In Portugal, the share of 25-34 year-olds with tertiary attainment increased substantially over the last two decades (from 13% in 2000 to 47% in 2021). Although the tertiary education is the most common highest level of attainment among Portuguese young adults, there is still 17% of 25-34 year-olds without upper secondary attainment, 3 percentage points higher than the OECD average.
The spending per student across primary to tertiary education in Portugal is lower than the OECD average. In 2019, Portugal spent USD 10 535 per student (in equivalent USD converted using PPPs for GDP) compared to the OECD average of USD 11 990 per student.
Between 2015 and 2021, the statutory salaries of lower secondary teachers in Portugal increased 3%, less than the average across OECD countries (6%). Lower secondary (general programmes) teachers in Portugal earn 33% more than other tertiary-educated workers. Portugal is one of the few countries where teachers’ average actual salaries remain higher than earnings of tertiary-educated workers since, as a group, the teaching population is ageing and, consequently, a large proportion of teachers are close to the top of their teaching career.
Together with salaries, the working hours present some key measures of the working lives of the teachers. Following the OECD countries, the number of teaching hours per year required from teachers in Portugal tends to decrease as the level of education increases. The annual teaching hours are 965 hours per year at pre-primary level, 869 hours at primary level, and 667 hours at lower secondary level and at upper secondary level (general programmes).
For teachers, the proportion of their statutory working time spent teaching provides information on the amount of time available for non-teaching activities. In Portugal, teachers at the upper secondary level formally dedicated 51% of their working time to non-teaching activities. The average across OECD and partner countries is 56%.
The share of all 17-years-old Portuguese enrolled in the general upper secondary programmes (mainly scientific-humanistic upper secondary courses) is higher than the share enrolled in the upper secondary vocational education (57% against 35%) Still, both percentages are slightly above the OECD averages.
In Portugal, the average age of graduation from vocational upper secondary education is 20 years bellow the OECD average at 22 years old. All the graduates from vocational upper secondary have direct access to tertiary education.
In 2020, the average age of new entrants into long first degree, bachelor’s and master’s programmes were 19, 21 and 24 respectively (against OECD averages of 21, 22 and 27, respectively). The lower representation of the adult (18 years old or more) population among the new entrants in the tertiary education indicates Portugal needs to contribute further to the upskilling and reskilling of this population.
Education at a Glance 2022
Portugal
Highlights
Significant educational progress but challenges remain
Trends in educational attainment in Portugal
Educational attainment has been increasing throughout the OECD, in particular at tertiary level. Between 2000 and 2021, the share of 25-34 year-olds with tertiary attainment increased on average by 21 percentage points. In Portugal, the share increased at an even faster pace, by 35 percentage points (from 13% in 2000 to 47% in 2021) (Figure 1). Portugal is one of the 24 OECD countries where tertiary education is the most common highest level of attainment among 25-34 year-olds.
Figure 1. Trends in the share of tertiary-educated 25-34 year-olds (2000 and 2021)
In per cent
1. Data for tertiary education include upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary programmes (less than 5% of adults are in this group).
2. Year of reference differs from 2000: 2002 for Israel and 2003 for Iceland.
Countries are ranked in descending order of the difference in the share of tertiary-educated 25-34 year-olds between 2000 and 2021.
Source: OECD (2022), Education at a Glance Database, http://stats.oecd.org/. See Source section for more information and Annex 3 for notes (https://www.oecd.org/education/education-at-a-glance/EAG2022_X3-A.pdf).
Upper secondary attainment is often seen as a minimum qualification for successful labour market participation. Although the general increase in educational attainment has seen a parallel decline in the share of 25-34 year-olds without upper secondary attainment, 14% of young adults across the OECD still left school without an upper secondary qualification. In Portugal, the share is 17%, which is higher than the OECD average.
In Portugal, there has been a considerable improvement in participation among diverse student groups due to the strong policy focus on inclusion in education, with the establishment of comprehensive frameworks to provide individual support to all students who need it. Nevertheless, students’ background and personal characteristics still have a significant impact on their educational outcomes (OECD, 2022[1]).
