Data / Rankings / Employment rate of recent graduates / EU countries

EU countries by employment rate of recent graduates

Malta had the highest employment rate of recent graduates of 27 EU countries in 2014, at 93.6%. Greece had the lowest, at 44.3%. The median was 77% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 75%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

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Highest93.6Malta
Lowest44.3Greece
Median7727 EU countries
European Union (27)75History

Map of EU countries, 2014

Austria: 87.2 %Belgium: 79 %Bulgaria: 65.4 %Cyprus: 68.7 %Czechia: 81.3 %Germany: 90 %Denmark: 82.5 %Estonia: 80.9 %Spain: 65.1 %Finland: 77 %France: 75.5 %Greece: 44.3 %Croatia: 63.4 %Hungary: 78.5 %Ireland: 76 %Italy: 45 %Lithuania: 80.7 %Luxembourg: 83.8 %Latvia: 77 %Malta: 93.6 %Netherlands: 86.2 %Poland: 75.6 %Portugal: 69.5 %Romania: 66.2 %Sweden: 85 %Slovenia: 70.1 %Slovakia: 72.7 %
  • Under 67
  • 67 to 76
  • 76 to 79
  • 79 to 84
  • 84 and over
%, 2014. Source: Eurostat, Employment rate of people aged 20 to 34 not in education or training, 1 to 3 years after completing upper secondary or tertiary education (edat_lfse_24). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2014

Malta: 93.6 %Malta93.6Germany: 90 %Germany90Austria: 87.2 %Austria87.2Netherlands: 86.2 %Netherlands86.2Sweden: 85 %Sweden85Luxembourg: 83.8 %Luxembourg83.8Denmark: 82.5 %Denmark82.5Czechia: 81.3 %Czechia81.3Estonia: 80.9 %Estonia80.9Lithuania: 80.7 %Lithuania80.7Belgium: 79 %Belgium79Hungary: 78.5 %Hungary78.5Finland: 77 %Finland77Latvia: 77 %Latvia77Ireland: 76 %Ireland76Poland: 75.6 %Poland75.6France: 75.5 %France75.5Slovakia: 72.7 %Slovakia72.7Slovenia: 70.1 %Slovenia70.1Portugal: 69.5 %Portugal69.5Cyprus: 68.7 %Cyprus68.7Romania: 66.2 %Romania66.2Bulgaria: 65.4 %Bulgaria65.4Spain: 65.1 %Spain65.1Croatia: 63.4 %Croatia63.4Italy: 45 %Italy45Greece: 44.3 %Greece44.3Malta: 93.6 %Malta93.6Germany: 90 %Germany90Austria: 87.2 %Austria87.2Netherlands: 86.2 %Netherlands86.2Sweden: 85 %Sweden85Luxembourg: 83.8 %Luxembourg83.8Denmark: 82.5 %Denmark82.5Czechia: 81.3 %Czechia81.3Estonia: 80.9 %Estonia80.9Lithuania: 80.7 %Lithuania80.7Belgium: 79 %Belgium79Hungary: 78.5 %Hungary78.5Finland: 77 %Finland77Latvia: 77 %Latvia77Ireland: 76 %Ireland76Poland: 75.6 %Poland75.6France: 75.5 %France75.5Slovakia: 72.7 %Slovakia72.7Slovenia: 70.1 %Slovenia70.1Portugal: 69.5 %Portugal69.5Cyprus: 68.7 %Cyprus68.7Romania: 66.2 %Romania66.2Bulgaria: 65.4 %Bulgaria65.4Spain: 65.1 %Spain65.1Croatia: 63.4 %Croatia63.4Italy: 45 %Italy45Greece: 44.3 %Greece44.3
%. Source: Eurostat, Employment rate of people aged 20 to 34 not in education or training, 1 to 3 years after completing upper secondary or tertiary education (edat_lfse_24). Retrieved 2026-10-18.

