Overview
- The Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis) published the analysis on Thursday, August 20, 2026, showing a clear gender gap in recent school and higher‑education outcomes.
- In 2024, women made up 55 percent of those who earned the Allgemeine Hochschulreife (Abitur) while men were overrepresented at lower levels, with 59 percent of Erste Schulabschluss recipients being male.
- Cohort completion rates at universities favor women: for Bachelor entrants in 2020, 34 percent of women finished within eight semesters versus 25 percent of men, and female Master completion after six semesters was 53 percent compared with 48 percent for men.
- Young men are more likely to repeat grades, leave education early, or be neither in education nor training (NEET): in 2025, 15 percent of men aged 18–24 with at most a first or middle school certificate were not in training or education, compared with 11 percent of women, and NEET rates are especially high for young men with a foreign background.
- Destatis notes the gap has widened over the last decade as the share of young people with a foreign background rose from about 12 percent to 17 percent, a demographic shift that commentators say raises questions for integration policy, school practice, and future wage and leadership inequalities.