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    • Education system in Italy

    Italy
    Overview of the education system (EAG 2019)
  • In Italy, tertiary educational attainment is increasing for younger generations, even though it remains relatively low. The share of tertiary-educated 25-64 year-olds was 19% in 2018, compared to 28% among 25-34 year-olds.
  • In Italy, the employment rate for adults with a tertiary qualification in some of the fields in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is relatively close to the OECD average: this is the case for information and communication technologies (87%), engineering, manufacturing and construction (85%). The share of adults with a tertiary education in engineering, manufacturing and construction is comparatively low (15%), but it is slightly higher among recent graduates (17%).
  • The employment rate for adults with a tertiary education in arts and humanities, social sciences, journalism and information is relatively low (77%), although these fields remain relatively popular.
  • Italy has the largest share of teachers over the age of 50 across OECD countries (59%) and will have to renew half of its teaching workforce in the next decade or so. However, Italy has the lowest share of teachers in the population aged 25-34 year-olds across OECD countries.
  • Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) is an alternative pathway to enter the labour market: young adults (25-34 year-olds) with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary vocational attainment have similar employment prospects to those with a tertiary qualification.
  • Pre-primary education is mainly provided by the public sector, with 72% of children enrolled attending public institutions. Among 3-5 year-olds the enrolment rate is 94%, higher than the OECD average.
    • | Education at a Glance 2019 | Country Note | Country Note (in Italian) | Annexes from Education at a Glance 2019 | OECD Handbook for Internationally Comparative Education Statistics 2018 | Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca (Ministries of Education, Universities and Research, in Italian) | OECD Education Policy Outlook: Italy |
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    The following list displays indicators for which your selected country shows the highest and lowest values among countries. The list can be sorted by level of education or by age group. All rankings are calculated including available data from OECD and partner countries. Find out more about the methodology here.

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    Educational outcomes

    The proportion of 25-64 year-old men who have attained a general degree at the upper secondary or post-secondary level is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (6.1 %, rank 34/38 , 2018) Download Indicator

    Italy has one of the lowest percentages of 25-64 year-olds whose highest education level is a short-cycle tertiary education degree. (0 %, rank 41/41 , 2018) Download Indicator

    In Italy, the percentage of 25-64 year-olds who attained a bachelor's or equivalent tertiary education degree is one of the lowest among countries with available data. (4.5 %, rank 42/46 , 2018) Download Indicator

    The proportion of 25-64 year-olds who attained a doctoral or equivalent tertiary education degree is one of the lowest among countries with available data. (0.5 %, rank 29/36 , 2018) Download Indicator

    The percentage of first-time graduates in vocational programmes at upper secondary level is one of the highest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (58.1 %, rank 7/32 , 2017) Download Indicator

    Attainment by gender

    Italy has one of the smallest shares of 25-64 year-old men whose highest education level is a short-cycle tertiary education degree. (0 %, rank 40/40 , 2018) Download Indicator

    Italy has one of the smallest shares of 25-64 year-old women whose highest education level is a short-cycle tertiary education degree. (0 %, rank 41/41 , 2018) Download Indicator

    In Italy, the share of 25-64 year-old men who attained a bachelor's or equivalent tertiary education degree is one of the smallest among countries with available data. (3.4 %, rank 43/46 , 2018) Download Indicator

    The share of 25-64 year-old women who attained a bachelor's or equivalent tertiary education degree is one of the smallest among countries with available data. (5.5 %, rank 41/46 , 2018) Download Indicator

    Attainment by field of education

    The percentage of 25-64 year-olds with tertiary education who studied in the field of educaton is one of the lowest among OECD countries and partner economies with available data. (4.4 %, rank 31/32 , 2018) Download Indicator

    The percentage of 25-64 year-olds with tertiary education who studied in the field of humanities (except languages), social sciences, journalism and information is one of the highest among OECD countries and partner economies with available data. (20.3 %, rank 2/30 , 2018) Download Indicator