Financial resources invested in education
All OECD countries devote a substantial share of national output to educational institutions. In 2019, OECD countries spent on average 4.9% of their gross domestic product (GDP) on primary to tertiary educational institutions. In Portugal, the corresponding share was 4.8%. Between 2008 and 2019, funding for educational institutions from all sources grew by 12% in Portugal. Over the same period, the increase in GDP was lower 5%. Consequently, expenditure on educational institutions as a share of GDP grew by 0.3 percentage points over the same time period (from 4.5% to 4.8%). Public spending on primary to tertiary education was 10% of total government expenditure in Portugal, also lower than the OECD average (10.6%) (Figure 2).
Spending on educational institutions as share of GDP or public budgets are important measures that countries place on education in their budgeting decisions. However, they do not show the total amount of funding per student because GDP levels, public budgets and student numbers vary from country to country. Across primary to tertiary education, OECD countries spend an average of USD 11 990 per student (in equivalent USD converted using PPPs for GDP) on educational institutions each year. In comparison, Portugal spent USD 10 535 per student in 2019. Its cumulative expenditure on educating a student from the age of 6 to 15 was USD 98 983, which was slightly below the OECD average of USD 105 502.
Across OECD countries, the provision of education at primary and secondary levels in terms of curricula, teaching styles and organisational management leads, on average, to similar patterns of expenditure per student from primary to post-secondary non-tertiary levels. OECD countries as a whole spend on average around USD 9 923 per student at primary and USD 11 400 per student at secondary level. In Portugal, the values are USD 8 992 at primary and USD 11 162 per student at secondary level.
In contrast to lower levels of education, spending on tertiary education varies widely across OECD countries. Expenditure per student at tertiary level in Portugal is higher than at other levels of education, as is the case in almost all other OECD countries. The average expenditure per student in Portugal is USD 11 858 per year, which is about USD 2 900 higher than that of the primary level and USD 700 higher than that of the secondary level. It is among the lowest across OECD countries. The average expenditure at tertiary level (USD 17 559) is driven up by high values in a few countries. At 25%, the share of research and development (R&D) expenditure makes up a smaller fraction of expenditure on tertiary education in Portugal than on average across OECD countries (29%).
Public funding dominates non-tertiary education (primary, secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary) in all OECD countries, even after transfers to the private sector. Private funding accounts for 10% of expenditure at primary, secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary levels on average across OECD, while this share was 11% in Portugal in 2019. At the tertiary level the share of private expenditure reached 31%, which was the same as the OECD average.
Figure 2. Composition of total public expenditure on education as a percentage of total government expenditure (2019)
Primary to tertiary education (including R&D), in per cent
1. Year of reference differs from 2019. Refer to the source table for more details.
2. Primary education includes pre-primary programmes.
Countries are ranked in descending order of total public expenditure on education as a percentage of total government expenditure.
Source: OECD/UIS/Eurostat (2022), Table C4.1. See Source section for more information and Annex 3 for notes (https://www.oecd.org/education/education-at-a-glance/EAG2022_X3-C.pdf).
Labour market outcomes
Higher educational attainment is often associated with better employment prospects and Portugal is no exception. In 2021 the employment rate among 25-34 year-olds with tertiary education in Portugal was 14 percentage points higher than among those with below upper secondary attainment and 5 percentage points higher than among those with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment. On average across OECD countries, the employment rate among 25-34 year-olds with a tertiary qualification was 26 percentage points higher than among those with below upper secondary attainment and 8 percentage points higher than among those with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment. However, Portugal still has 70% of the 25-34 year-olds with below secondary attainment employed which is 12% higher than the OECD average.
While the positive link between educational attainment and employment rates holds for both men and for women across the OECD, it is particularly strong for women. In Portugal, 63% of women with below upper secondary attainment were employed in 2021, compared to 86% of those with tertiary attainment. In contrast, the figures were 74% and 80% for men.
On average, tertiary attainment generates a wide range of labour-market benefits, including high employment rates. Yet, there are significant differences depending on the field of study. In 2021, employment rates in Portugal were highest among tertiary-educated individuals who studied information and communication technologies with 96% and lowest among those who studied natural sciences, mathematics and statistics at 83%. However, these differences need to be put into perspective. Even among 25-64 year-olds with tertiary attainment in the field with the lowest employment rate, this was 0.3 percentage points higher than among those with upper secondary attainment (all fields combined).
