On 16 July, the European Commission presented the 2009 edition of Key Data on Education in Europe, produced by the Eurydice Network on an annual basis. The report identifies both major positive trends and serious challenges for education systems across Europe.

The report is optimistic about:

• the increasing enrolment of four-year olds in pre-school education;
• the significant rise in the number of students in higher education; and
• the general trend towards longer periods of compulsory schooling.

In terms of challenges for the immediate future, the report highlights the demographic changes, marked both by fewer children of school age and by large-scale teacher retirement in many countries. It also states a universal trend towards increased school autonomy, accompanied by a parallel development of measures to implement regular and systematic evaluations of education systems, institutions and staff.

The report can be accessed online.

EACEA