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 2018, at 94.8%. Greece had the lowest, at 55.3%. The median was 83.4% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 80.9%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

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Highest94.8Malta
Lowest55.3Greece
Median83.427 EU countries
European Union (27)80.9History

Map of EU countries, 2018

Austria: 88.6 %Belgium: 83.4 %Bulgaria: 78.6 %Cyprus: 78.9 %Czechia: 89.6 %Germany: 92.1 %Denmark: 84.7 %Estonia: 82 %Spain: 75.4 %Finland: 81.7 %France: 77.9 %Greece: 55.3 %Croatia: 70.7 %Hungary: 87.5 %Ireland: 84.3 %Italy: 56.6 %Lithuania: 84.7 %Luxembourg: 87.9 %Latvia: 84.1 %Malta: 94.8 %Netherlands: 92 %Poland: 83.1 %Portugal: 81.1 %Romania: 77.4 %Sweden: 88.1 %Slovenia: 84.2 %Slovakia: 83.4 %
  • Under 78
  • 78 to 82
  • 82 to 84
  • 84 to 88
  • 88 and over
%, 2018. 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, 2018

Malta: 94.8 %Malta94.8Germany: 92.1 %Germany92.1Netherlands: 92 %Netherlands92Czechia: 89.6 %Czechia89.6Austria: 88.6 %Austria88.6Sweden: 88.1 %Sweden88.1Luxembourg: 87.9 %Luxembourg87.9Hungary: 87.5 %Hungary87.5Denmark: 84.7 %Denmark84.7Lithuania: 84.7 %Lithuania84.7Ireland: 84.3 %Ireland84.3Slovenia: 84.2 %Slovenia84.2Latvia: 84.1 %Latvia84.1Belgium: 83.4 %Belgium83.4Slovakia: 83.4 %Slovakia83.4Poland: 83.1 %Poland83.1Estonia: 82 %Estonia82Finland: 81.7 %Finland81.7Portugal: 81.1 %Portugal81.1Cyprus: 78.9 %Cyprus78.9Bulgaria: 78.6 %Bulgaria78.6France: 77.9 %France77.9Romania: 77.4 %Romania77.4Spain: 75.4 %Spain75.4Croatia: 70.7 %Croatia70.7Italy: 56.6 %Italy56.6Greece: 55.3 %Greece55.3Malta: 94.8 %Malta94.8Germany: 92.1 %Germany92.1Netherlands: 92 %Netherlands92Czechia: 89.6 %Czechia89.6Austria: 88.6 %Austria88.6Sweden: 88.1 %Sweden88.1Luxembourg: 87.9 %Luxembourg87.9Hungary: 87.5 %Hungary87.5Denmark: 84.7 %Denmark84.7Lithuania: 84.7 %Lithuania84.7Ireland: 84.3 %Ireland84.3Slovenia: 84.2 %Slovenia84.2Latvia: 84.1 %Latvia84.1Belgium: 83.4 %Belgium83.4Slovakia: 83.4 %Slovakia83.4Poland: 83.1 %Poland83.1Estonia: 82 %Estonia82Finland: 81.7 %Finland81.7Portugal: 81.1 %Portugal81.1Cyprus: 78.9 %Cyprus78.9Bulgaria: 78.6 %Bulgaria78.6France: 77.9 %France77.9Romania: 77.4 %Romania77.4Spain: 75.4 %Spain75.4Croatia: 70.7 %Croatia70.7Italy: 56.6 %Italy56.6Greece: 55.3 %Greece55.3
%. 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 countries2018 (%)Change on 2017
1Malta94.8+1 pts
2Germany92.1+1.2 pts
3Netherlands92+1.6 pts
4Czechia89.6-0.3 pts
5Austria88.6-0.8 pts
6Sweden Series break88.1-0.2 pts
7Luxembourg87.9-0.6 pts
8Hungary Series break87.5+2.8 pts
9Denmark84.7+3 pts
9Lithuania84.7+0.8 pts
11Ireland84.3+0.8 pts
12Slovenia84.2+2.6 pts
13Latvia84.1+6.1 pts
14Belgium83.4+1.5 pts
14Slovakia83.4+1.9 pts
16Poland Series break83.1+1 pts
17Estonia82+1.6 pts
18Finland81.7+4.7 pts
19Portugal81.1+0.3 pts
20Cyprus78.9+7.3 pts
21Bulgaria78.6+0.9 pts
22France77.9+4.3 pts
23Romania77.4+1.4 pts
24Spain75.4+3.5 pts
25Croatia70.7+5.3 pts
26Italy Series break56.6+1.4 pts
27Greece55.3+3.3 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, 2018) [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, 2018. 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=2018. 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, 2018. 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=2018.

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, 2018 [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=2018 (Accessed: 18 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_employment_2018,
  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, 2018}},
  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=2018. 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, 2018
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=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/18
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/recent-graduates-employment-rate/eu-countries?period=2018.
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 94.8% in 2018, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

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

Greece, with 55.3% in 2018.

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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