IPSOSEDUCATION

MONITOR2025

A30-CountryIpsos

GlobalAdvisorSurveyAugust2025

Thisdocumentisinteractive,

pleaseclickthelinkstojumptothefindings

CONTENTS

r3

Challengesfacing

educationand

youngpeople

"2

Educationinmy

country:Perceptions

andexpectations

r1

Headlines

r5

Education,

technology-and

thefuture

r6

Methodology

4

Myfavourite

schoolsubjects

?IpsosEducationMonitor2025

2

PARTONE:

Headlines

?IpsosEducationMonitor2025

?IpsosEducationMonitor20254

Ataglance

34%

onaverageacross30

countriessaythequalityoftheeducationsystemin

theircountryisgood.Butviewsaremixed:35%sayit,spoor.

36%

thinkthatpupilnumbersintheschoolsintheirlocalareawillfalloverthenextfiveyears,vs25%who

expectnochangeand23%whoexpectarise.

33%

thinkmentalhealthchallengesareoneofthebiggest

challengesfacingyoungpeopletoday,makingitthe#1issue.

30/30

Inall30countries,amajoritysupportbanningsocialmediaforchildrenunder14both

insideandoutsideofschool.

Mostpopularschoolsubjects

1.History

2.Maths

3.Science

Leastpopularschoolsubjects

1.Maths

2.Religion

3.History

Keyfindings

Amajoritysupportbanningsocialmediaforunder14s

Sevenin10(71%)supportbanningchildrenfromusingsocialmediabothinsideandoutsideofschool,up6ptsfrom2024.Amajority

supportthisinall30countries,

withsupportrisinginallcountriesexceptIndia,Hungaryand

Thailand.

Mentalhealthseenasthe

biggestissueforyoungpeople

Onaverage,athirdofpeople

globallyplacementalhealthasthebiggestchallengefacingyoung

peopletoday,makingitthe#1issue.Thisclimbsto54%inSweden.A

majority(53%)saythementalhealthofyoungpeopleintheircountry

todayispoor,withGenZthemostlikelytodescribeitas“verypoor”.

?IpsosEducationMonitor2025

Youeitherloveorhatehistoryandmaths

History(32%),maths(30%)and

science(26%)rankasthethree

mostpopularschoolsubjects,

globally.Butbothhistoryand

mathsalsoappearinthetopthreeleastpopularschoolsubjectstoo(mathsat#1,historyat#3).

Eachcountry’seducationsystemfacesitsown

challenges

Thereisnouniformpicturewhenitcomestothechallengesfacing

educationacrosscountries.Everyissueinoursurveyranksasatop-threeissuesomewhere.On

averageglobally,anoutdatedcurriculumcomestop(29%).

5

Aclosinggendergaponfavouriteschoolsubjects

AmongBabyBoomers,there'sa

cleardistinctionbetweensubjectswhichwerepopularwithboys

(science,maths)andpopularwith

girls(locallanguage,literature).Butamongyoungergenerations,thisgaphasshrunksignificantly-andalmostdisappearedforscienceandmaths.

Manyexpectpupilnumberstofallovernextfiveyears

Onaverageacross30countries,36%thinkpupilnumbersinthe

schoolsintheirlocalareawillfalloverthenextfiveyears.Thisis

higherincountrieswithverylowfertilityrates.Eighty-onepercentinSouthKoreaand68%inJapanexpectpupilnumberstofall.

Youngpeopleand

Fifty-threepercentonaverageacross30countriesthinkthementalhealthofchildrenintheircountryispoor.Only37%saythesameaboutchildren’s

physicalhealth.

Whenweaskedpeoplewhatarethetopchallengesaffectingyoungpeople,

mentalhealthcomesouttop

,aheadofissueslikethecountry’seconomyandsocialmedia.

Parentsarejustaslikely

asthosewithoutkidstothinkit’sthe

mostimportantchallengefacingyoungpeople.

Accordingto

theWHO

,oneinseven10–19-year-oldssufferfromamental

disorder.

Ismentalhealthamongyoungpeoplegettingworse?

