2017 ranking

• São Tomé and Principe — 8th of 65: 12.79%
• Cameroon — 9th of 65: 12%
• Honduras — 10th of 65: 11.94%
• Czechia — 12th of 65: 10.49%
• Senegal — 13th of 65: 10.43%
• Philippines — 14th of 65: 9.82%

What this measures

Over-age students are the percentage of those enrolled who are older than the official school-age range for primary education.

All 17 values

Over-age students, primary (% of enrollment) in nearby economies

• Albania — 6.58% (2018)
• Armenia — 2.15% (2018)
• Austria — 13.47% (2017)
• Azerbaijan — 7.06% (2018)
• Belarus — 5.54% (2018)
• Belgium — 4.81% (2017)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 3.85% (2018)
• Bulgaria — 1.57% (2017)
• Croatia — 0.86% (2017)
• Cyprus — 1.7% (2017)

More education data for Germany

• Primary school starting age (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 4 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 10 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 9 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 3.31 million (2024)
• Secondary education, pupils — 6.97 million (2024)
• Primary education, teachers — 283,851 (2024)
• Secondary education, teachers — 618,670 (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, private (% of total primary) — 5.13% (2024)
• Primary education, teachers (% female) — 87.33% (2024)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Germany's over-age students, primary (% of enrollment)?

11.83% in 2017, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2001?

It is down 6.56 percentage points from 18.39% in 2001. The highest value was 18.39% in 2001 and the lowest 11.83% in 2017.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.PRM.OENR.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://uis.unesco.org/bdds, publisher: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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