Across the OECD, the labour market benefits of tertiary attainment have proved especially strong during economic crises. This was also the case during the COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal. Between 2019 and 2020, unemployment for 25-34 year-old workers with below upper secondary attainment increased by 2.3 percentage points, by 3.5 percentage points for workers with upper secondary attainment and by 1.2 percentage points for workers with tertiary attainment. In 2021, unemployment for workers with below upper secondary attainment remained constant, compared to 2020 while it rose by 0.8 percentage points for workers with upper secondary attainment and decreased by 0.4 percentage points for workers with tertiary attainment.
Educational attainment affects not just employment prospects, but also wage levels. On average across the OECD, 25-64 year-old workers with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment earn 29% more than workers with below upper secondary attainment, while those with tertiary attainment earn about twice as much. In Portugal, the earnings advantage of tertiary-educated workers was even greater than the OECD average. In 2020, workers with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment earned 25% more than those with below upper secondary attainment and those with tertiary attainment earned more than twice as much.
Wages also differ according to the field of study. In Portugal, tertiary attainment in information and communication technologies generates the highest earnings. Full-time full-year workers aged 25-64 with a tertiary degree in this field earn on average more than twice as much as workers with upper secondary attainment (all fields combined). In contrast, tertiary attainment in arts leads to the lowest wages. Workers with this educational background earn on average 26% more than the wage of workers with upper secondary attainment (all fields combined).
The share of young people neither employed nor in formal education or training (NEET) provides indications on the transition from education to the labour market. In Portugal, 14.3% of young people in the age group 18-24 are NEET, 1.8 percentage points lower than the OECD average. In the age group 25-29 this percentage is 16.3%, still below the OECD average (17.6%).
An experienced and qualified teaching body but ageing, lacking the benefits of local management and with limited opportunities for collaboration
While teachers should meet minimum qualification requirements to enter the teaching profession and become fully qualified teachers, some teachers may have higher qualification levels. The most prevalent level of qualification of teachers aged 25-64 among the 25 OECD countries and other participants with available data is the bachelor’s degree. In Portugal, at all levels of school education, the proportion of teachers aged 25-64 with a master’s degree or higher, is about 88%. The high qualification levels of teachers in Portugal are explained by the requirement that teacher candidates undertake pedagogical training at master’s level in education, as part of pre-service preparation.
The teaching profession in Portugal is experienced and ageing. At all levels of the education system, 45% or more teachers are above 50 years of age, a proportion that is above the OECD average of about 40%. (OECD, 2021[2])
The salaries of teachers and school heads are an important determinant of the attractiveness of the teaching profession, but they also represent the single largest expenditure item in formal education. In most OECD countries, the statutory salaries of teachers (and school heads) in public educational institutions increase with the level of education they teach, and also with experience. Actual salaries also increase with the level of education. On average across OECD countries, actual salaries range from USD 41 941 at the pre-primary level to USD 53 682 at the upper secondary level. In Portugal actual salaries average USD 52 095 at pre-primary level and USD 50 209 at upper secondary level. It is worth noting that in Portugal, regardless of the teaching level, all teachers are paid on the same salary range, which consists of ten levels of four years each, except the fifth level which lasts two years. Therefore, the differences observed in actual salaries between levels of education results from differences in the structure of the teacher population by experience between levels of education.
Between 2015 and 2021, on average across OECD countries, the statutory salaries of teachers at lower secondary level (general programmes) with 15 years of experience and the most prevalent qualifications increased by 6% in real terms. In Portugal, salaries increased less than the OECD average, by 3%.
Teachers’ average actual salaries remain lower than earnings of tertiary-educated workers in almost all OECD countries, and at almost all levels of education. However, Portugal is one of the few exceptions to this rule, since, as a group, the teaching population is ageing and, consequently, a large proportion of teachers are close to the top salaries in their teaching career. Lower secondary (general programmes) teachers in Portugal earn 33.1% more than other tertiary-educated workers. Likewise, school heads’ actual salaries in Portugal are much higher than the earnings of other tertiary educated workers. This is similar to most OECD countries, where school heads tend to earn well above the average earnings of tertiary educated workers.