The

LancetPsychiatryCommissionon

?IpsosEducationMonitor2025

mentalhealth

YouthMentalHealth

from2024

reported:“Thereisnowsubstantial

evidenceshowingthatyouthmentalhealthhasdeterioratedsincetheearly2010s,withrisinganxiety,depression,psychologicaldistress,self-harm,andsuicide.

“SincetheCovid-19pandemic,youngpeoplehaveexperienced

disproportionatelypoorermentalhealthoutcomes.”

Likeformanyadults,thepandemichadadetrimentalimpactonthemental

healthofchildren.ResearchintheUKfoundoverhalfofteensmetthecriteriafor

post

-

traumaticstressdisorder

relatedtoCovid

.

Intermsofwhat’sdrivingthisdeclineinmentalhealth,

theLancetcited

:“The

6

growingexistentialthreatsofclimatechange,unregulatedandharmfulsocialmedia,decliningsocialcohesion,and

socioeconomicprecarity—asreflectedininsecureemployment,reduced

accesstoaffordablehousing,rapidly

growingintergenerationalinequality,

andpolarisationofpoliticalviews—havecombinedtocreateableakpresentandfutureforyoungpeople.”

This“l(fā)ossofthefuture”issomething

thatIpsoshasobservedsince

thestart

ofthiscentury

.Whilethreeinfour

believeitisnaturalforeachgenerationtohaveahigherstandardoflivingthantheirparents,formanyyoungpeopletodayinmuchofthewestthisseemsunlikely.

Continuedoverleaf.

?IpsosEducationMonitor20257

Youngpeopleand

ofparentswithschool-agechildrenthink

mentalhealth

challengesisoneofthebiggestissuesaffectingyoungpeople.

Ourresearchinto

people,sperceptions

oftheirmentalhealth

hasalreadyfoundmanyyoungadultsarestruggling.Fourinten(40%)GenZ(inoursurveythatisthoseagedbetween16and29)sayin

thelast12monthstherehavebeen

severaltimeswheretheyhavefeltsostressedthattheycouldnotcope.Only19%ofBabyBoomers(theoldest

generationinoursurvey)feelthesame.

Andthishasrealworldconsequences.Oneintwo(54%)GenZsaytheyhavehadtomissworkinthelastyear

becauseofstress.

What,sclearispeoplefeelmental

healthamongchildrenisamajor

surveyedpeoplearemorelikelytothink

problem.Innearlyallcountries

mentalhealth

childrenhavepoormentalhealththanpoorphysicalhealth.However,inmanycountriesgettingaccesstohelpis

harderforchildrenthanforadults.

Thepublicisawarethatthereisa

mentalhealthcrisisamongyoung

people.Whatneedstofollownowistheresourcestotackletheproblem.

SpotlightonSweden

Inoursurvey,Swedenisthecountrywherepeoplearemostlikelytothinkpoormentalhealthisthebiggest

challengeforyoungpeople;62%

describethementalhealthofyoungpeopleinthecountryaspoor.

Self-reportedmentalhealthproblemsamong10-17-year-oldsinSweden

increasedby100%between2010and2020.However,

similarriseshavebeen

seenincomparablecountries

.

Mentalhealthisnotjustanissuefor

youngpeopleinSweden,butthe

countryasawhole.Inourresearch

lookingat

people,sperceptionsoftheir

country,shealthservice

,68%of

Swedessaymentalhealthisoneofthebiggestissuesaffectingthecountry.

However,only19%say

mentalhealthis

treatedthesame

asphysicalhealth.

Lastyear,51%ofSwedesreportedthat,

intheprevious12months,therehadbeenseveralpointswherestresshadaffectedtheirdailylife-thehighestinoursurvey.

?IpsosEducationMonitor20258

Inyouropinion,whatdoyou

believearethegreatest

challengesfacingyoung

peopleinyourcountrytoday?

(Selectuptothreeanswers)30-countryaverage

Base:23,700onlineadultsundertheageof75

across30countries,interviewed20June-4July2025.