    The percentage of 25-64 year-olds with tertiary education who studied in the field of business and administration is one of the lowest among OECD countries and partner economies with available data. (12.8 %, rank 11/16 , 2018) Download Indicator

    The percentage of 25-64 year-olds with tertiary education who studied in the field of natural sciences, mathematics and statistics is one of the highest among OECD countries and partner economies with available data. (7.6 %, rank 2/32 , 2018) Download Indicator

    The percentage of 25-64 year-olds with tertiary education who studied in the field of information and communication technologies is one of the lowest among OECD countries and partner economies with available data. (1.6 %, rank 30/32 , 2018) Download Indicator

    Participation in education

    The proportion of 25-64 years-old adults with tertiary education participating in formal education is low in Italy. (6.1 %, rank 31/36 , 2016) Download Indicator

    Among adults (25-64 years-old) with tertiary education, a high participate in non-formal education. (70.4 %, rank 6/36 , 2016) Download Indicator

    Participation rate of 25-64 year-olds in job-related non-formal education sponsored by the employer is low in Italy, compared to other countries with available data. (59 %, rank 31/34 , 2016) Download Indicator

    Participation rate of 25-64 year-olds in job-related non-formal education not sponsored by the employer is high in Italy, compared to other countries with available data. (16.4 %, rank 4/34 , 2016) Download Indicator

    Participation rate of 25-64 year-olds in not job-related non-formal education is high in Italy, compared to other countries with available data. (24.6 %, rank 3/34 , 2016) Download Indicator

    The share of 25-64 year-old women participating in job-related non-formal education sponsored by the employer is small. (51.7 %, rank 31/34 , 2016) Download Indicator

    In Italy, a low proportion of 25-64 year-old men participate in job-related non-formal education sponsored by the employer. (66 %, rank 32/34 , 2016) Download Indicator

    In Italy the percentage of young people expected to enter short-cycle tertiary programmes during their lifetimes is comparatively low. (0.8 %, rank 32/36 , 2017) Download Indicator

    In Italy the percentage of young people expected to enter bachelor's or equivalent programmes during their lifetimes is comparatively low. (43.3 %, rank 35/40 , 2017) Download Indicator

    In Italy, the percentage of 25-64 year-old who participate in formal education is relatively low. (2.2 %, rank 32/37 , 2017) Download Indicator

    The enrolment rate of 40-64 year-olds in Italy is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (0.6 %, rank 30/39 , 2017) Download Indicator

    In Italy, the proportion of new female entrants into master's long first degree (LFD) programmes is relatively high. (65.5 %, rank 5/24 , 2017) Download Indicator

    Graduation expectancy

    The percentage of young people expected to graduate from vocational programmes in upper secondary education during their lifetimes in Italy is comparatively high (55.4 %, rank 3/34 , 2017) Download Indicator

    Italy has one of the lowest percentages of young people expected to graduate from short tertiary education programmes during their lifetime. (0.4 %, rank 28/32 , 2017) Download Indicator

    Excluding mobile students, Italy has one of the lowest percentages of young people expected to graduate from short tertiary education programmes during their lifetime. (0.4 %, rank 21/23 , 2017) Download Indicator

    Excluding mobile students, Italy has one of the lowest percentages of young people expected to graduate from short tertiary education before the age of 30. (0.4 %, rank 18/21 , 2017) Download Indicator

    Italy has one of the lowest percentages of young people expected to obtain a bachelor's or an equivalent degree during their lifetime. (31.2 %, rank 28/37 , 2017) Download Indicator

    The percentage of today's young people expected to obtain a master's or an equivalent degree during their lifetime is one of the highest among OECD countries and partner economies with available data. (21.8 %, rank 9/38 , 2017) Download Indicator

    Excluding mobile students, Italy has one of the lowest percentages of young people expected to graduate from tertiary education during their lifetimes. (36.6 %, rank 22/27 , 2017) Download Indicator

