Sachsen has once again claimed the top spot in the educational ranking of Germany’s federal states, according to the 2026 Education Monitor released by the Initiative for a New Social Market Economy (INSM). The INSM announced on Monday that Bavaria secured second place, followed by Hamburg, Baden-Württemberg, and Saarland. At the bottom of the rankings are Brandenburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Saxony-Anhalt, with Bremen remaining last.
The Education Monitor revealed significant negative trends across the country, showing that the overall educational level has declined in all federal states. Furthermore, educational success is heavily tied to social background, and although there is an increase in educational mobility, it remains weakly pronounced. Axel Plünnecke, lead researcher and education economist at the Institute of the German Economy, stated that while education still provides opportunities for advancement in Germany, educational poverty has also risen. He emphasized that educational attainment plays an increasingly decisive role in whether people can maintain long-term participation in the labor market and society.
Another critical issue highlighted is the high percentage of young adults who lack formal professional qualifications, which exacerbates the shortage of skilled workers and puts pressure on economic development. Thorsten Alsleben, the managing director of INSM, referred to the Education Monitor as a “testament to poverty” regarding Germany’s educational standing and called for targeted reforms, ranging from early childhood education to professional requalification.