Affordabilityandavailabilityofhousing

18%

21%

Escalatingwarsandconflictsaround

theworld

14%

12%

Discrimination

13%

12%

Theenvironmentandclimatechange

12%

10%

Socialimpactofthepandemic

7%

5%

Noneoftheabove

1%

1%

31%

34%

Mentalhealthchallenges(e.g.,depression,anxiety)

28%

28%

Povertyandinequality

26%

23%

...'s

economy

25%

27%

Bullyingandpeerpressure

Theeffectsofsocialmediaandtechnology,suchasAI

24%

26%

24%

25%

Parentswithchildreninschool

Nochildreninschool

Gangsandyouthviolence

Poorqualityofeducationofferedin

22%

20%

...

Educationandtrainingsystemsnotmatchinglabourmarketdemands

2%

Notsure

5%

20%

18%

?IpsosEducationMonitor20259

%Childrenhavepoormentalhealth

In29ofthe30countries

surveyed,peoplearemorelikelytosaychildrenhave

poormentalhealththanpoorphysicalhealth.

Despitethis,inmany

countries,mentalhealth

servicesdonotreflectthescaleoftheproblemthat

existsinmanypeople,seyes.

Base:23,700onlineadultsundertheageof75

across30countries,interviewed20June-4July2025.

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

Mentalhealthisagreaterpriority

Chile

France

TürkiyeHungary

Brazil

Colombia

Sweden

Germany

ItalyArgentina

SouthKoreaPeruMexico

Poland

SouthAfricaUnitedStates

SInesiaIrelandBelgiumCanadaRomania

AustraliaMalaysiaGreatBritain

Netherlands

Japan

India

Thailand

Physicalhealthisagreaterpriority

20%30%40%50%60%70%80%

%Childrenhavepoorphysicalhealth

?IpsosEducationMonitor202510

Useoftechnology

EarlierthisyearNetflixdrama

Adolescencestartedconversationsaroundtheworldonsocialmediaanditseffectsonyoungpeople.Inthe

finalepisodetheprotagonist’smothersaystheythoughttheirsonwassafefromharminsidetheirhome,inhis

room,onhiscomputer.

Oursurveyfindsparentsare

morelikely

tosupportagerestrictionsonsocial

media

thanthosewithoutchildreninschool.Three-quarters(74%)of

school-ageparentssaytheythinkchildrenunder14shouldbebannedfromsocialmedia.Forthosewhodonothavechildreninschool69%feelthesame.

Fifty-fivepercentonaveragethinksmartphonesshouldbebannedinschool(57%forparents).

andsocialmedia

Whileinall30countriesamajorityfeelunder-14sshouldbebannedfrom

socialmedia,thereislessconsensusacrosscountriesonbanning

smartphonesinschools.

Europeancountriesarethemostlikelytosupport

theremovalofsmartphones

fromschools

(France80%infavour),Asiaiswheresupportislowest

(Thailand35%infavour).

ThisdivisionisevidentwhenitcomestoroleofAIinschools.

MuchofAsiais

infavourofAI

havingaroletoplayin

theclassroomandaremorelikelyto

feelthattechnologywillhaveapositiveimpactoneducationgoingforward.

English-speakingcountriesand

WesternEuropeareontheotherendofthespectrum.Theyaremorelikely

tobeinfavourofkeepingAIoutof

schoolsandlesslikelytothink

technologywillhelpeducationintheircountry.

Overthelasttwoyears,asAIhas

becomeagreaterpartofourlives,peoplearestartingtofeelmore

stronglyaboutwherethetechnologyhasaplaceandwhereitdoesnot.

Fifty-fivepercentofCanadiansfeel

thatAIshouldbebannedinschools,upfrom41%in2023(theyearChatGPT-4wasintroduced).Thesamegoesfor

socialmedia.Lastyear40%of

Germansthoughtunder-14sshouldbebannedfromsocialmedia.In2025thisfigurehasgrownto53%.

Continuedoverleaf

ofparentswithschool-agechildrensupportabanonsocialmediaforchildrenunder-14.

?IpsosEducationMonitor202511

Useoftechnologyandsocialmedia

Canyoubansocialmediaforchildren?