    Excluding mobile students, Italy has one of the lowest percentages of young people expected to graduate from tertiary education before the age of 30. (32.4 %, rank 20/25 , 2017) Download Indicator

    Graduation by gender

    In Italy, the share of female doctoral graduates in the field of business, administration and law is relatively high. (53.1 %, rank 7/41 , 2017) Download Indicator

    Graduation by field of education

    The percentage of tertiary graduates in the field of education is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (4.5 %, rank 42/44 , 2017) Download Indicator

    The percentage of tertiary graduates in the field of arts and humanities is one of the highest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (17.9 %, rank 3/44 , 2017) Download Indicator

    The percentage of tertiary graduates in the field of natural sciences, mathematics and statistics is one of the highest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (8 %, rank 6/44 , 2017) Download Indicator

    The percentage of tertiary graduates in the field of information and communication technologies is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (1.1 %, rank 42/43 , 2017) Download Indicator

    The percentage of tertiary graduates in the field of services is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (0.2 %, rank 42/44 , 2017) Download Indicator

    The share of doctoral graduates in the field of education in Italy is relatively small. (0.5 %, rank 44/45 , 2017) Download Indicator

    The share of doctoral graduates in the field of engineering, manufacturing and construction in Italy is relatively large. (22.3 %, rank 10/45 , 2017) Download Indicator

    In Italy, the proportion of upper secondary vocational graduates in the field of health and welfare is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (0 %, rank 31/33 , 2017) Download Indicator

    Fields of education

    In Italy, the percentage of new entrants to tertiary education in the field of education is relatively low. (4.1 %, rank 33/35 , 2017) Download Indicator

    In Italy, the percentage of new entrants to tertiary education in the field of business, administration and law is relatively low. (19.6 %, rank 30/35 , 2017) Download Indicator

    In Italy, the percentage of new entrants to tertiary education in the field of information and communication technologies (ICTs) is relatively low. (1.9 %, rank 33/34 , 2017) Download Indicator

    The share of female who enter tertiary education in the field of business, administration and law is one of the smallest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (48.9 %, rank 29/34 , 2017) Download Indicator

    The share of female who enter tertiary education in the field of health and welfare is one of the smallest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (58.9 %, rank 33/34 , 2017) Download Indicator

    The percentage of national tertiary students enrolled in the field of education in Italy is relatively low. (4.9 %, rank 34/37 , 2017) Download Indicator

    The percentage of national tertiary students enrolled in the field of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in Italy is relatively low. (1.7 %, rank 35/36 , 2017) Download Indicator

    The percentage of national tertiary students enrolled in the field of services in Italy is relatively low. (0.2 %, rank 35/37 , 2017) Download Indicator

    In Italy,the share of male among new entrants to doctoral programmes enrolled in the field of engineering, manufacturing and construction is relatively small. (63.7 %, rank 30/34 , 2017) Download Indicator

    Student mobility

    In Italy, international students from North America are least represented among all international students, compared to other OECD and partner countries with available data. (0.9 %, rank 37/45 , 2017) Download Indicator

    In Italy, international students from Latin America and the Caribbean are most represented among all international students, compared to other OECD and partner countries with available data. (9.2 %, rank 9/45 , 2017) Download Indicator

    In Italy, international students from Africa are highest represented among all international students, compared to other OECD and partner countries with available data. (12.2 %, rank 9/45 , 2017) Download Indicator

    In Italy, the proportion of new international entrants into master's long first degreee (LFD) programmes is relatively low. (4.5 %, rank 15/20 , 2017) Download Indicator

    Student mobility by field of education

    The percentage of international tertiary students enrolled in the field of education in Italy is relatively low. (1.6 %, rank 32/37 , 2017) Download Indicator

    The percentage of international tertiary students enrolled in the field of arts and humanities in Italy is relatively high. (25.9 %, rank 3/37 , 2017) Download Indicator

