1.5 million people took part in Erasmus+ exchanges in 2024.

Omissions

• The official wording is 'almost 1.5 million people went on an Erasmus+ mobility in 2024' — i.e. the precise figure is slightly BELOW 1.5 million, so '1.5 million' is a rounding up (within ~2%, hence acceptable rounding).
• The metric is 'mobility' participants, which is broader than 'exchanges': it includes staff mobility, VET learners, adult education and youth-worker mobility, not only student/youth exchanges.
• The source is the Erasmus+ 2024 Annual Report and its Statistical Annex, published by the European Commission after the reference year; the MEP could have known this data at the session date (2026-10-21).
• The 'in 2024 alone' framing implicitly contrasts with cumulative figures; contextually, more recent (2025) programme performance reporting cites over 1.5 million participants, showing continued growth, so the 2024 figure is not the latest available at the time of the speech.

Sources

• PrimaryEuropean Commission — Erasmus+ (official programme website): 'Almost 1.5 million people went on an Erasmus+ mobility in 2024, according to latest report'"Almost 1.5 million people went on an Erasmus+ mobility in 2024, according to latest report ... With an annual budget of €4.7 billion in 2024, the ..."
• PrimaryPublications Office of the EU — Erasmus+ annual report 2024 (and Statistical Annex)"The Statistical Annex to the 2024 Erasmus+ Annual Report presents a concise overview of the Erasmus+ programme's results in 2024."