Indonesiaisthecountrymostlikely

tothinktheeffectsofsocialmediaisoneofthebiggestchallengesfacingyoungpeople,aswellasthemostlikelytofeelunder14sshouldbebannedfromsocialmedia.

ThisyeartheIndonesiangovernmenthasdiscussedtheintroducinga

minimumageforaccessingsocialmedia.

AccordingtotheIndonesiaInternetServiceProviderAssociation,

48%of

childrenbelowtheageof12

have

accesstosocialmediaplatforms.

Oncethegenieisoutofthebottleandchildrenalreadyhavesocialmedia

accounts,isitjustassimpleastaking

themawayandeverythingwillbefixed?Ontopofthisifthereisonething

teenagersaregoodatit,sgettingroundtherulessetforthem.Forexample,

doesbanningalcoholforunder-18sstopyoungpeopledrinking?

ThisyearAustraliabecamethefirstcountrytosetminimumagecontrolsforsocialmediaplatforms.Underthelegislationunder-16swillbebannedfromthesitesfromDecember.

In2024,

80%ofAustralianchildren

agedbetween

8-

12

usedoneormore

socialmediaservices.Underthe

legislation,socialmediacompanieswillneedtotakereasonablestepsto

ensureaccountsbelongtothose17andolder.

However,therearequestionsbeingraisedabouttheviabilityofthe

restrictions.

Facial-scanningtechnologyisseenasonepotentialareaforenforcement,butsomerecentinvestigationsfromAustralianbroadcasterABCfoundthe

technologycouldonlyguesspeople,s

ages

withinan18-monthrange85%ofthetime.

Whiletherearequestionsaroundtheeffectivenessofimplementingaban,alotofcountrieswillbewatchingtoseehowAustraliafares.

Governmentsshouldfeelemboldenedtoact,aswehaveseenthegeneral

public-andinparticularparents-feelactionisneeded.

Poland

%whosupportabansocialmediaforunder14s

?IpsosEducationMonitor202512

%choosingsocialmediaeffectsasachallenge

IndonesiaandFrancearethe

mostlikelytothinksocialmediaisoneofthebiggestchallengesaffectingyoungpeopleandarethebiggestsupportersofaban.

WhileintheUSandGermanypeopleseeitisachallenge

butarelesslikelytosupportabanthantheglobalaverage.

Base:23,700onlineadultsundertheageof75

across30countries,interviewed20June-4July2025.

45%

Socialmediaisamajorproblem

andweshouldbanchildrenfromit

Socialmediaisamajorproblembutbanningmaynotbethesolution

40%

Indonesia

France

35%

GreatBritain

NetherlandsBelgium

AustraliaIrelandMexico

Chile

30%

UnitedStatesCanada

Malaysia

Singapore

Germany

Sweden

Spain

Italy

25%

Romania

SouthKorea

Thailand

Hungary

ColombiaArgentina

Japan

Peru

20%

Brazil

15%

IndiaSouthAfrica

Türkiye

10%

Socialmediaislessofaproblembutchildrenshouldnotbeonit

Socialmediaislessofaproblemandbanningislessimportant

5%

45%50%55%60%65%70%75%80%85%90%95%

?IpsosEducationMonitor202513

Parentswithchildrenin

schoolaremoreinfavourofbanningchildrenunder14fromusingsocialmediaandbanningsmartphonesin

school.

Base:23,700onlineadultsundertheageof75

across30countries,interviewed20June-4July2025.

Childrenunder14shouldbebannedfromusingsocialmediabothinsideandoutsideofschool

74%

69%

24%

25%

Parentswith

childreninschoolNochildreninschool

AgreeDisagree

Agree2024

70%

62%

Q.Doyouthinktheuseofsmartphonesshouldbebannedinschools?

32%

30%

57%

54%

Parentswith

childreninschoolNochildreninschool

Yes,itshouldbebannedNo,itshouldnotbebanned

Yes2024

56%

52%

?IpsosEducationMonitor202514

Yourfavouriteschoolsubjectandtheroleofgender

Lookingbackontheirschooldays,peoplearemostlikelytosayhistorywastheirfavouritesubject.

