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

EU countries by employment rate of recent graduates

The Netherlands had the highest employment rate of recent graduates of 27 EU countries in 2021, at 93.4%. Italy had the lowest, at 57.9%. The median was 80.9% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 79.4%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

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Highest93.4Netherlands
Lowest57.9Italy
Median80.927 EU countries
European Union (27)79.4History

Map of EU countries, 2021

Austria: 87.7 %Belgium: 83.2 %Bulgaria: 73.9 %Cyprus: 80.9 %Czechia: 84.2 %Germany: 91.2 %Denmark: 84.1 %Estonia: 80.8 %Spain: 71.2 %Finland: 81.5 %France: 78.1 %Greece: 60.1 %Croatia: 75.8 %Hungary: 85.6 %Ireland: 86.5 %Italy: 57.9 %Lithuania: 79.9 %Luxembourg: 83.4 %Latvia: 78.1 %Malta: 87.6 %Netherlands: 93.4 %Poland: 77.9 %Portugal: 75.8 %Romania: 70.1 %Sweden: 87.1 %Slovenia: 85.1 %Slovakia: 79.5 %
  • Under 76
  • 76 to 80
  • 80 to 83
  • 83 to 86
  • 86 and over
%, 2021. 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, 2021

Netherlands: 93.4 %Netherlands93.4Germany: 91.2 %Germany91.2Austria: 87.7 %Austria87.7Malta: 87.6 %Malta87.6Sweden: 87.1 %Sweden87.1Ireland: 86.5 %Ireland86.5Hungary: 85.6 %Hungary85.6Slovenia: 85.1 %Slovenia85.1Czechia: 84.2 %Czechia84.2Denmark: 84.1 %Denmark84.1Luxembourg: 83.4 %Luxembourg83.4Belgium: 83.2 %Belgium83.2Finland: 81.5 %Finland81.5Cyprus: 80.9 %Cyprus80.9Estonia: 80.8 %Estonia80.8Lithuania: 79.9 %Lithuania79.9Slovakia: 79.5 %Slovakia79.5France: 78.1 %France78.1Latvia: 78.1 %Latvia78.1Poland: 77.9 %Poland77.9Croatia: 75.8 %Croatia75.8Portugal: 75.8 %Portugal75.8Bulgaria: 73.9 %Bulgaria73.9Spain: 71.2 %Spain71.2Romania: 70.1 %Romania70.1Greece: 60.1 %Greece60.1Italy: 57.9 %Italy57.9Netherlands: 93.4 %Netherlands93.4Germany: 91.2 %Germany91.2Austria: 87.7 %Austria87.7Malta: 87.6 %Malta87.6Sweden: 87.1 %Sweden87.1Ireland: 86.5 %Ireland86.5Hungary: 85.6 %Hungary85.6Slovenia: 85.1 %Slovenia85.1Czechia: 84.2 %Czechia84.2Denmark: 84.1 %Denmark84.1Luxembourg: 83.4 %Luxembourg83.4Belgium: 83.2 %Belgium83.2Finland: 81.5 %Finland81.5Cyprus: 80.9 %Cyprus80.9Estonia: 80.8 %Estonia80.8Lithuania: 79.9 %Lithuania79.9Slovakia: 79.5 %Slovakia79.5France: 78.1 %France78.1Latvia: 78.1 %Latvia78.1Poland: 77.9 %Poland77.9Croatia: 75.8 %Croatia75.8Portugal: 75.8 %Portugal75.8Bulgaria: 73.9 %Bulgaria73.9Spain: 71.2 %Spain71.2Romania: 70.1 %Romania70.1Greece: 60.1 %Greece60.1Italy: 57.9 %Italy57.9
%. 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 countries2021 (%)Change on 2020
1Netherlands Series break93.4+4.1 pts
2Germany Series break91.2+1.6 pts
3Austria Series break87.7-0.7 pts
4Malta Series break87.6-4.1 pts
5Sweden Series break87.1+0.7 pts
6Ireland Series break86.5+7 pts
7Hungary Series break85.6+3.3 pts
8Slovenia Series break85.1+2.3 pts
9Czechia Series break84.2-3.1 pts
10Denmark Series break84.1+0.5 pts
11Luxembourg Series break83.4+2.9 pts
12Belgium Series break83.2+0.3 pts
13Finland Series break81.50 pts
14Cyprus Series break80.9+2.5 pts
15Estonia Series break80.8+1.1 pts
16Lithuania Series break79.9+5.4 pts
17Slovakia Series break79.5-3.3 pts
18France Series break78.1+3.2 pts
18Latvia Series break78.1-1 pts
20Poland Series break77.9-5.1 pts
21Croatia Series break75.80 pts
21Portugal Series break75.8-0.2 pts
23Bulgaria Series break73.9-4.9 pts
24Spain Series break71.2+1.6 pts
25Romania Series break70.1-6.6 pts
26Greece Series break60.1+5.2 pts
27Italy Series break57.9+0.9 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, 2021) [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, 2021. 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=2021. 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, 2021. 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=2021.

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, 2021 [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=2021 (Accessed: 18 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_employment_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  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=2021. 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, 2021
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=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/18
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/recent-graduates-employment-rate/eu-countries?period=2021.
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?

The Netherlands, with 93.4% in 2021, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

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

Italy, with 57.9% in 2021.

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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