Marking 37 years of Erasmus+: Key numbers and achievements
Erasmus+ is celebrating its 37th anniversary. What are the key figures that underscore the programme's success and growth since its creation?
In 1987, 3 200 students from 11 European countries (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, France, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and United Kingdom) took part in university exchanges.
37 years later, Erasmus+ has provided opportunities to over 15 million participants. These were not only students, but also learners and education professionals from other sectors that the programme has gradually been supporting.
Data on Erasmus+ mobility since 1987
Doubling participation since 2014
From 1987 to 2013, around 7.1 million people took part in the programme. Between 2014 to 2023 alone, another 8.5 million benefitted from an Erasmus experience. This means that, by 2023, the Erasmus+ programme has supported double the number of participants compared to 2014.
From the programme's inception in 1987, learning mobility has been met with increasing success through the years.
More than 230 000 projects and nearly 170 000 organisations
Between 2014 and 2024, the Erasmus+ programme contracted more than 230 000 projects and involved almost 170 000 organisations. In doing so, it helped to form a vast network of stakeholders and organisations in education and training, youth and sport, and enhance cooperation at EU level.
More than 1 million participants in 2023
This is the overall number of participants who went on a learning mobility last year. Check our map that presents outbound/inbound participants per country.
Multi-billion euro investment
Over €14.7 billion were invested in the programme from 2014 to 2020, while €26.2 billion - almost double the previous programming cycle - were allocated for the 2021-2027 period. The sums highlight the EU's commitment to education and learning mobility, helping to support key political objectives such as building a European Education Area, empowering young people, and promoting a European identity through youth, education and culture policies.
Budget overview and story behind the data