Thirty

-

twopercentonaverage

across30countriessayhistorywastheir

favouritesubject,with

Americansmost

likely

tosaytheyenjoyeditmost(41%).

Mathsissomethingofa

Marmite

subject

:peopleeitherloveitorhateit.

Thirtypercentonaverage

sayitwastheirfavouritesubject,highestin

Singapore(42%).However,37%across30countriessayitwastheirleast

favouritesubject.

OneintwoRomanians(48%)sayitwastheirleastfavouritesubject.EveninSingaporetherearepeoplewhohavebadmemoriesofstudyingthesubject(28%).

Boysubjectsandgirlsubjects

Whenitcomestopeople,sfavourite

subjects,therearesomethatmen

tendedtofavourandsomethatwomenpreferred.

Menaremorelikelytohaveenjoyed

studyinghistory,physicaleducation

andcomputerscience,whilewomen

aremorelikelytohavefavouredartandlanguages.

However,ageplaysaroleinthis.The

ideaof“boysubjects”and“girlsubjects”isgreateramongtheoldestgenerationinoursurvey:BabyBoomers.

WithSTEMsubjects(Science,

Technology,Engineeringand

Mathematics)thereisnogapin

preferencebetweenmenandwomen

intheyoungestgenerationinthesurvey.

Forscience,amongBabyBoomersthereis

a13

-

percentagepoint

difference

,withmenmorelikelytohavelikedscience.ForGenZthereisnodifferencebetweenmenand

womeninenjoyingscience.

InrecentdecadestherehasabeenastrongpushformoregirlstotakeupSTEMsubjectsanditappearsthishasbeenworking.

However,womenremainunder-

representedinthesesubjects.Inthe

UK,

only31%ofstudents

studying

STEMsubjectsinuniversityarefemale.Whilesomeprogresshasbeenmade

thereisstillalongwaytogo.

?IpsosEducationMonitor202515

There’sacleargenderdivide

36%

History

Mathematics

Science

Geography

PhysicaleducationForeignlanguages

Art

ComputersciencesThelanguageof...Theliteratureof...

Religion

Noneoftheabove

Notsure

28%

amongthepopularityof

33%

28%

manyofthesesubjects,withfallingalongthelinesof

29%

24%

24%

stereotypical‘subjectsforboys’and‘subjectsforgirls’.

18%

25%

16%

15%

23%

Men

Women

Which,ifany,ofthefollowingtopicswereyourfavourite

14%

23%

21%

subjectswhenyouwereatschool?

13%

12%

18%

10%

(Selectuptothreeanswers)30-countryaverage

17%

7%

7%

3%

5%

Base:23,700onlineadultsundertheageof75

across30countries,interviewed20June-4July2025.

3%

3%

?IpsosEducationMonitor202516

Butencouragingly,formany

subjectslikescience,maths,literature,andlanguage,thisgaphasshrunkoverthe

generations.

Which,ifany,ofthefollowingtopicswereyourfavourite

subjectswhenyouwereatschool?

(Selectuptothreeanswers)30-countryaverage

Base:23,700onlineadultsundertheageof75

across30countries,interviewed20June-4July2025.

Sizeofgendergap

Moreofa‘male

favourite’amongGenZ

thanBoomers

Morepopularwithmen

GenZBabyBoomer

15

10

5

0

-5

-10

-15

ofa‘female

●

Less

-6,2

Lessofamale

●

12,9

11,3

9,6

9,7

10,5

7,9

●

●

favourite’among

GenZthanBoomers

7,2

6,1

4,6●1,3

0,9

●

5,8

0,3

-3,1

-4,3

●

●

-1,1

favourite’among

GenZthanBoomers

-9,9

Moreofa‘femalefavourite’among

-9,9-9,6-9,1

GenZthan

●Boomers

-12,2

‘

ScienceMaths

Morepopularwithwomen

History

Foreignlanguages

ReligionArtComputer

sciences

Physicaleducation

Geography

The

language

of…

The

literature

of…

?IpsosEducationMonitor202517

Science,historyand

mathsarepopular

subjectsacross

generations.ReligionandPEconsistentlyrankasunpopular.

