The percentage of young Brazilians aged 18 to 24 who are neither studying nor working fell from 26.8% in 2016 to 22.4% in 2024, according to the OECD’s ‘Education at a Glance 2026’ report, as reported by Agência Brasil.
Brazil’s Ministry of Education stresses that this 4.4 percentage-point drop is almost double the average reduction recorded across OECD countries over the same period, which was 2.3 points.
The proportion of adults aged 25 to 34 who have not completed upper secondary education (ensino médio) also fell, from 35% to 26%, although it remains above the OECD average of 12%. The ministry links the progress to the Pé-de-Meia programme, which gives financial incentives to keep pupils in public upper secondary schools, and to Bolsa Família.