    The percentage of international tertiary students enrolled in the field of engineering, manufacturing and construction in Italy is relatively high. (21.2 %, rank 6/37 , 2017) Download Indicator

    The percentage of international tertiary students enrolled in the field of services in Italy is relatively low. (0.2 %, rank 34/37 , 2017) Download Indicator

    Organisation of the education system

    In Italy, compulsory instruction time for lower secondary students, in hours per year, is one of the longest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (990 Hours, rank 10/36 , 2019) Download Indicator

    The theoretical duration of primary and lower secondary education, in years, is one of the shortest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (8 Years, rank 34/38 , 2019) Download Indicator

    Expenditure per student

    Annual expenditure per tertiary student is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (7577 USD Equivalent, rank 26/32 , 2016) Download Indicator

    Expenditure per student for core educational services on tertiary education in Italy is comparatively low. (7160 USD Equivalent, rank 22/27 , 2016) Download Indicator

    Expenditure in education and national wealth

    In Italy, expenditure on primary through tertiary educational institutions as a percentage of GDP is one of the lowest among OECD countries and partner economies. (3.6 %, rank 30/35 , 2016) Download Indicator

    In Italy, expenditure on tertiary educational institutions as a percentage of GDP is comparatively low. (0.9 %, rank 32/35 , 2016) Download Indicator

    In Italy, public expenditure on educational institutions as a percentage of GDP on tertiary education from final source of funds is relatively low. (0.5 %, rank 37/40 , 2016) Download Indicator

    In Italy, public expenditure on educational institutions as a percentage of GDP on primary to tertiary education from final source of funds is relatively low. (3.1 %, rank 33/39 , 2016) Download Indicator

    Public and private expenditure in education

    The share of public expenditure on tertiary educational institutions is one of the smallest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (1.5 %, rank 38/39 , 2016) Download Indicator

    In Italy, total public expenditure on primary through tertiary educational institutions as a percentage of total public expenditure is comparatively low. (6.9 %, rank 38/38 , 2016) Download Indicator

    In Italy, total public expenditure on primary educational institutions as a percentage of total public expenditure is comparatively low. (1.9 %, rank 34/38 , 2016) Download Indicator

    In Italy, total public expenditure on secondary educational institutions as a percentage of total public expenditure is comparatively low. (3.5 %, rank 33/38 , 2016) Download Indicator

    Change in public expenditure on educational institutions for primary to tertiary education between 2010 and 2016 in Italy is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (-6.5 %, rank 24/27 , 2016) Download Indicator

    Change in total public expenditure, for primary to tertiary education, as a percentage of total government expenditure between 2010 and 2016 in Italy is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (88 Index, rank 26/29 , 2016) Download Indicator

    Expenditure on all children aged 3 to 5 enrolled in early childhood and primary education is one of the lowest in Italy compared to OECD and partner countries with available data. (12 USD Equivalent, rank 21/30 , 2016) Download Indicator

    Total public expenditure on education as a percentage of total government expenditure, for primary, secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education is relatively low in Italy compared to OECD and partner countries with available data. (5.4 %, rank 37/39 , 2016) Download Indicator

    Tuition fees

    The estimated average annual tuition fee for national students in independent private institutions for a master's or equivalent level education is one of the highest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (8050 USD Equivalent, rank 7/12 , 2017) Download Indicator

    In Italy, the percentage of students who do not benefit from public/government-guaranteed private loans or public scholarships/grants is comparatively high. (62 %, rank 4/14 , 2017) Download Indicator

    Teachers

    The number of days of instruction in a school year in lower secondary school is especially low. (172 Days, rank 29/33 , 2018) Download Indicator

    Ratio of student to teaching staff

    The number of students per teacher in tertiary institutions is one of the highest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (20 Ratio, rank 8/30 , 2016) Download Indicator

    The number of students per teacher in primary schools is one of the lowest among OECD countries and partner countries with available data. (11.7 Ratio, rank 34/41 , 2016) Download Indicator

