Reporting year 2025

Education and training statistics for the UK

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Introduction

This release compiles information on education systems across the United Kingdom. Education is devolved in the UK, so each part of the United Kingdom has a separate education system.

In this release, there are sections focusing on the school system: numbers of schools, pupils and teachers, and pupil to teacher ratios (PTR), covering the 2024/25 academic year.

This is followed by sections on further and higher education, which includes the number of providers and the number of students for the 2023/24 academic year. There is also a section on young adults (aged between 16-24) who are  not in education, employment or training (NEET).

The next sections focus on students' qualifications taken in the 2023/24 academic year. Given the different qualifications systems, headline measures and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is not suitable to present a direct comparative picture of pupil performance across the UK, The highest qualifications held by adults (aged 19-64) in the UK as of quarter 4 2024 are then displayed.

Finally, there is a section showing government education expenditure in the UK to the 2024-25 financial year.

For the sections covering NEET and highest qualifications for adults aged 19-64, data is used from the Office for National Statistics' (ONS) Labour Force Survey (LFS) to produce these statistics. Since 2019, ONS have faced challenges around the falling number of responses to the LFS which has led to increased sampling variability. LFS datasets are weighted in line with population estimates. In recent years there have been several reweighting exercises to address changes in international migration and impacts as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Timeseries comparisons should be viewed with some caution, and those specific sections should be considered 'Official Statistics in Development'. Comparisons of levels prior to this period should therefore be viewed with caution.

Related information

Releases in this series

View releases (14) for Education and training statistics for the UK

Methodologies

Headline facts and figures - 2025

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Proposed changes to this publication series

The Department for Education regularly reviews its statistical publications for quality and relevance of content and to ensure the statistics meet user needs. Upon reviewing this publication, the Department has identified that in some sections statistics are not widely engaged with and in other sections there is duplication of statistics published elsewhere. The department is proposing to streamline the Education and Training Statistics for the UK publication series. Where the publication adds new statistics and insights not published elsewhere, we will continue to publish yearly statistics. Where the publication is duplicative or low on engagement, we propose signposting our users to other existing published statistics. These changes will allow us to further review other sections of Education and Training Statistics and to explore the feasibility of expanding the publication on other areas of the education system, such as attainment.

More information on these changes can be found below and in the methodology. We invite users to provide feedback on these changes, please send this to internationalevidence.statistics@education.gov.uk by 1st April 2026. 

Statistics available elsewhere

Due to low engagement and duplication, in future publications we are proposing to cease publishing certain sections of the publication, and instead signpost users to the following existing statistics. 

Higher Education – statistics on students by type of degree, sex, study mode and subject are all available in the Higher Education Statistics Agency publications (opens in new tab) (HESA). Education and training statistics provide one novel aggregation – overseas and domestic students. A more granular breakdown is available in the HESA publications, with breakdowns by place of permanent address within and beyond the UK. 

Schools – statistics for schools are available via each devolved government’s own statistical publications: 

NEET – UK statistics are available at Young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) - Office for National Statistics (opens in new tab). 

Pupil to teacher ratios (PTR) - statistics for PTRs are available via each devolved government’s own statistical publications: 

Education Expenditure – UK statistics are available in the Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses publication series (opens in new tab). 

Post compulsory institutions – this dataset shows the number of post-compulsory educational institutions in each nation and a total for the UK. It only features as a downloadable table in the catalogue, rather than on the publication page. This data is available from the Higher Education Statistics Agency and Association of Colleges websites: 

HESA - Experts in higher education data and analysis (opens in new tab) - see the provider data consolidated collection. 

List of colleges in the UK | Association of Colleges (opens in new tab) 

Please provide any feedback to us on the impact of changing the release to signpost to these statistics by emailing internationalevidence.statistics@education.gov.uk. 

Statistics with no proposed changes

We are planning to continue publication of current sections on Further Education, Pupils, Highest Qualification, Teacher, and Qualification headlines. 

