Education in Thessaloniki (Central Macedonia, Greece): official figures
Graduates made up 39.6% of the economically active population of the Thessaloniki regional unit in 2021 (34.6% in Greece), 4th highest of 52 among the NUTS3 areas.
How many people in the Thessaloniki regional unit have a degree?
268,626 residents of the Thessaloniki regional unit held a university-level degree in 2021, 246 per 1,000 residents; 65,563 of them had a master's or doctorate, including 11,987 doctorate holders.
Source: Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) · saved copyAre graduates unemployed in the Thessaloniki regional unit?
Unemployment among graduates in the Thessaloniki regional unit was 11.7% at the 2021 census, compared with 16.1% for the whole labour force.
Source: Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) · saved copyWhat is the illiteracy rate in the Thessaloniki regional unit?
The 2021 census recorded 8,257 people in the Thessaloniki regional unit who cannot read or write, 7.6 per 1,000 residents (Greece: 12.5).
Source: Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) · saved copyHow many primary schools are there in the Thessaloniki regional unit?
58,129 pupils were enrolled in 323 primary schools in the Thessaloniki regional unit at the end of the 2023/24 school year, taught by 7,562 teachers.
Source: Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) · saved copyWhat is the pupil-teacher ratio in the Thessaloniki regional unit?
Primary schools in the Thessaloniki regional unit had 7.7 pupils per teacher in 2023/24 (Greece: 7.2), 10th highest of 48 among areas with separate figures.
Source: Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) · saved copyHow many secondary schools are there in the Thessaloniki regional unit?
The Thessaloniki regional unit had 158 gymnasia (lower secondary schools) with 35,127 pupils and 3,819 teachers at the end of 2023/24, 9.2 pupils per teacher.
Source: Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) · saved copyWhat is the school dropout rate in the Thessaloniki regional unit?
290 gymnasium pupils in the Thessaloniki regional unit dropped out during 2023/24, 0.82% of enrolments against 0.67% nationally, 15th highest of 48 among areas with separate figures.
Source: Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) · saved copyMore figures
- 5.3% of the labour force in the Thessaloniki regional unit had at most a primary-school education in 2021 (9.2% nationally). Source: Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) · saved copy
- 533 primary pupils in the Thessaloniki regional unit stopped attending school without justification in 2023/24. Source: Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) · saved copy
How Thessaloniki compares with other regional units in Greece
Share of the labour force holding a degree, 2021 census (2021)
Thessaloniki ranks 4 of 52, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Share of the labour force holding a degree, 2021 census |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Voreios Tomeas Athinon | 58.2% |
| 2 | Notios Tomeas Athinon | 45.3% |
| 3 | Kentrikos Tomeas Athinon | 42.3% |
| 4 | Thessaloniki | 39.6% |
| 5 | Chios | 38.3% |
| 6 | Anatoliki Attiki | 37.9% |
| 7 | Ioannina | 37.5% |
Unemployment rate among graduates, 2021 census (2021)
Thessaloniki ranks 29 of 52, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Unemployment rate among graduates, 2021 census |
|---|---|---|
| 26 | Argolida, Arkadia | 11.9% |
| 27 | Thasos, Kavala | 11.9% |
| 28 | Lefkada | 11.7% |
| 29 | Thessaloniki | 11.7% |
| 30 | Evvoia | 11.6% |
| 31 | Lakonia, Messinia | 11.6% |
| 32 | Ikaria, Samos | 11.3% |
Primary pupils per teacher, 2023/24 (2023/24)
Thessaloniki ranks 10 of 48, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Primary pupils per teacher, 2023/24 |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Zakynthos | 7.8 |
| 8 | Ioannina | 7.7 |
| 9 | Kalymnos, Karpathos – Iroiki Nisos Kasos, Kos, Rodos | 7.7 |
| 10 | Thessaloniki | 7.7 |
| 11 | Argolida, Arkadia | 7.7 |
| 12 | Korinthia | 7.6 |
| 13 | Achaia | 7.6 |
Gymnasium dropout rate, 2023/24 (2023/24)
Thessaloniki ranks 15 of 48, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Gymnasium dropout rate, 2023/24 |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | Rodopi | 1.11% |
| 13 | Lasithi | 1.01% |
| 14 | Lakonia, Messinia | 1.00% |
| 15 | Thessaloniki | 0.82% |
| 16 | Chania | 0.77% |
| 17 | Argolida, Arkadia | 0.64% |
| 18 | Fthiotida | 0.64% |
More on Thessaloniki: overview · economy and jobs · health · poverty and living standards · government and politics · Central Macedonia · Greece
Sources
- Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT): 2021 Population-Housing Census tables SAM04 A01 (residents by sex, education and activity status, regional units), SAM04 B03 (same, municipalities), SAM05 A01 (conventional dwellings by occupancy, period of construction and building type), SAM05 A07 (occupied dwellings by floor space per person) and SAM05 B02 (occupied dwellings by tenure), read 24 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 86872ba6c2c0…)
- Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT): Primary schools (SED12 tables 01L, 04L, 13L, 14L) and lower secondary schools / gymnasia (SED21 tables 01L, 04AL, 08L, 09L) by region and prefecture, end of school year 2023/24, read 24 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 ed8244b2e393…)
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