The National Report on Education 2026

The National Report on Education periodically presents a major empirical review which covers the entire German education system. Published every two years, each report provides indicator-based information about the general conditions, features, results and output of education processes. The reports analyse the entire structure of the education system from early childhood education and school education to vocational training, higher education and adult education, based on official statistics as well as social science data and studies. Its aim is to offer a problem-oriented analysis of key developments, achievements, and challenges in the education system of the Federal Republic of Germany from a systemic perspective, based on indicators that can be updated over time. The report is thus an important component of educational monitoring in Germany.

The National Report on Education is produced by an independent group of researchers representing the following institutions: the DIPF | Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education (lead institution), the German Institute for Adult Education – Leibniz Centre for Lifelong Learning (DIE), the German Youth Institute (DJI), the German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (DZHW), the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi), the Sociological Research Institute Göttingen (SOFI) at Georg-August University, and the Federal and State Statistical Offices (Destatis and the statistical offices of the Länder). The Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK) and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) fund the preparation of the report.

Although the report as a whole is jointly authored, individual institutes take the lead for specific sections. Within the chapter “Vocational Education and Training,” the project based at the Sociological Research Institute Göttingen (SOFI) analyzes long-term developments in the vocational training system. This includes, first, an examination of structural developments in the system’s three sectors—dual system, school-based vocational system, and transition sector—as well as questions of social composition. Building on this, the report presents developments in the dual training market, differentiated by regional, occupational, and structural characteristics, and outlines key trends concerning entrants into the school-based vocational system. In the current report, particular attention is again given to training trajectories, especially early contract terminations and dropouts, which have increased significantly in recent years. The final indicator focuses on analyses of training completion and the subsequent employment trajectories of graduates. In addition, SOFI plays a major role in the report’s thematic focus sections. In this year’s focus chapter, the National Report on Education addresses the issue of educational social inequalities.

Further Information: www.bildungsbericht.de