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School numbers

In 2024/25, there were 29,532 maintained schools across the UK, a decrease of 47 schools (0.2%) compared to 2023/24. The decrease is seen across all nations in the UK, with the largest decrease being in Scotland (18).

The largest decrease in maintained schools in the UK by phase was at primary level, with a decrease of 50 (0.2%). This phase saw the biggest decrease across all four parts of the UK.

Data on the number of schools in each part of the UK (and each region in England) is available in the underlying data.

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Pupil numbers

The number of pupils in maintained schools in the UK declined by 0.5% (48,200 pupils) between 2022/23 and 2024/25. A decrease is seen across all 4 devolved nations in the UK, with a 2.1% decrease in Wales the largest change in percentage terms. Maintained pupils decreased by 0.1%, 0.4% and 0.7% across Northern Ireland, England and Scotland respectively. Comparisons should not be made to 2023/24 at the UK level, as data for Northern Ireland is only partially complete for all school phases except nursery. Comparisons can be drawn for England, Scotland and Wales, where the combined total number of pupils in maintained schools decreased by 0.6% in 2024/25 compared to 2023/24.

At the UK level, the number of pupils in state-funded nurseries and primary schools fell by 1.9% and 2.1% respectively between 2022/23 and 2024/25. In contrast, the number of pupils in state-funded secondary schools and special schools increased by 1.1% and 11.5% respectively across the same period. Across England Scotland and Wales between 2023/24 and 2024/25, the combined total number of pupils decreased in nursery and primary schools by 1% and 1.3% respectively, stayed stable in secondary schools and increased by 5.1% in special schools.

Data on the number of pupils by sex and school type in each part of the UK (and each region of England) is available in the underlying data along with data by age and school type at a UK level.

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Teacher numbers

The overall number of full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers working in maintained schools was 565,523 FTE in 2024/25, a decrease of 1,390 (0.25%) from 2023/24. 

The FTE decrease across the UK was driven by primary schools, where FTE decreased by 3,810. FTE also decreased by 43 in Nursery schools. FTE increased in Secondary and Special schools by 1,123 and 1,116 respectively.

FTE decreases were seen across all parts of the UK except Northern Ireland. FTE decreased by 2.3% (565 FTE) in Wales, 1.2% (625 FTE) in Scotland and 0.1% (430 FTE) in England. In Northern Ireland, FTE increased by 1.2% (230 FTE).

Teacher characteristics - Sex

The teaching workforce in maintained schools across the UK is consistently predominantly female: 74% in 2024/25, the same as the previous three years. Across the UK 85% of FTE at primary level are female and 64% at secondary level in 2024/25, the same as the previous three years.

Data on the number of teachers by sex and school type in each part of the UK (and each region of England) is available in the underlying data.

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Pupil to teacher ratios (PTRs)

Pupil to teacher ratios (PTRs) show the number of pupils per teacher. Across the UK, the PTRs follow a similar pattern across all levels of education, with Scotland having the lowest PTRs and England, Wales and Northern Ireland all having very similar PTRs. 

PTRs in Scotland and Wales increased slightly to 13.3 and 18.9 respectively, compared to 13.2 and 18.6 in 2023/24. In Wales and Scotland, the increase in PTRs is driven by a larger decrease in teachers relative to the decrease in pupils.

PTRs decreased between 2023/24 and 2024/25, from 18.1 to 18 in England, and from 17.4 to 17.1 in Northern Ireland.  In England, the decrease in PTRs is driven by a smaller decrease in teachers relative to the decrease in pupils. In Northern Ireland, the decrease in PTRs is driven by a combination of a decrease in pupils and an increase in teachers.

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Further and Higher education

2019/20 and 2020/21 data covers the months of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). This may have affected enrolment figures and therefore extra care should be taken in comparing and interpreting trends over time.

Further Education Students

The total number of students in further education (FE) in the UK stayed stable in 2023/24 (-0.1%), rising in England (1.8%) and Wales (2.9%) and falling in Northern Ireland (-3.3%) and Scotland (-18.9%) compared to 2022/23. Since 2015/16 the total number of FE students across the UK has decreased by 16.1%. Decreases over this period are seen in each part of the UK except in Scotland where the number of FE students has slightly increased (0.6%) across the same period. 

