Oecd covid survey eag indd

increased funding between 2020 and 2021 was 
most striking at tertiary level:
In response to the pandemic, 
a growing share of 
OECD countries
increased 
their education 
budgets
Countries that increased education budgets:
2020
2021
about 
75%
of countries
about
66%
of countries
63%
of countries
81%
of countries
2020
2021
Impact of COVID-19 on labour market outcomes
Unemployment increased for all adults 
from 2019 to 2020, and the rise has been 
similar across:
However, the share of young adult 
NEETs* has not changed remarkably 
between 2019 and 2020:
14.6%
in 2019 
16.4%
in 2020
Educational 
attainment
In 2020, the share of adults 
enrolled in formal and/or 
non-formal education decreased 
by 
27%
compared to 2019 
Gender
All data refer to the average for OECD countries
*Not in Education, Employment or Training 
All data refer to the average for OECD countries

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8
© OECD 2021
School closures and distance education 
during the pandemic 
Although school closures were still ongoing after the first quarter 
of 2021 in some countries, the situation improved in most countries 
during the second quarter
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted traditional 
schooling in 2020 and the first half of 2021, leading to 
school closures across all OECD countries. While most 
countries shut down their premises entirely in the wake 
of the pandemic in 2020, the situation has improved in 
2021. 
Between February and May 2021, an increasing 
number of countries reopened schools across the 
OECD. This was particularly marked for the lower 
levels of education (pre-primary, primary and lower 
secondary education), while upper secondary schools 
and tertiary institutions were still often only partially 
open on 20 May 2021 (Figure 1). While only 40% of 
countries had opened their primary schools and 30% 
their lower secondary schools by 1 February 2021, 
schools at both levels were fully open in
two-thirds of countries on 20 May 2021, with the 
others operating mostly on a part-time basis.
The exceptions are Mexico and Turkey, where primary 
and secondary schools were still fully closed by
20 May 2021. The return to full-time schooling offered 
most countries the opportunity to assess learning losses 
over the end of the 2020/21 school year and to 
implement remedial activities if needed (see Section 3).
With schools fully or partially closed, in-person 
schooling was often combined with distance learning. 
This has raised questions on the effectiveness of 
learning as students and teachers alternate between 
these two modes of delivery. Low quality, diversity 
and availability of teaching materials on line, as well 
as the lack of pedagogical continuity, particularly for 
the most disadvantaged students, risks undermining 
learning during this period. School closures will also 
impact transitions between levels of education, with 
disrupted examinations between secondary and 
higher education for example, but also between higher 
education and the labour market.
Tertiary institutions also reopened progressively during 
the first half of 2021. While more than half of the
30 responding countries reported their tertiary 
institutions were fully closed on 1 February 2021,
only 6 had not reopened them by 20 May 2021 
(Austria, Canada, Germany, Lithuania, Mexico and 
Poland). Despite the full closure of tertiary institutions in 
these six countries, some exceptions were made.
In Germany, for instance, laboratory classes, courses 
for beginners or exams could still be conducted in 
hybrid or face-to-face formats. In Poland, onsite 
learning was maintained for practical classes, such 
as in laboratories. Students in their final years were 
also offered the possibility to take part in classes on 
school premises. In Austria, while most instruction took 
place on line, exceptions were granted in specific 
circumstances for person-to-person meetings, teaching 
and examinations on campus.
1

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© OECD 2021 
9
The State of Global Education: 18 Months into the Pandemic
Schools were "fully open" as of 20 May 2021
Schools were "fully closed" as of 20 May 2021
Schools were "partially open" as of 20 May 2021
Other (as of 20 May 2021)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Share of countries (%)
Schools were "fully open" as of 1 February 2021
Pre-primary education 
(32 countries)
Primary education
(35 countries)
Lower secondary 
education 
(35 countries)
Upper secondary, 
general education 
(35 countries)
Tertiary education
(30 countries)
AUT, BFL, BFR, 
CHE, COL, CZE, 
DEU, DNK, ESP, 
BRA, CHL, CRI, LTU
MEX
EST, FIN, FRA, 
GBR, HUN, ISR, 
JPN, LUX, LVA, 
NLD, NOR, NZL, 
POL, PRT, RUS, 
SVN, SWE, TUR
AUT, BFL, BFR, 
CHE, CZE, DNK, 
ESP, EST, FIN, 
BRA, CAN, CHL, 
COL, CRI, DEU, 
KOR, LTU, LVA, 
POL
FRA, GBR, HUN, 
IRL, ISR, JPN, 
LUX, NLD, NOR, 
NZL, PRT, RUS, 
SVN, SWE
AUT, BFL, BFR, 
CHE, CZE, DNK, 
ESP, EST, FIN, 
FRA, GBR, HUN, 
AUT, BFL, BFR, 
CHE, CZE, ESP, 
EST, FIN, GBR, 
HUN, IRL, ISR, JPN, 
NOR, NZL, PRT, 
RUS, SVN, SWE
BFL, CZE, ISR, NZL
BRA, CAN, CHL, 
COL, CRI, DEU, 
KOR, LTU, LVA, 
NLD, POL
BRA, CAN, CHL, 
COL, CRI, DEU, 
DNK, FRA, KOR, 
LTU, LUX, LVA, 
NLD, POL
BFR, BRA, CHE, 
CHL, COL, CRI, 
DNK, ESP, FIN, 
FRA, HUN, IRL, 
LUX, LVA, NOR, 
RUS, SVN, SWE
AUT, CAN, DEU, 
LTU, MEX, POL
IRL, ISR, JPN, LUX, 
NOR, NZL, PRT, 
RUS, SVN, SWE
MEX, TUR
MEX, TUR
MEX, TUR
GBR, JPN
Figure 1•
Status of education institution closures due to COVID-19 (2021)
By level of education
Source: 
OECD/UIS/UNESCO/UNICEF/WB (2021
[1]
).
Institutions were still only partially open in a third of countries at upper 
secondary level and in 60% of countries at tertiary level by 20 May 
2021
Although the situation improved between the first and 
second quarters of 2021, partially open schools were 
still the norm as of 20 May 2021, especially at upper 
secondary level for more than a third of OECD and