In 2005, more than half the region’s 388 000 employees between the ages of 18 and 64 had only 12 years or less of schooling (see figure 1.6.). In 2005, 52.8% of 12th grade pupils in the Galilee (Northern District) earned a matriculation certificate, compared with the national average of 55.1%. Due to limited accessibility of higher education, in 2004 only 39% school graduates from the Galilee enrolled in the first year of post-secondary studies in one of Israel’s higher education institutions, compared with the national average of 43.9%.