In 2023/24, females accounted for 55% of FE students across the UK. Whilst there were more female FE students than male FE students, males were more likely to participate in FE at a younger age than females were.  69% of males participating in FE were less than 30 years old. For females this figure was 50%. In addition, there were twice as many females in FE aged 30 and over than there were males.

Higher education students

In 2023/24, there were 2.99 million students in higher education (HE) in UK further education colleges or higher education providers. 64% of HE students were studying first degrees (also known as bachelor's degrees), 25% were studying a masters or other postgraduate courses, 4% were undertaking a PhD and 8% were on other undergraduate courses.

More females than males made up the overall student population (56%) and females made up a greater share at every level. 

The most popular subject was Business and Management with 21% of all students enrolled (over 610,000 students), followed by Subjects allied to Medicine (12%) and Social Sciences (10%). Business and Management had the third most equal split between male and female students after Biological and Sport Sciences and Geography, earth and environmental studies (natural sciences). The subjects with the most unequal splits towards females were veterinary sciences (84% female) and psychology (82% female), and towards males were engineering and technology (79% male) and computing (75% male).

The six subjects with the highest enrolment are presented in the chart below by sex. The numbers of students studying subjects other than those in the top six by enrolment are not presented in the chart below, but the figures are available in the table and in the underlying data as well as by level of study.

In 2023/24, 24% of all HE students were from overseas (730,600 students). The number of overseas students as a proportion of total students was greater for postgraduate courses (51% of postgraduate students) than for undergraduate courses (14% of undergraduate students). Slightly more overseas students were female than male (51% share or 8,855 females more). As was the case in 2022/23, at postgraduate level there were more male overseas students than UK male students (66,745 more overseas male students to male UK students at postgraduate level). 

Full-time overseas postgraduate students decreased by 5% (or 20,965) to 410,775 in 2023/24 compared to 2022/23, marking the levelling off of a long-term upward trend, having previously increased from 197,220 in 2018/19.

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Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET)

Data is used from the Office for National Statistics' (ONS) Labour Force Survey (LFS) to produce these NEET statistics. Since 2019, ONS have faced challenges around the falling number of responses to the LFS which has led to increased sampling variability. LFS datasets are weighted in line with population estimates. In recent years there have been several reweighting exercises to address changes in international migration and impacts as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.  Estimates in this section have been reweighted to 2019, therefore timeseries comparisons should be viewed with some caution, and this specific section should be considered 'Official Statistics in Development'.

The percentage of 16–24-year-olds Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) in April to June 2025, in the UK, was estimated at 12.8%. This is a 0.3 percentage point increase compared to the previous quarter and 0.1 percentage points increase compared to April to June 2024. Note that these percentage point changes may differ from values presented in data tables due to rounding.

This is driven by an increase in the number of NEET females, whilst the number of NEET males has decreased. The NEET rate for females aged 16-24 increased by 1 percentage point from 11.4% in April-June 2024 to 12.4% in April-June 2025. The NEET rate for males in the same age group decreased by 0.7 percentage points across the same period, from 13.8% to 13.1%.

Of the estimated 947,500 16–24-year-olds who were NEET in April to June 2025, 497,400 (52%) were male and 450,100 (48%) were female. This compares to 514,900 (56%) males and 406,300 (44%) females in the same period in 2024. 

In the period April to June 2025, the percentage of 16–17-year-olds and 18–24-year-olds who were NEET was estimated at 4.6% and 15.0% respectively.

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Qualification headline measures

Qualifications headline measures for the 2023/24 academic year or summer 2024 exam season

Given the different qualifications systems and headline measures, it is not suitable to present a direct comparison of pupil performance across the UK. 

In England, exams and assessments went ahead as normal in the 2023/24 academic year.  In recognition of the disruption due to the pandemic, some support arrangements remained in place. This included the provision of formulae and equation sheets in some GCSEs, grading protection, a spaced-out exam timetable and help with GCSE modern foreign languages by removing the requirement for exams to test unfamiliar vocabulary. In other parts of the UK, different adjustments to the assessment and grading processes were taken in the 2024 summer exams. As a result, the data that has been published for all parts of the UK should not be directly compared to attainment data from previous years for the purposes of measuring change in student performance. 