    Who the teachers are

    The share of women among teaching staff in lower secondary education is one of the largest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (76.7 %, rank 9/39 , 2017) Download Indicator

    The share of women among teaching staff in tertiary education (bachelor's, master's, doctorate or equivalent education) is one of the smallest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (37.1 %, rank 23/27 , 2017) Download Indicator

    The share of women among teaching staff in tertiary education is one of the smallest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (37.1 %, rank 32/36 , 2017) Download Indicator

    The share of women among teaching staff is one of the largest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (77.8 %, rank 5/32 , 2017) Download Indicator

    The percentage of primary teachers younger than 30 is especially low. (0.7 %, rank 35/35 , 2017) Download Indicator

    The percentage of lower secondary teachers younger than 30 is especially low. (1.9 %, rank 31/34 , 2017) Download Indicator

    The percentage of upper secondary teachers younger than 30 is especially low. (1.5 %, rank 33/34 , 2017) Download Indicator

    The percentage of primary to upper secondary teachers younger than 30 is especially low. (1.4 %, rank 33/34 , 2017) Download Indicator

    The percentage of primary teachers aged between 30 and 49 is especially low. (42.9 %, rank 35/35 , 2017) Download Indicator

    The percentage of lower secondary teachers aged between 30 and 49 is especially low. (43.9 %, rank 31/34 , 2017) Download Indicator

    The percentage of upper secondary teachers aged between 30 and 49 is especially low. (35 %, rank 34/34 , 2017) Download Indicator

    Teachers' salaries

    The ratio of pre-primary teachers' salaries to earnings of full-time, full-year workers with tertiary education is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (0.65 Ratio, rank 19/24 , 2017) Download Indicator

    The ratio of primary teachers' salaries to earnings of full-time, full-year workers with tertiary education is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (0.65 Ratio, rank 24/27 , 2017) Download Indicator

    The ratio of lower secondary teachers' salaries to earnings of full-time, full-year workers with tertiary education is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (0.66 Ratio, rank 24/27 , 2017) Download Indicator

    The ratio of upper secondary teachers' salaries to earnings of full-time, full-year workers with tertiary education is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (0.71 Ratio, rank 24/27 , 2017) Download Indicator

    Teachers' salaries progression

    It takes lower secondary teachers longer to progress through the salary scale in Italy compared to other OECD and partner countries. (35 Years, rank 6/25 , 2018) Download Indicator

    Employment and educational attainment

    The employment rate among 25-64 year-olds with a bachelor's or equivalent tertiary education degree is low compared to other OECD and partner countries. (73.3 %, rank 43/44 , 2018) Download Indicator

    The employment rate among 25-64 year-olds with a master's or equivalent tertiary education degree is low compared to other OECD and partner countries. (83.2 %, rank 40/41 , 2018) Download Indicator

    The employment rate among 25-64 year-olds with a general upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education is relatively low compared to other OECD and partner countries. (62.4 %, rank 36/38 , 2018) Download Indicator

    Unemployment and educational attainment

    Among the unemployed population aged between 25 and 64, with below upper secondary education, the share of those who have been unemployed for less than 3 months is one of the smallest in Italy, compared to other OECD countries. (13.3 %, rank 27/31 , 2018) Download Indicator

    Among the unemployed population aged between 25 and 64 with below upper secondary education, the share of those who have been unemployed for at least 3 months to less than 12 months is one of the smallest in Italy, compared to other OECD countries. (21.3 %, rank 26/31 , 2018) Download Indicator

    Among the unemployed population aged between 25 and 64 with below upper secondary education, the share of those who have been unemployed for at least 12 months is one of the largest in Italy, compared to other OECD countries. (65.4 %, rank 3/38 , 2018) Download Indicator

    Among the unemployed population aged between 25 and 64 with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education, the share of those who have been unemployed for less than 3 months is one of the smallest in Italy, compared to other OECD countries. (15.5 %, rank 28/31 , 2018) Download Indicator