Full ranking

RankEU countries2014 (%)Change on 2013
1Malta Series break93.6+1.1 pts
2Germany Series break90+0.3 pts
3Austria Series break87.2-2.5 pts
4Netherlands Series break86.2+0.2 pts
5Sweden Series break85+0.1 pts
6Luxembourg Series break83.8+4.7 pts
7Denmark Series break82.5+1.9 pts
8Czechia Series break81.3+0.9 pts
9Estonia Series break80.9+4.1 pts
10Lithuania Series break80.7+5.2 pts
11Belgium Series break79-0.1 pts
12Hungary Series break78.5+4.3 pts
13Finland Series break77-2.8 pts
13Latvia Series break77-1.2 pts
15Ireland Series break76+1.5 pts
16Poland Series break75.6+2.4 pts
17France Series break75.5-0.9 pts
18Slovakia Series break72.7+2.4 pts
19Slovenia Series break70.1-3.7 pts
20Portugal Series break69.5+1.8 pts
21Cyprus Series break68.7+6.6 pts
22Romania Series break66.2-1 pts
23Bulgaria Series break65.4-2.3 pts
24Spain Series break65.1+5.2 pts
25Croatia Series break63.4+8.8 pts
26Italy Series break45-3.5 pts
27Greece Series break44.3+4.3 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Employed people aged 20 to 34 who completed upper secondary or tertiary education (ISCED 2011 levels 3 to 8) one to three years before the survey and are no longer in education or training, as a percentage of all people in that group.

The indicator of the EU target that 82% of recent graduates should be employed by 2030. From the EU labour force survey. Eurostat flags series breaks (most in 2021, under the new framework regulation for social statistics); they are stored as status break.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the EU countries are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Eurostat. Employment rate of people aged 20 to 34 not in education or training, 1 to 3 years after completing upper secondary or tertiary education (edat_lfse_24). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/edat_lfse_24/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-18.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

Eurostat, European Commission. (2026). Employment rate of people aged 20 to 34 not in education or training, 1 to 3 years after completing upper secondary or tertiary education (edat_lfse_24) (EU countries by employment rate of recent graduates, 2014) [Data set]. Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/edat_lfse_24/default/table

MLA 9

Employment rate of people aged 20 to 34 not in education or training, 1 to 3 years after completing upper secondary or tertiary education (edat_lfse_24), EU countries by employment rate of recent graduates, 2014. Eurostat, European Commission, 10 Sept. 2026, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/edat_lfse_24/default/table. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/recent-graduates-employment-rate/eu-countries?period=2014. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Eurostat, European Commission. 2026. Employment rate of people aged 20 to 34 not in education or training, 1 to 3 years after completing upper secondary or tertiary education (edat_lfse_24). EU countries by employment rate of recent graduates, 2014. Dataset. Accessed October 18, 2026. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/edat_lfse_24/default/table. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/recent-graduates-employment-rate/eu-countries?period=2014.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2026) Employment rate of people aged 20 to 34 not in education or training, 1 to 3 years after completing upper secondary or tertiary education (edat_lfse_24), EU countries by employment rate of recent graduates, 2014 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/edat_lfse_24/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/recent-graduates-employment-rate/eu-countries?period=2014 (Accessed: 18 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_employment_2014,
  author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
  title = {{Employment rate of people aged 20 to 34 not in education or training, 1 to 3 years after completing upper secondary or tertiary education (edat\_lfse\_24): EU countries by employment rate of recent graduates, 2014}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/edat_lfse_24/default/table},
  urldate = {2026-10-18},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/recent-graduates-employment-rate/eu-countries?period=2014. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Employment rate of people aged 20 to 34 not in education or training, 1 to 3 years after completing upper secondary or tertiary education (edat\_lfse\_24). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/edat\_lfse\_24/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-18.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - Eurostat, European Commission
TI  - Employment rate of people aged 20 to 34 not in education or training, 1 to 3 years after completing upper secondary or tertiary education (edat_lfse_24): EU countries by employment rate of recent graduates, 2014
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/10
PB  - Eurostat, European Commission
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/edat_lfse_24/default/table
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/recent-graduates-employment-rate/eu-countries?period=2014
Y2  - 2026/10/18
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/recent-graduates-employment-rate/eu-countries?period=2014.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Employment rate of people aged 20 to 34 not in education or training, 1 to 3 years after completing upper secondary or tertiary education (edat_lfse_24). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/edat_lfse_24/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-18.
ER  -
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Questions

Which EU country has the highest employment rate of recent graduates?

Malta, with 93.6% in 2014, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest employment rate of recent graduates?

Greece, with 44.3% in 2014.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Eurostat, European Commission, Employment rate of people aged 20 to 34 not in education or training, 1 to 3 years after completing upper secondary or tertiary education (edat_lfse_24). Retrieved 2026-10-18.

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