Detail on changes to previous cycles of exams across each part of the UK is available in the 2024 Education and Training Statistics.

Published qualifications data can be found at the relevant sources for each part of the UK and each level of education:

England

Key stage 4 performance 2024 (revised) - GOV.UK (opens in new tab)

A level and other 16 to 18 results, Academic year 2023/24 - Explore education statistics - GOV.UK

Scotland

Summary Statistics for Attainment and Initial Leaver Destinations, No. 7: 2025 edition - gov.scot (opens in new tab)

Attainment Statistics - SQA (opens in a new tab) (opens in new tab)

Wales

Examination results: September 2023 to August 2024 | GOV.WALES (opens in new tab)

Sta/Medr/11/2025: Consistent performance measures for post-16 learning: Achievement, August 2023 to July 2024 - Medr (opens in new tab)

Sta/Medr/07/2025: Learner outcome measures for apprenticeships, August 2023 to July 2024 - Medr (opens in new tab)

Northern Ireland

Year 12 and Year 14 Examination Performance at Post-Primary Schools in Northern Ireland 2023/24 | Department of Education (opens in new tab)

School Leavers 2023/24 | Department of Education (opens in new tab)

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Highest qualification for adults aged 19-64

Data used to produce these highest qualification statistics is from the Office for National Statistics' (ONS) Labour Force Survey (LFS). Since 2019, ONS have faced challenges around the falling number of responses to the LFS which has led to increased sampling variability. LFS datasets are weighted in line with population estimates. In recent years there have been several reweighting exercises to address changes in international migration and impacts as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.  The weighting applied to each estimate in this section is that available at the time of first release, therefore timeseries comparisons should be viewed with some caution, and this specific section should be considered 'Official Statistics in Development'. Please note that these statistics are rounded to 0 decimal places. 

Across the UK, an estimated 84% of adults aged 19-64 have a National Qualifications Framework (NQF) level 2 (e.g. GCSE grade 9-4/A*-C, National 5 grade A-C) or above. This decreases to an estimated 68% with NQF level 3 (e.g. A Levels, T Levels, Highers) or above and an estimated 50% at level 4 (e.g. higher apprenticeship) or above (e.g. higher national diploma, degree apprenticeship, bachelor's, master's, doctorate). The percentage qualified to each level has been on a steady upward trend in recent years, rising from 81%, 62% and 42% in 2018 for level 2, level 3 and level 4 respectively.

A higher percentage of females than males are qualified to each of these levels.

The age group with the highest percentage qualified for both NQF Level 2 and NQF Level 3 is 25-29 year olds, and at NQF level 4 or above a higher percentage of both 25-29 and 30-39-year olds are qualified.

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Education expenditure

Education expenditure in the United Kingdom for the 2024-25 Financial Year

Total UK government expenditure on education across the UK increased by 3.8% from financial year 2023-24 to financial year 2024-25. In that period, secondary education saw an 8.5% increase in spend, while primary education spend decreased slightly by 0.2%. Tertiary education spend decreased by 37% compared to 2023-24, however, tertiary education expenditure in 2023-24 was affected by changes to fair value movement analysis of Student Loans. This has the effect of inflating capital expenditure, and makes it less comparable to previous years. When assessing spend against the more comparable figure for 2022-23, tertiary expenditure spend in 2024-25 decreased by 1.1%.

Expenditure on education in real terms decreased by 0.3% from financial year 2023-24 to financial year 2024-25. Expenditure on education as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was stable at 4.1%.

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Methodology

Find out how and why we collect, process and publish these statistics.

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Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR).

OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics (opens in new tab) that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

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If you have a specific enquiry about Education and training statistics for the UK statistics and data:

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Email: InternationalEvidence.STATISTICS@education.gov.uk
Contact name: Robert Patman

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