Together with the salaries, teaching hours and the extent of the non-teaching duties may also affect the decision to join the teaching profession. The average number of teaching hours per year required from a typical teacher in public educational institutions in OECD countries tends to decrease as the level of education increases. This is also the case in Portugal. Based on official regulations or agreements, annual teaching hours in Portugal are 965 hours per year at pre-primary level, 869 hours at primary level, 667 hours at lower secondary level (general programmes) and 667 hours at upper secondary level (general programmes) (Figure 3).
Regulations in Portugal specify teachers’ total annual statutory working time and the allocation of time spent at school. At the upper secondary level, 51% of teachers’ working time is formally dedicated to non-teaching activities in Portugal, compared to an average of 56% across OECD and partner countries. During their working hours, teachers also perform various non-teaching tasks such as lesson planning and preparation, marking students’ work and communicating or co-operating with parents or guardians.
Participation in professional development activities is considered an important responsibility of teachers at all levels of education, as it is mandatory for all teachers at all levels in 25 countries and other participants. Only four countries, including Portugal, allow teachers to participate in professional development activities at their own discretion at all levels. However, Portuguese teachers engage little in significant collective learning activities and many never participate in such activities as co‑teaching or peer observation. Portuguese teachers rarely benefit from formal induction programmes, few cost-free opportunities exist for ongoing professional development activities and almost no classroom observations of teaching practice occur. Similarly, Portuguese school leaders have access to minimal ongoing professional development for the purposes of developing their instructional leadership capacities (Liebowitz et al., 2018[3]).
While Portugal benefits from experienced and well-paid teaching staff, to better improve the learning environment and the organisation of schools there could be benefits from increasing relevant opportunities for the professional development of teachers, greater incentives to engage in collaborative work and giving more autonomy to schools to choose the teachers whose profiles better suit their needs (Liebowitz et al., 2018[3]).
Figure 3. Teaching time of teachers, by level of education (2021)
Net statutory teaching time in hours per year, in public institutions
1. Actual teaching time (in Latvia except for pre-primary level).
2. Reference year differs from 2021. Refer to the source table for details.
3. Average planned teaching time in each school at the beginning of the school year.
Countries and other participants are ranked in descending order of the number of teaching hours per year in general upper secondary education.
Source: OECD (2022), Table D4.1. See Source section for more information and Annex 3 for notes (https://www.oecd.org/education/education-at-a-glance/EAG2022_X3-D.pdf).
Educational supply has considerably diversified but may be too fragmented at the upper secondary level
Compulsory education begins at the age of 6 and ends at the age of 18 in Portugal. The range of ages for which at least 90% of the population are enrolled is longer than the period of compulsory education and goes from the age of 4 to the age of 17. This is similar to most other OECD countries, where more than 90% of the population are also enrolled for longer than the period of compulsory education. In Portugal, the upper secondary level is part of compulsory education and includes general and vocational programmes.
The enrolment rate of all 17-years-old Portuguese in the general upper secondary programmes is 57%, and 35% in the vocational upper secondary, slightly above the OECD averages (55% and 31% respectively). In both programs, the enrolment rate decreases with age, following the trend observed in the OECD average.
The average age of graduation from general upper secondary programmes varies from 17 to 21 years across OECD countries and is 21 years in Portugal. Differences in the average age of graduation from vocational upper secondary education are much larger and vary from 16 to 34 years across the OECD. These differences largely depend on whether vocational upper secondary students usually enrol in these programmes towards the end of their compulsory education or in mid-career. In Portugal, the average age of graduation from vocational upper secondary education is 20 years, which is below the OECD average at 22 years (Figure 4). Portugal is one of the 12 OECD countries where all vocational upper secondary graduates have direct access to tertiary education.
Figure 4. Average age of first-time upper secondary graduates, by programme orientation (2020)
In years
1. Average age is based on all graduates instead of first-time graduates.
Countries are ranked in descending order of the average age of first-time upper secondary graduates in general programmes.
Source: OECD//Eurostat/UIS (2022), Tables B3.1 and B3.2. See Source section for more information and Annex 3 for notes (https://www.oecd.org/education/education-at-a-glance/EAG2022_X3-B.pdf).
