Abitur

Abitur (German: [abiˈtuːɐ̯]; Latin: "one who is going to go away", "a journey away is made", future active participle of abire) is a university-preparatory school leaving qualification in Germany, Lithuania, and Estonia. It is conferred to students who pass their final exams at the end of their secondary education, usually after twelve or thirteen years of schooling (see also for Germany Abitur after twelve years). As a matriculation examination, Abitur can be compared to A-level, Matura or the International Baccalaureate Diploma, which are all ranked as level 4 in the European Qualifications Framework.

The Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife ("certificate of general qualification for university entrance"), often referred to as Abiturzeugnis ("Abitur certificate"), issued after candidates have passed their final exams and have had appropriate grades in both the last and second last school year, is the document which contains their grades and formally enables them to attend university. Thus, it encompasses the functions of both a school graduation certificate and a college entrance exam.

The official term in Germany for this certificate of education is Allgemeine Hochschulreife; the contraction Abi is common in colloquial usage. In 2005, a total of 231,465 students passed the Abitur exam in Germany. The numbers have risen steadily and in 2012, a total of 305,172 students obtained the Allgemeine Hochschulreife. This number, reflecting those who pass the traditional Abitur at their high school, is, however, lower than the total count. Adding (for 2012) the 51,912 students who obtained the Hochschulreife at vocational training schools, that total number increases to 357,084. If those who obtain the Fachhochschulreife (144,399 in 2012) are also added, then the total of those who obtained the right to study at a university or a Fachhochschule is 501,483 (2012).

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