Education in Romania - statistics & facts
The Romanian education system consists of the following stages: early education, primary education, secondary education (which includes secondary lower education or gymnasium and superior secondary education), tertiary non-university education, higher education, and adult education. Since early education is optional, compulsory school usually begins around six, starting with primary education, then lower secondary education, and the first two years of upper secondary education.
Romania's education system will likely face continued challenges in reducing dropout rates and meeting expenditure goals. Despite improvements in academic achievements and increased budgets, the system remains one of the worst in the European Union, requiring substantial investments to achieve long-term improvements.
Cluj and Bucharest host the leading universities in the country
In 2023, there were 7,100 educational units in Romania and 429 students with maximal grades on the National Evaluation Exam. However, despite outstanding academic performances and university rankings, the school dropout rate remains a problem. In 2022, the European Union's average school dropout rate was 9.5 percent. On the other hand, in Romania it was 16.6 percent. Regarding famous Romanian universities, the Ad Astra Association of Romanian Researchers annually publishes a report based on international academic rankings for Romanian universities. According to their latest report, in 2023, the best university was Babeș-Bolyai University from Cluj-Napoca. The University of Bucharest and Carol Davila University also continue to uphold the high standards of Romanian education.Romania is far from reaching its set goals in education expenditure
According to Romanian law, national education should benefit from financing worth six percent of the country’s GDP. However, this amount was never achieved over the last few years. The proposed budget for education totaled only 3.2 percent of Romania’s GDP in 2023. This represented an increase of 2.56 percent compared to the share allocated in 2022. Additionally, representatives from the Ministry of Education and Research claimed that the proposed budget for education in 2023 was the largest in absolute values in the past 30 years. Since the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in Romania in March 2020, it became clear that the online education system required a higher budget. The urgency of this issue cannot be overstated. It is necessary not only to implement higher protection measures in schools but also to support online learning programs, as well as to ensure training related to online learning platforms for academic staff.Romania's education system will likely face continued challenges in reducing dropout rates and meeting expenditure goals. Despite improvements in academic achievements and increased budgets, the system remains one of the worst in the European Union, requiring substantial investments to achieve long-term improvements.