    Among the unemployed population aged between 25 and 64 with tertiary education, the share of those who have been unemployed for less than 3 months is one of the smallest in Italy, compared to other OECD countries. (23.1 %, rank 27/31 , 2018) Download Indicator

    Among the unemployed population aged between 25 and 64 with tertiary education, the share of those who have been unemployed for at least 3 months to less than 12 months is one of the smallest in Italy, compared to other OECD countries. (27.1 %, rank 26/31 , 2018) Download Indicator

    Among the unemployed population aged between 25 and 64 with tertiary education, the share of those who have been unemployed for at least 12 months is one of the largest in Italy, compared to OECD countries. (49.8 %, rank 2/38 , 2018) Download Indicator

    The inactivity rate of 25-34 years-old adults with tertiary education is high in Italy. (23.3 %, rank 1/43 , 2018) Download Indicator

    Earnings and educational attainment

    The difference in earnings between 25-64 year-old women with tertiary education and those with upper secondary education is quite low. (133 Index, rank 32/37 , 2016) Download Indicator

    The proportional difference in earnings between 25-64 year-old adults with tertiary education and those with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education is quite low. (136 Index, rank 28/37 , 2016) Download Indicator

    Earnings of women as a percentage of men's earnings (among 25-64 year-olds with tertiary education and income from employment) are one of the lowest among countries with available data. (70.3 %, rank 30/37 , 2016) Download Indicator

    Compared with other OECD and partner countries, the proportional difference in earnings between 25-64 year-old adults with a master's, doctoral or equivalent degree and those with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education is low. (136 Index, rank 33/34 , 2016) Download Indicator

    The gap in average earnings between 25-64 year-old women with a master's, doctoral or equivalent degree and those with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (133 Index, rank 34/34 , 2016) Download Indicator

    In Italy, the proportional difference in earnings between 25-64 year-old men with a master's, doctoral or equivalent degree and those with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education is low. (145 Index, rank 32/34 , 2016) Download Indicator

    Earnings of 25-64 year-old full- and part-time workers with a Master's, doctoral or equivalent education degree are comparatively low. (139 Index, rank 33/33 , 2016) Download Indicator

    Neither in education nor employed

    The proportion of 15-19 year-olds who are neither employed nor in education or training is comparatively large in Italy. (11 %, rank 9/40 , 2018) Download Indicator

    The percentage of 15-19 years-old men neither employed nor in education or training is one of the highest among OECD countries and partner economies with available data. (11.2 %, rank 6/39 , 2018) Download Indicator

    The percentage of 15-19 years-old women neither employed nor in education or training is one of the highest among OECD countries and partner economies with available data. (10.8 %, rank 9/40 , 2018) Download Indicator

    Migrant background

    The proportion of 25-34 year-old foreign-born people who have attained tertiary education is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (13.7 %, rank 29/30 , 2015) Download Indicator

    The proportion of 25-64 year-old native-born people who have attained tertiary education is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (19.5 %, rank 29/30 , 2015) Download Indicator

    The employment rate of foreign-born aged between 25 and 64 with tertiary education is comparatively low. (70.7 %, rank 29/30 , 2015) Download Indicator

    The employment rate of native-born aged between 25-64 with tertiary education is comparatively low. (81.9 %, rank 27/30 , 2015) Download Indicator

    Earnings of foreign-born aged between 25 and 64 who work full- and part-time with tertiary education are low compared to those of native-born with the same characteristics. (62 Index, rank 21/21 , 2016) Download Indicator

    Earnings of foreign-born aged between 25 and 64 who work full-time full-year with tertiary education are low compared to those of native-born with the same characteristics. (68 Index, rank 19/19 , 2016) Download Indicator

    Earnings of foreign-born aged between 25 and 64 who work full- and part-time workers with upper secondary or post-secondary non tertiary education are low compared to those of native-born with the same characteristics. (66 Index, rank 19/21 , 2016) Download Indicator