In almost all OECD countries, women make up the majority of those graduating from general upper secondary education. In Portugal, the share is 55% (OECD average 55%). In contrast, men are overrepresented among graduates of vocational upper secondary programmes in most OECD countries, as is the case in Portugal where they make up 54% of all vocational upper secondary graduates, slightly below the OECD average (55%).
In Portugal, 61% of 18-24 year-olds are still in full- or part-time education or training at either upper secondary or tertiary level (above the OECD average of 54%). A subset of these students (5% of 18-24 year-olds) combine their education or training with some form of employment in Portugal, compared to 17% on average across the OECD.
In the last few years, Portuguese authorities have been promoting the vocational education and training (VET) pathways as a measure to reduce drop-out rates, increase secondary completion rates and provide professional training to facilitate entry into the job market.
Portugal’s higher education system has expanded but needs to contribute further to the upskilling and reskilling of the adult
In Portugal, the tertiary education level is provided by a binary education system comprising polytechnics and universities.
In 2020, the total number of students enrolled in tertiary education in Portugal was 380 235. As is the case in all OECD countries, a majority of students enrolled at the tertiary level in Portugal are bachelor’s students (57%). However, the next commonest enrolment level varies from country to country. In Portugal, master's students make up the second largest group of tertiary students at 33%. This is also the case in 25 other OECD countries, while in the remaining 14 countries with available data, short-cycle tertiary students form the second largest group. In Portugal, only 5% of students are enrolled in a short-cycle tertiary programme.
At 24%, business, administration and law was the most popular field of study among new entrants into tertiary education in Portugal, which is the case in most OECD countries. Despite the growing need for digital skills and the good employment prospects of students with degrees in information and communication technologies (ICT), only a small fraction of entrants into tertiary education choose this field. In Portugal, 96% of 25-64 year-olds with a tertiary ICT qualification are employed, but ICT students make up only 3% of new entrants into tertiary education. This is below the OECD average of 6%. Education is also a field of study with the lowest demand. Only 4% of the new tertiary entrants in Portugal sought to follow a career in education. This fact, along with the ageing teaching workforce, raises concerns about a shortage of teachers in the near future in Portugal.
Over the decades, independent private institutions have been established to meet the increased demand for tertiary education. On average across the OECD, 17% of students are enrolled in independent private institutions, but this figure masks large differences between countries. In Portugal, 19% of tertiary students are enrolled in such institutions. Independent private institutions charge higher annual tuition fees on average than public institutions for master’s programmes in all OECD countries and other participants with available data, except in Chile and Lithuania.
Enabling students to enrol on a part-time basis is an important way to facilitate access to tertiary education. Many part-time students would not be able to study full time, for example because they have child-care responsibilities or have to work to fund their studies. The share of part-time students at the tertiary level in Portugal is 5%, below the OECD average (22%). It remained at a similar level (with a difference of less than 1 percentage point between 2013 and 2020)
Despite the labour market advantages of a tertiary degree, many tertiary students do not graduate on time or do not graduate at all. In Portugal, 38% of bachelor’s students graduate within the theoretical programme duration. Across the OECD, the completion rate within the theoretical programme duration ranges from 12% to 69%. Completion rates three years after the theoretical programme duration are significantly higher in most countries and the differences between OECD countries are somewhat narrower. In Portugal, 72% of bachelor’s students have graduated within three years after the end of the theoretical programme duration, compared to 68% on average across the OECD.
In all OECD countries, tertiary completion rates are higher for women than for men. In Portugal, 79% of women graduated within three years after the end of the theoretical programme duration at the bachelor’s level, compared to 63% of men. On average across the OECD, there is little systematic difference between the completion rates of public and private institutions, but the figures differ from country to country. In Portugal, 73% of bachelor's students graduate from public institutions within three years after the end of the theoretical programme duration, while the share is 69% for private institutions.
Among 25-64 year-olds in Portugal, master's degrees are the most common tertiary attainment at 21% of the population followed by bachelor's degrees at 9% and short-cycle tertiary qualifications with less than 1%. This is different from the OECD average, where bachelor’s degrees are most common (19%), followed by master’s degrees (14%) and short cycle tertiary qualifications (7%). As in all OECD countries and other participants, only a small fraction of the population holds a doctoral degree: the share is 1% in Portugal.
