Germany: Secondary education, vocational pupils

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2017, Germany's secondary education, vocational pupils fell 0.3% on 2016 (from 1.35 million to 1.35 million).

Across the 25 yearly changes before that (1992 to 2016), the average change was −1.9% and a typical year strayed about 6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 3.6% in 2004 and the biggest yearly fall was 27.2% in 1998. 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 40,740 a year. A straight line explains 78% 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.

How it compares

In 2017, Germany had the 8th highest value of the 61 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

• Italy — 5th of 61: 1.57 million
• Russian Federation — 6th of 61: 1.43 million
• Uzbekistan — 7th of 61: 1.36 million
• France — 9th of 61: 1.08 million
• Brazil — 10th of 61: 956,632
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 11th of 61: 763,440

What this measures

Secondary vocational pupils are the number of secondary students enrolled in technical and vocational education programs, including teacher training.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a sum.

All 27 values

Secondary education, vocational pupils in nearby economies

• Albania — 20,605 (2018)
• Andorra — 488 (2018)
• Armenia — 19,676 (2018)
• Austria — 238,161 (2017)
• Azerbaijan — 152,777 (2018)
• Belarus — 82,592 (2018)
• Belgium — 524,924 (2017)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 94,557 (2018)
• Bulgaria — 141,163 (2017)
• Croatia — 132,833 (2017)
• Cyprus

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

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Questions people ask

What is Germany's secondary education, vocational pupils?

1.35 million in 2017, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1991?

It is down 41.3% from 2.3 million in 1991 (2.03% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 2.32 million in 1997 and the lowest 1.32 million in 2015.

How does Germany rank?

8th highest of 61 economies with data for 2017.

Is the latest change in secondary education, vocational pupils unusual for Germany?

In 2017, Germany's secondary education, vocational pupils fell 0.3% on 2016 (from 1.35 million to 1.35 million). Across the 25 yearly changes before that (1992 to 2016), the average change was −1.9% and a typical year strayed about 6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.SEC.ENRL.VO, 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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