Comparative analysis of the education systems characteristics in the NMS group and Romania shows that for
most of the indicators the situation is unfavourable. It can be observed that in Romania during 1997-2011, the
proportion of people with a lower level of education is high (33.5%) being with 4.7% higher than the average
recorded in the EU's new member countries. Greater number of people with lower education has as main cause
school abandoning. Early leavers from education and training are higher in Romania than the average level in
countries analyzed by 5.2%. Important differences appear among persons with skills in using computers and modern
communication systems, their weight being about 3 times lower than in EU "s NMS. Another worrying aspect is a
particularly low share of the adult population who desires professional development through the life-long learning
system. For this indicator, the lowest level within the group of analysed countries was registered in Romania in
1999. Employment rate of persons with tertiary education is the only indicator comparable to the average of the
other countries.