EU countries by tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 34

Cyprus had the highest tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 34 of 27 EU countries in 2019, at 59.1%. Romania had the lowest, at 25.5%. The median was 42.4% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 39.6%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest59.1Cyprus

Lowest25.5Romania

Median42.427 EU countries

European Union (27)39.6History

Map of EU countries, 2019

Under 34
34 to 41
41 to 44
44 to 48
48 and over

%, 2019. Source: Eurostat, Population by educational attainment level, tertiary education (levels 5 to 8), 25 to 34 years (edat_lfse_03). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2019

%. Source: Eurostat, Population by educational attainment level, tertiary education (levels 5 to 8), 25 to 34 years (edat_lfse_03). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	EU countries	2019 (%)	Change on 2018
1	Cyprus	59.1	+0.6 pts
2	Luxembourg	56.1	+2.4 pts
3	Ireland	55.4	-0.8 pts
4	Lithuania	55.2	-0.4 pts
5	Netherlands Series break	49.1	+1.5 pts
6	Sweden	48.4	+0.8 pts
7	France	48.2	+1.2 pts
8	Belgium	47.3	-0.1 pts
9	Denmark	47.1	+1.3 pts
10	Spain	46.5	+2.2 pts
11	Poland Series break	44.6	+1.1 pts
12	Slovenia	44.1	+3.4 pts
13	Latvia	43.8	+2.2 pts
14	Greece	42.4	-0.4 pts
15	Finland	42	+1.7 pts
16	Austria	41.6	+1.1 pts
17	Malta	41	+0.8 pts
18	Estonia	40.6	-0.5 pts
19	Slovakia	39.2	+2 pts
20	Portugal	38	+2.8 pts
21	Croatia	35.4	+0.1 pts
22	Germany	33.3	+1 pts
23	Bulgaria Series break	32.6	-1.4 pts
23	Czechia	32.6	-0.7 pts
25	Hungary	30.9	0 pts
26	Italy	27.9	0 pts
27	Romania	25.5	+0.6 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

People aged 25 to 34 whose highest completed level of education is tertiary (ISCED 2011 levels 5 to 8: short-cycle tertiary, bachelor's or equivalent, master's or equivalent, and doctoral), as a percentage of all people aged 25 to 34 living in private households (EU Labour Force Survey).

The EU has set a target of at least 45% by 2030 for this age group. It shows recent graduates; for the whole adult population use tertiary_attainment_share_25_64. Not comparable with the US bachelors_degree_share, which excludes associate degrees and covers everyone aged 25 and over.

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. Population by educational attainment level, tertiary education (levels 5 to 8), 25 to 34 years (edat_lfse_03). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/edat_lfse_03/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

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). Population by educational attainment level, tertiary education (levels 5 to 8), 25 to 34 years (edat_lfse_03) (EU countries by tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 34, 2019) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/edat_lfse_03/default/table

MLA 9

Population by educational attainment level, tertiary education (levels 5 to 8), 25 to 34 years (edat_lfse_03), EU countries by tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 34, 2019. Eurostat, European Commission, 10 Sept. 2026, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/edat_lfse_03/default/table. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/tertiary-education-attainment-25-34/eu-countries?period=2019. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Eurostat, European Commission. 2026. Population by educational attainment level, tertiary education (levels 5 to 8), 25 to 34 years (edat_lfse_03). EU countries by tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 34, 2019. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/edat_lfse_03/default/table. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/tertiary-education-attainment-25-34/eu-countries?period=2019.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2026) Population by educational attainment level, tertiary education (levels 5 to 8), 25 to 34 years (edat_lfse_03), EU countries by tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 34, 2019 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/edat_lfse_03/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/tertiary-education-attainment-25-34/eu-countries?period=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_tertiary_2019,
  author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
  title = {{Population by educational attainment level, tertiary education (levels 5 to 8), 25 to 34 years (edat\_lfse\_03): EU countries by tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 34, 2019}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/edat_lfse_03/default/table},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/tertiary-education-attainment-25-34/eu-countries?period=2019. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Population by educational attainment level, tertiary education (levels 5 to 8), 25 to 34 years (edat\_lfse\_03). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/edat\_lfse\_03/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - Eurostat, European Commission
TI  - Population by educational attainment level, tertiary education (levels 5 to 8), 25 to 34 years (edat_lfse_03): EU countries by tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 34, 2019
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/10
PB  - Eurostat, European Commission
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/edat_lfse_03/default/table
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/tertiary-education-attainment-25-34/eu-countries?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/tertiary-education-attainment-25-34/eu-countries?period=2019.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Population by educational attainment level, tertiary education (levels 5 to 8), 25 to 34 years (edat_lfse_03). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/edat_lfse_03/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Rank EU countries by tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 34 using official data, and cite the source.

rank_places {"indicator":"tertiary_attainment_share_25_34","level":"country","within":"European Union (27)","limit":10}
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Questions

Which EU country has the highest tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 34?

Cyprus, with 59.1% in 2019, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 34?

Romania, with 25.5% in 2019.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Eurostat, European Commission, Population by educational attainment level, tertiary education (levels 5 to 8), 25 to 34 years (edat_lfse_03). Retrieved 2026-10-12.