Thank you for your feedback!

We understand that the question about education levels may have been confusing, especially when trying to map the German school system to the categories provided.

The answer options in our survey are based on ISCED 2011 – the International Standard Classification of Education, developed by UNESCO. This is a globally recognized framework used to ensure that education levels can be compared across countries, despite differences in national education systems.

To help clarify, here is how the German terms you mentioned generally correspond to ISCED categories:

• Grundschule → Primary Education
• Hauptschule / Realschule → Lower Secondary Education
• Gymnasium (until Abitur) → Upper Secondary Education
• Studium (university studies) → depending on the degree (Bachelor’s degree or equivalent tertiary education level / Master’s degree or equivalent tertiary education level Doctoral degree or equivalent tertiary education level)