National averages provide only an incomplete picture of the situation in any given country. In most OECD countries, there are large differences in educational attainment across subnational regions. This is also the case in Portugal. In 2021, the difference between the region with the highest share of 25-64 year-olds with tertiary attainment (Metropolitan area of Lisbon, at 41%) and that with the lowest share (Autonomous Region of the Azores, at 17%) was 24 percentage points. These subnational variations do not only reflect differences in education opportunities. To a large degree, they are due to economic conditions and internal migration patterns.
In most OECD countries including in Portugal, tertiary-educated adults have higher rates of participation in non-formal education and training than those with a lower level of educational attainment. In 2021, 21% of 25-64 year-olds with tertiary attainment in Portugal had participated in non-formal education and training in the four weeks prior to being surveyed, compared to 3% of their peers with below upper secondary attainment.
However, higher education in Portugal is largely oriented to the needs of the traditional age groups of students. In 2020, the average age of new entrants into long first degree, bachelor’s and master’s programmes was 19, 21 and 24 respectively (against OECD averages of 21, 22 and 27, respectively). The higher education institutions offer only moderately diversified and relatively inflexible study opportunities, which is a commonly mentioned barrier limiting the role of these tertiary institutions in upskilling and reskilling (OECD, 2022[4]). Also, the population of Portugal is ageing at a faster pace than populations in most OECD countries which is likely to reduce demand for higher education among traditional student populations. This places additional pressure for higher education institutions to adjust their provision to encourage adult populations to engage in upskilling and reskilling in higher education (OECD, forthcoming[5])
Over time, the introduction of new admission routes to higher education has helped to widen and diversify access to higher education. Procedures for applicants aged over 23, initially introduced in 2006, were simplified in 2014, while more recent policies have aimed to increase participation in higher education among those graduating from the vocational tracks of upper secondary education Additionally, higher education institutions, namely the polytechnics, have adjusted their offerings to this new student population (OECD, forthcoming[5]).
COVID-19: The second year of the pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted traditional schooling in 2020 and the first half of 2021, leading to school closures across all OECD countries. While most shut down their premises entirely in the wake of the pandemic in 2020, by 2021 the situation had improved and returned to normal in most countries in 2022. In Portugal, primary and secondary schools were entirely closed for 47-62 days during the school year 2019/20, for 25-45 days in 2020/21 and stayed open in 2021/22 (Figure 5). There were no partial closures in 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22.
Teacher absences also affected the regular operation of schools during the pandemic, whether due to COVID-19 infections or because of precautionary quarantine. However, only approximately half of countries collected information on teacher absenteeism. Portugal collected such data. In contrast to many other countries, teacher absenteeism increased slightly (by between 1% and 5%) between 2019/20 and 2021/22.
National examinations have also been affected by the pandemic. At general upper secondary level, 18 OECD countries postponed their national examinations during the school year 2019/20, while 10 countries even cancelled them entirely. In 2020/21, national examinations were postponed in 9 countries and cancelled in 6 countries. Portugal rescheduled its national examinations in 2019/20 and in 2020/21.
Most countries conducted assessments of the impact of school closures on learning outcomes at various levels of education and along several dimensions. Portugal has conducted studies to evaluate the effects of the pandemic and its impact on primary, lower secondary, upper secondary general and vocational education. The assessments covered mathematics, reading and science. Like many other countries, Portugal also evaluated dimensions such as the effectiveness of distance-learning strategies during school closures, non-cognitive skills the relations between parents and students during lockdowns as well as the mental health and well-being of students and teachers.
In school year 2022, national programmes to support students affected by the pandemic were implemented in Portugal at pre-primary, primary, lower secondary, upper secondary general and vocational and tertiary level. At primary to upper secondary education, measures to address the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic included, community mobilisation campaigns to bring students back to school, early warning systems to identify students at risk of dropping out, referral systems for students in need of specialised services, additional school nutrition services, psychosocial and mental health support to students, automatic re-enrolment of students in school, tutoring programmes or financial support for tutoring and additional water, sanitation and hygiene services. The government has already assessed the effectiveness of these programmes.
