Overview
- Destatis published preliminary 2025 results on February 25 showing a nationwide decline in students qualifying for higher education.
- In Bavaria, study‑eligible graduates fell 51% (−27,600) due to the G8‑to‑G9 transition; excluding Bavaria, the national change was −0.7%.
- Regional shifts included Saarland −7% and Schleswig‑Holstein, Mecklenburg‑Western Pomerania and Saxony‑Anhalt −3% each, while Saxony rose 6% and Thuringia 4%.
- Of 2025 qualifiers, 80% earned a general or subject‑specific university entrance diploma and 20% a university of applied sciences diploma; 67% graduated from general schools and 33% from vocational schools.
- Women accounted for 54% of qualifiers, and Destatis notes the 17–19 population rose 0.9% by end‑2024 due to immigration with little effect on these results.