Indicator 10.1 Foreign school graduates

10.1 Foreign school graduates

This indicator represents the proportion of foreign school graduates relative to the total number of foreign school leavers and graduates within a given cohort. Graduates are defined as pupils who have completed a specific type of school with a formal qualification. This also includes those who transfer to another general education school type to obtain an additional qualification. Foreign nationals are defined as all persons who are not German within the meaning of Article 116 (1) of the Basic Law (Grundgesetz), that is, those who do not hold German citizenship. This definition also encompasses stateless persons and those with unresolved citizenship status. Persons holding German citizenship alongside another nationality are not classified as part of the foreign population.

In 2023, the proportion of foreign school graduates among all foreign school leavers and graduates stood at 82.3%. This represents the third consecutive year of decline compared to the previous year. A gender-specific analysis reveals that the proportion of female foreign graduates among all female foreign school leavers and graduates was 85.2%, whereas the corresponding figure for males was 79.7%. The proportion of German school graduates among all German school leavers and graduates was most recently 94.2%, remaining very stable over the past fifteen years.

The difference between the proportion of foreign and German graduates reached its lowest point of 6.1 percentage points in 2013. However, following increased migration of refugees in 2015/2016, this gap widened significantly again, surpassing the level observed in 1996 (11.8 percentage points). The largest gap recorded was in 2017, at 13.0 percentage points. After a temporary reduction to 9.6 percentage points in 2020, the gap stood again at 11.9 percentage points in 2023. The politically established target to increase the proportion of foreign school graduates with at least a First School Leaving Certificate (formerly: Hauptschulabschluss) was not met in 2023, nor was the goal of aligning this proportion with the level of German school graduates.

When considering not only absolute proportions but also the level of attainment, it is evident that among foreign graduates of general education schools in the 2023 cohort, 30.9% obtained the First School Leaving Certificate, 39.0% left school with an Intermediate School Leaving Certificate (Mittlerer Abschluss), and 12.3% achieved the entrance qualification for universities of applied sciences (Fachhochschulreife) or the general higher education entrance qualification (Allgemeine Hochschulreife). Among German school graduates, the corresponding proportions were 14.9% for the First School Leaving Certificate, 43.5% for the Intermediate School Leaving Certificate, and 35.9% for the Fachhochschulreife or Allgemeine Hochschulreife. Notably, foreign youths are markedly underrepresented compared to their German peers, especially in higher educational qualifications.

The data underlying this indicator derive from school statistics compiled by the Federal Statistical Office from the individual Länder’ records. These generally consist of complete surveys with a mandatory reporting obligation. The aggregation of Länder results into a national figure is influenced by differences in education policy among the Länder – for example, with respect to promotion regulations or the structuring of vocational education pathways. Such differences can only be partially compensated for by formal regulations aimed at standardising classifications.