Base:23,700onlineadultsundertheageof75

across30countries,interviewed20June-4July2025.

Q:Which,ifany,ofthefollowingtopicswereyourfavourite

subjectswhenyouwereatschool?(Selectuptothreeanswers)

GenZMillennialsGenX

BabyBoomers

Science32%Science41%History31%

History48%

Maths32%History30%Science23%

Maths33%

History28%Maths28%Geography21%

Science25%

Geography24%Computerscience24%Maths19%

Geography24%

Art19%Art19%PE19%

Q:Which,ifany,ofthefollowingtopicswereyourleastfavouritesubjectswhenyouwereatschool?(Selectuptothreeanswers)

Languageof….19%

GenZMillennialsGenX

BabyBoomers

Religion30%Maths35%Maths37%

Religion41%

PE22%PE29%Religion28%

Maths31%

Science22%Religion27%PE25%

Foreignlanguages27%

Maths19%ForeignLanguages18%Art24%

Art25%

19%

Geography17%History15%Foreign

languages

Science25%

PARTTWO:

Detailedresults

?IpsosEducationMonitor2025

Perceptionsand

expectations

?IpsosEducationMonitor2025

?IpsosEducationMonitor202520

Howwouldyouratethe

overallqualityofthe

educationsysteminyourcountry?

Base:23,700onlineadultsundertheageof75

across30countries,interviewed20June-4July2025.

GoodGood

CountryGoodNeithergoodnorpoorPoor20242023

34%

77%

71%

65%

56%

49%

46%

45%

45%

44%

43%

41%

40%

40%

35%

29%

28%

27%

24%

22%

21%

21%

20%

20%

19%

17%

15%

15%

14%

12%

11%

35%

5%

14%

16%

17%

19%

22%

22%

27%

26%

26%

31%

25%

28%

32%

37%

47%

35%

39%

33%

45%

31%

38%

43%

55%

48%

63%

51%

59%

54%

50%

33%

74%

64%

69%

55%

44%

48%

45%

42%

44%

52%

44%

41%

40%

18%

31%

26%

21%

26%

19%

21%

21%

20%

20%

20%

21%

13%

15%

11%

11%

11%

GlobalCountryAverage

SingaporeIreland

India

Australia

GreatBritainThailand

Canada

SouthAfricaMalaysia

Indonesia

UnitedStatesNetherlandsSweden

PolandSpain

Brazil

BelgiumItaly

Japan

Germany

SouthKoreaColombia

ArgentinaFrance

Mexico

TürkiyeChile

HungaryRomaniaPeru

29%

17%

14%

15%

24%

26%

31%

29%

28%

29%

30%26%

32%

28%

31%

33%

22%

37%

36%

36%

32%

46%

40%

34%

25%

34%

21%

32%

24%

33%

36%

33%

74%

63%

55%

57%

47%

42%

48%

39%

37%

53%

40%

39%

36%

19%

28%

34%

23%

26%

25%

23%

16%

25%

15%

20%

26%

18%

11%

8%

N/A

10%

?IpsosEducationMonitor202521

Overthenext5yearsorso,whichofthefollowingdoyouthinkwillhappentoschoolsinyourlocalarea?

Base:23,700onlineadultsundertheageof75

across30countries,interviewed20June-4July2025.

Country

GlobalCountryAverage

SouthKorea

Japan

Romania

Poland

Italy

Singapore

Hungary

Colombia

Spain

Sweden

Mexico

Thailand

Brazil

France

Argentina

Türkiye

Chile

Netherlands

Germany

India

Malaysia

Peru

UnitedStates

Belgium

SouthAfrica

Canada

Indonesia

GreatBritain

Ireland

Australia

Therewillbeafallinpupilnumbers

Therewillbeariseinpupilnumbers

Pupilnumberswillremainbroadlyastheyarenow

36%

25%23%

81%10%

3%

68%12%

3%

60%24%

5%

56%23%

7%

55%24%

7%

4

8%24%15%

47

%29%

8%

46%

25%19%

41%

32%14%

41%

25%20%

38%

31%23%

37%

29%22%

37%

28%19%

33%

28%21%

33%

35%17%