    Earnings of foreign-born aged between 25 and 64 who work full-time full-year with upper secondary or post-secondary non tertiary education are low compared to those of native-born with the same characteristics. (69 Index, rank 17/19 , 2016) Download Indicator

    The percentage of foreign-born aged between 15 and 29 who are neither employed nor in education and training is one of the highest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (34.3 %, rank 2/29 , 2015) Download Indicator

    The percentage of foreign-born aged between 15 and 29 and who are not in education and employed is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (35.8 %, rank 25/30 , 2015) Download Indicator

    The percentage of native-born aged between 15 and 29 who are not in education and employed is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (25.8 %, rank 29/30 , 2015) Download Indicator

    The percentage of native-born 15-29 year-olds neither employed nor in education and training is one of the highest among OECD and partner countries with available data. (23.8 %, rank 1/30 , 2015) Download Indicator

    Social outcomes

    Among 25-64 years-old adults with below upper secondary education, a low proportion participated in any cultural or sporting activities in the 12 months prior to the survey. (36.7 %, rank 23/28 , 2015) Download Indicator

    Among 25-64 years-old adults with tertiary education, a low proportion participated in any cultural or sporting activities in the 12 months prior to the survey. (76.9 %, rank 27/29 , 2015) Download Indicator

    In Italy, a small share of adults (25-64 years-old) with below upper secondary education participated in formal voluntary activities in the 12 months prior to the survey. (8.8 %, rank 19/28 , 2015) Download Indicator

    In Italy, a small share of adults (25-64 years-old) with tertiary education participated in formal voluntary activities in the 12 months prior to the survey. (16.5 %, rank 24/29 , 2015) Download Indicator

    Among 25-64 years-old adults with below upper secondary education, a low proportion have someone to ask for moral, material or financial help. (82 %, rank 28/29 , 2015) Download Indicator

    Among 25-64 years-old adults with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education, a low proportion have someone to ask for moral, material or financial help. (88.5 %, rank 29/29 , 2015) Download Indicator

    Among 25-64 years-old adults with tertiary education, a low proportion have someone to ask for moral, material or financial help. (92.1 %, rank 29/29 , 2015) Download Indicator

    Among employed adults (25-64 years-old) with below upper secondary education, a large share have difficulties to fulfill their family responsabilities because of their jobs, compared to other countries with available data. (56.3 %, rank 6/18 , 2015) Download Indicator

    The proportion of employed adults (25-64 years-old) with below upper secondary education who have concentration difficulties at work because of family responsabilities is high in Italy. (35.1 %, rank 4/18 , 2015) Download Indicator

    The proportion of employed adults (25-64 years-old) with tertiary education who have concentration difficulties at work because of family responsabilities is low in Italy. (25.1 %, rank 24/32 , 2015) Download Indicator

    Weekly working hours among employed 25-64 year-olds with tertiary education are short in Italy compared to other OECD countries. (36.8 Hours/week, rank 27/28 , 2015) Download Indicator

    Among employed 25-64 year-olds with tertiary education, a large share have high flexibility of working hours. (32.8 %, rank 10/28 , 2015) Download Indicator


