Erasmus+ Annual Report highlights support for 1.3 million learning opportunities abroad and 32,000 projects in 2023

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

The 2023 Erasmus+ Annual Report released today, showcases the programme’s achievements in supporting lifelong learning and cooperation, with a strong focus on social inclusion, green and digital transitions, and the promotion of EU values. The report also explains how the programme has supported projects addressing the consequences of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, including through funding to further boost cooperation in the area of learning.  

With a total budget of over €4.5 billion in 2023, 12.5% higher than the previous year, Erasmus+ supported nearly 32,000 projects, involving over 84,500 organisations. The programme’s learning mobility actions provided opportunities to more than 1.3 million students, learners, professors, teachers, trainers, youth workers, sport coaches and young people.   

Erasmus+ had, by the end of 2023, provided opportunities for 15.1 million people to study, train, work and volunteer abroad since its start in 1987.  

Prioritising inclusion and diversity, Erasmus+ continued to better reach people of different age groups and from diverse cultural, social and economic backgrounds. By becoming more accessible for small organisations and more inclusive for people with fewer opportunities, the programme increased in quality and progressed in ensuring equal opportunities for all. In 2023, over 200,000 of the Erasmus+ participants were people with fewer opportunities, including migrants and people with disabilities, as well as EU citizens living in remote areas or facing socioeconomic difficulties.   

In 2023, 23% of participants in Erasmus+ learning mobility activities used low-emission transport for the main part of their travel, such as bus, train or car-pooling.   

In line with the Digital Education Action Plan, the programme continued to pave the way for the digital transformation of our education and training systems. In 2023, 31,890 participants, including young people and teaching and administrative staff in all fields of education and training, undertook mobility activities and followed training activities to acquire digital skills.  

The Erasmus+ programme also plays a pivotal role in helping to strengthen European identity and values, and in contributing to a more democratic European Union. In 2023, €390.6 million funded 1,460 cooperation projects which support democratic participation.  

The Erasmus+ 2025 call for proposals was launched on 19 November 2024.  

Background

Erasmus was created in 1987, and in that year provided learning mobility opportunities to just 3,000 university students. Since then, there have been significant changes to the programme, and it has been continuously modernised. One such change has been the expansion of the programme to include countries that did not originally take part. In 2014, the name was changed to Erasmus+, marking the broadening of the programme to all education fields, as well as Youth and Sport.  

The programme offers opportunities to study, train or learn abroad. It helps to foster the European and international dimension of learning through bottom-up cooperation projects between education institutions, public authorities, SMEs or NGOs. It supports policy developments, projects, and cooperation in the fields of education, training, youth and sport. Today, it is one of the most emblematic EU programmes. 

The Erasmus+ programme continued to play a key role in the Commission’s policy response to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, in 2023 particularly supporting those who fled the war to integrate into EU learning systems, and to sustain ongoing cooperation projects. Additionally, the programme funded the printing and delivery of 1.5 million textbooks for Ukrainian pupils.  

Erasmus+ has a budget of €26.2 billion for 2021-2027.

The DiscoverEU action – supporting 18-year-olds to travel around Europe and discover its rich cultural diversity – was integrated into the Erasmus+ programme in 2021. In 2023, two application rounds were opened, with more than 289,000 young people applying for around 71,642 travel passes, confirming their interest in this action. 

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