The percentage of 'early school leavers' in Malta has improved considerably in the past 11 years, from 32.2 per cent in 2006 to 18.6 per cent in 2017, but remains the worst rate in the European Union.

Eurostat reported on Wednesday that compared with 2006, the proportion of early leavers from education and training decreased in 2017 in all member states for which the time-series is available, except the Czech Republic (increase from 5.1% to 6.7%), Romania (from 17.9% to 18.1%) and Slovakia (from 6.6% to 9.3%).

In 2017, the lowest proportions of 'early school leavers' were observed in Croatia (3.1%). In Malta, the proportion in 2017 stood at 21.9 per cent for men and 15.1 per cent for women.

The EU target is 10 per cent by 2020. Fourteen member states have already reached this.

The EU is also hoping to have at least 40 per cent of 30-34-year-olds who have completed tertiary education by 2020. This share continued to steadily increase, from 23.6 per cent in 2002 when the series started to 39.9 per cent in 2017.

In 2017, the proportion of those aged 30 to 34 who had completed tertiary education increased compared with 2002 in every Member State for which the time-series is available.

In Malta, the rate was just 9.3 per cent in 2002, rising to 30 per cent in 2017.