EU countries by tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 34

Luxembourg had the highest tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 34 of 27 EU countries in 2020, at 60.6%. Romania had the lowest, at 24.9%. The median was 43.7% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 40.7%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest60.6Luxembourg

Lowest24.9Romania

Median43.727 EU countries

European Union (27)40.7History

Map of EU countries, 2020

Under 36
36 to 42
42 to 45
45 to 49
49 and over

%, 2020. 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, 2020

%. 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	2020 (%)	Change on 2019
1	Luxembourg	60.6	+4.5 pts
2	Ireland	58.4	+3 pts
3	Cyprus	57.4	-1.7 pts
4	Lithuania	56.2	+1 pts
5	Netherlands	52.3	+3.2 pts
6	France	49.4	+1.2 pts
7	Sweden	49.2	+0.8 pts
8	Belgium	48.5	+1.2 pts
9	Spain	47.4	+0.9 pts
10	Denmark	47.1	0 pts
11	Slovenia	45.4	+1.3 pts
12	Latvia	44.2	+0.4 pts
13	Finland	43.8	+1.8 pts
14	Greece	43.7	+1.3 pts
14	Poland	43.7	-0.9 pts
16	Portugal	41.7	+3.7 pts
17	Austria	41.4	-0.2 pts
18	Malta	40.2	-0.8 pts
19	Estonia	40.1	-0.5 pts
20	Slovakia	39	-0.2 pts
21	Croatia	37	+1.6 pts
22	Germany Series break	35.3	+2 pts
23	Bulgaria	33.1	+0.5 pts
24	Czechia	33	+0.4 pts
25	Hungary	31	+0.1 pts
26	Italy	28.6	+0.7 pts
27	Romania	24.9	-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, 2020) [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, 2020. 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=2020. 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, 2020. 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=2020.

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, 2020 [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=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_tertiary_2020,
  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, 2020}},
  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=2020. 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, 2020
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=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/tertiary-education-attainment-25-34/eu-countries?period=2020.
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?

Luxembourg, with 60.6% in 2020, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

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

Romania, with 24.9% in 2020.

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.