The accompanying line graphs delineate the proportions of young individuals in four countries—Norway, the UK, Spain, and Italy—who pursued secondary education until the age of 18 from 1996 to 2003, segmented by gender.
Overall, Norway consistently exhibited the highest percentages for both genders, while Spain and Italy displayed minimal advancements in educational retention over the specified period.
In the female demographic, Norway commenced at an impressive 96% in 1996, culminating at 98% by 2003. The UK experienced a moderate increase, moving from 85% to 88%, whereas Spain’s figures displayed slight fluctuations, ranging narrowly between 74% and 75%. In contrast, Italy demonstrated a gradual rise from 68% to 70% over the same period. In the male category, Norway initiated with 98%, reaching a peak of 100% in 2002 before retracting to 98% in 2003. The UK saw a notable increase from 75% to 88%, reflecting a strong upward trend.
The Italian males commenced at 65% and progressed steadily to 75%, while Spanish males displayed the least advancement, fluctuating slightly from 55% to 57%. Notably, the Spanish females started with a higher base percentage of just below 70%, ultimately achieving a modest increase to 75%. This contrasts sharply with the male counterparts whose starting percentage was significantly lower. The data indicates that, despite variations across countries, Norway maintained superior performance in educational retention, whereas both Spain and Italy exhibited limited progress throughout the given timeframe.