The increased digitalisation of education has been a major consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic in many OECD countries. At lower secondary level, Portugal has responded to the pandemic with an enhanced provision of digitalised assessments/exams, digital tools at school, distance learning, hybrid learning, in-service digital training to teachers and digital training to students.
The challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic have created additional costs for education systems. Preliminary budget estimates for 2021 suggest that, compared to 2020, the education budget at pre-primary to upper secondary level in Portugal increased slightly (by between 1% and 5%, in nominal terms), while it increased strongly (by more than 5%) at the tertiary level.
The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on adult learning in most OECD countries. In 2020, the share of adults who participated in a formal or non-formal education and training activity in the four weeks prior to being surveyed decreased by 2 percentage points on average across OECD countries compared with 2019. However, in 2021, participation in non-formal education and training returned to pre-pandemic levels in most countries. In Portugal, a similar pattern emerged. From 2019 to 2020, the share of adults participating in a formal or non-formal education and training activity remained unchanged. From 2020 to 2021, it increased by 3 percentage points and has thus increased above pre-pandemic levels.
Young adults who are not in employment, education or training (NEET) for prolonged periods are at risk of adverse economic and social outcomes in both the short and the long term. After increasing during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the share of 18-24 year-olds who are NEET in Portugal declined in 2021. The share of NEET among young adults was 14% in 2021, above pre-COVID levels.
Figure 5. School closures due to COVID-19 (2020, 2021 and the first quarter of 2022)
Number of instruction days of full closure of lower secondary schools excluding school holidays, public holidays and weekends
Note: The data underlying this report were produced through the Survey on Joint National Responses to COVID 19, a collaborative effort conducted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Bank (WB), and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Data for other levels of education are available at https://www.oecd.org/education/Results-4th-wave-COVID-Survey-OECD-database.xlsx
1. Data for 2021 and 2022 are missing.
Countries and other participants are ranked in descending order of the total number of days lower secondary schools were fully closed during the school years 2019/20 (2020), 2020/21 (2021) and 2021/22 (2022).
Source: OECD/UIS/UNESCO/UNICEF/WB (2022).
References
[3] Liebowitz, D. et al. (2018), OECD Reviews of School Resources: Portugal 2018, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264308411-en.
[7] OECD (2022), Eduction at a Glance 2022: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/3197152b-en.
[4] OECD (2022), Enhancing labour market relevance and outcomes of higher education: Country note Portugal, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/bcf4a8e3-en.
[8] OECD (2022), Pathways to Professions: Understanding Higher Vocational and Professional Tertiary Education Systems, OECD Reviews of Vocational Education and Training, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/a81152f4-en.
[6] OECD (2022), “Regional education”, OECD Regional Statistics (database), https://doi.org/10.1787/213e806c-en.
[1] OECD (2022), Review of Inclusive Education in Portugal, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/a9c95902-en.
[2] OECD (2021), Education at a Glance 2021: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/b35a14e5-en.
[5] OECD (forthcoming), Resourcing Higher Education in Portugal, OECD Publishing, Paris.
More information
For more information on Education at a Glance 2022 and to access the full set of Indicators, see: https://doi.org/10.1787/3197152b-en
For more information on the methodology used during the data collection for each indicator, the references to the sources and the specific notes for each country, see Annex 3 (https://www.oecd.org/education/education-at-a-glance/EAG2022_Annex3.pdf).
For general information on the methodology, please refer to the OECD Handbook for Internationally Comparative Education Statistics: Concepts, Standards, Definitions and Classifications (https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264304444-en).
Updated data can be found on line at http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eag-data-en and by following the StatLinks under the tables and charts in the publication.
Data on subnational regions for selected indicators are available in the OECD Regional Statistics (database) (OECD, 2022). When interpreting the results on subnational entities, readers should take into account that the population size of subnational entities can vary widely within countries. For example, regional variation in enrolment may be influenced by students attending school in a different region from their area of residence, particularly at higher levels of education. Also, regional disparities tend to be higher when more subnational entities are used in the analysis.
Explore, compare and visualise more data and analysis using the Education GPS:
https://gpseducation.oecd.org/
The data on educational responses during COVID-19 were collected and processed by the OECD based on the Joint Survey on National Responses to COVID-19 School Closures, a collaborative effort conducted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS); the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF); the World Bank; and the OECD.