The European Commission published the 2023 Erasmus+ Annual Report as the programme reached the milestone of 15 million participants since its creation.
As expected at the end of the year, the European Commission (EC) published the Erasmus+ Annual Report for the year 2023. With a budget of almost €4.5 billion, an increase of 12.5% compared to the 2022 budget, the programme helped more people and funded more projects than ever before. This is the largest budget ever allocated to an international education programme. Education was on top of the European agenda in 2023 as the European Year of Skills was launched in May, highlighting the need for strong training systems across Europe. As a result of this increased budget and focus, Erasmus+ enabled almost 1.3 million people to take part in learning experiences and the programme reached the milestone of 15 million participants since its creation in 1987.
The report highlights the priorities of the programmes through specific figures. Participants with fewer opportunities were once again at the heart of Erasmus, with 200’000 people with fewer opportunities benefitting from Erasmus+. This represents 15.8% of the total number of mobile learners in 2023. This is an increase of 2.8% compared to 2022 (see SwissCore article) and gets closer to the EU target of reaching 20% of participants with fewer opportunities by 2027. The share of green mobility remains stable compared to 2022, with 23% of all participants travelling green. Similarly, the ratio between learners and staff is 74% to 26%. Higher education remains the sector where most mobility took place (39%), followed by school education (25%) and vocational education and training (VET, 19%). Youth mobility accounted for 15% and adult education for 2% of the total numbers of mobile participants. However, school education had the highest number of cooperation projects, counting more than 10’700. VET, higher education and youth followed with around 6’000 projects funded.
In the 2023 call, higher education institutions saw 443’000 participants in a learning mobility activity, 12% of which were international mobilities including non-Erasmus partners. This figure is stable compared to 2022, and Switzerland remains the second most popular non-Erasmus+ destination after the United Kingdom, as the top ten destinations remain unchanged. Overall, participants travelled to 134 non-Erasmus+ countries, which is 19 countries more than in 2022. Other types of mobility are gaining in popularity, as more than 3’000 blended intensive programmes (BIP) were funded under Erasmus+ and 4.1% of higher education participants took part in such BIPs. The share of doctoral students almost doubled in one year and now stands at 2.4%, demonstrating the growing synergies between education and research. On the policy side, 2023 also marked the launch of the policy experimentation of a joint European Degree (label), the blueprint of which was published last March 2024 (see SwissCore article).
In school education, almost 314’000 people took part in mobility activities. Interest for learning mobility in schools is growing rapidly, with a 94% increase in one year. Around 20’500 schools benefited from Erasmus+ Key Action 1, including 11’000 consortium members. Partnerships for Cooperation have become more popular, with a 42% increase in the number of projects submitted to the EC. However, only 14% of them (almost 1’000 projects) were co-funded with lump sums. In 2023, 16 new Erasmus+ Teacher Academies (E+TA) were launched. These large-scale partnerships between teacher education institutions and other stakeholders aim to develop teacher training, particularly in the areas of digital and green transition. The total number of E+TAs is 27, which exceeds the European Education Area (EEA) target of creating 25 E+TA by 2025.
More than 241’000 VET participants took part in learning mobilities. The popularity of short-term mobility has reached a new peak, with a 13% increase compared to 2022. As in 2022 and for higher education mobility, Switzerland is the second most popular destination in a non-associated country to the programme after the United Kingdom. Canada, the United States of America, Morocco and Bosnia and Herzegovina are the next most preferred destinations. Under Key Action 2, the report shows that Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVEs) are gaining in popularity, with a 43% increase in applications compared to 2022. However, the success rate remains low (14%) with 15 projects selected. The total number of CoVEs now stands at 53.