    The data table will display up to six selected countries.
    General findings
    • In 2018, 44% of 25-34 year-olds held a tertiary degree, compared to 35% in 2008, on average across OECD countries.
    • Tertiary-educated adults also reap higher earnings, although this varies by field of study. Their advantage increases with age too: 25-34 year-olds with tertiary education earn 38% more than their peers with upper secondary education while 45-54 year-olds earn 70% more.
    • While engineering, manufacturing and construction, and information and communication technologies are two fields most commonly associated with the best labour market outcomes, only 14% of graduates earned a degree in the former and 4% earned a degree in the latter in 2017.
    | Education policies: Access and Participation - Tertiary | How is the tertiary-educated population evolving? | Earnings advantage of tertiary-educated workers across generations | Is labour market demand keeping pace with the rising educational attainment of the population? |
    Visualisations
    Click the arrow sign next to the title: arrows to display other variables
    Click the arrow sign next to the title: arrows to display other variables
    Click the arrow sign next to the title: arrows to display other variables
    • Although graduation from upper secondary education increased by 6 percentage points between 2005 and 2017, 15% of 25-34 year-olds did not attain upper secondary education in 2018, on average across OECD countries.
    • In some countries, vocational programmes are prominent at the upper secondary level. On average across OECD countries, 40% of first-time upper secondary graduates earned a vocational qualification in 2017; in Austria, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia, more than 66% of this population did.
    • At the lower secondary level, the average class shrank by 6% while teachers' statutory salaries increased by 8% between 2005 and 2017, on average across OECD countries.
    | Education policies: Access and Participation - Secondary | Transition from school to work | 50 year trends in educational attainment | What are the advantages today of having an upper secondary qualification? |
    Visualisations
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    • In 2017, more than one in three children under the age of three were enrolled in early childhood education and care services, on average across OECD countries - an increase of 7 percentage points compared to 2010.
    • Between the age of 3 to 5, on average across OECD countries, 87% of children are enrolled in pre-primary and primary education.
    • Annual expenditure per child in early childhood development programmes was greater than in pre-primary education in 2016 on average across OECD countries. However, as a share of GDP, expenditure on early childhood development is lower.
    | Education policies: Access and Participation - Early Childhood Education | Starting Strong 2017: Key OECD Indicators on Early Childhood Education and Care | Starting Strong V: Transitions from Early Childhood Education and Care to Primary Education | Who bears the cost of early childhood education and how does it affect enrolment? | Access to early childhood and the participation of women in the labour market |
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    • In 2016, expenditure per tertiary student amounted to USD 15 556, approximately one-third of which was devoted to research and development.
    • Private sources financed more than 30% of the expenditure, on average, at the tertiary level compared to 10% at primary, secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary level.
    • OECD countries spent an average of 3.5% of GDP on primary, secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary institutions in 2016, and public expenditure at this level increased by 18% since 2005.
    | Education policies: Finance and Funding | Who really bears the cost of education? | What influences spending on education? | Does Money Buy Strong Performance in PISA? |
    Visualisations
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    • About 10% of primary and secondary teachers are under the age of 30, on average across OECD countries.
    • While the teaching profession is dominated by women, the share of female teachers decreases with the level of education taught: almost all teachers at the pre-primary level are women, however they make up less than half of the teaching force at tertiary level.
    • Salaries tend to increase with the level of education taught, but teachers' earnings remain between 78% and 93% of the earnings of other tertiary-educated adults.
    | Education policies: Teachers | OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) | Teachers' salaries evolution and how they compare to those of tertiary-educated workers | How do primary and secondary teachers compare? |
    Visualisations
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    Country Reviews for Italy

    Note: These values should be interpreted with care since they are influenced by countries' specific contexts and trade-offs. In education, there is often no simple most- or least-efficient model. For instance, the share of private expenditure in education must be read against other measures designed to mitigate inequities, such as loans and grants; longer learning time is an opportunity to convey more and better content to students, but may hinder investments in other important areas. If you want further information on the nature of different variables, please take the time to read the analysis and contextual information, available at the website for each publication.
    All rankings for individual variables are compiled on the basis of OECD and G20 countries for which data are available. The OECD average includes only OECD countries which are listed here: http://www.oecd.org/about/membersandpartners/

    *TALIS averages are based on all countries participating in the TALIS survey, including partner countries and economies. This explains the difference between the OECD average and the TALIS average. Data from the TALIS survey and Education at a Glance (EAG) may differ. See Annex E of the TALIS technical report and Annex 3 of EAG 2019 for more details about the data collections.

    B-S-J-Z (China) refers to the four PISA-participating provinces/municipalities of the People's Republic of China: Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

    For additional notes, please refer to annexes in the list of links below the introductory country profile text.