Index: Czech Republic improved its education quality in the EU by two places to 12th position

Prague – The Czech Republic has improved its position in the quality of education and research from fourteenth to twelfth place in the European Union, although spending on education has decreased from 4.9 to 4.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). The overall improvement in the Czech Republic’s position was aided by better management of advanced digital skills. The share of adults participating in further education has long been lower in the Czech Republic. This is evident from the Prosperity and Financial Health Index provided to ČTK by Česká spořitelna and the project Europe in Data.

“The highest quality of education and research continues to be found in the Nordic countries. The worst situation in these areas traditionally prevails in the Balkans, with the last trio consisting of Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece, which are performing below average in practically all monitored indicators,” said the analyst of the Europe in Data project Hana Vincourová.

In 2023, the Czech Republic allocated 4.5 percent of GDP to education according to Eurostat, while the EU average at that time was 4.9 percent. In the ranking of EU countries, the Czech Republic fell from 13th to 18th place in this indicator, the index showed. The government set in its program statement that it would strive for public spending on education and educational services to correspond to at least the level of the average of the countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in relation to GDP. According to the latest data from 2021, this was 4.9 percent.

More than 35 percent of Czechs have advanced digital skills, placing the Czech Republic eighth in the EU in this category. This is an improvement of seven positions. “Czechs have also improved compared to the previous year – while in the DESI 2023 index, 24 percent of Czechs had digital skills beyond the basics, in DESI 2024 the share has already reached over 35 percent of adults, thus clearly above the EU average of 27 percent,” the authors of the index stated.

Year-on-year, the number of patents granted per million inhabitants, applied for by Czechs through national applications or the international patent system PCT, has increased. While in the previous year’s index there were 103 such patents granted per million Czechs, this year, according to the database of the World Intellectual Property Organization, the number has increased to 126. Conversely, the number of Czech applications to the domestic Industrial Property Office shows a steadily declining trend. (May 30)