EU countries by tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 34

Ireland had the highest tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 34 of 27 EU countries in 2022, at 63%. Romania had the lowest, at 24.7%. The median was 43.9% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 42%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest63Ireland

Lowest24.7Romania

Median43.927 EU countries

European Union (27)42History

Map of EU countries, 2022

Under 36
36 to 43
43 to 47
47 to 52
52 and over

%, 2022. 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, 2022

%. 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	2022 (%)	Change on 2021
1	Ireland	63	+0.8 pts
2	Luxembourg	61	-1.6 pts
3	Cyprus	59.2	+0.4 pts
4	Lithuania	58.2	+0.7 pts
5	Netherlands	56.4	+0.8 pts
6	Sweden	52.4	+3.1 pts
7	Belgium	51.4	+0.5 pts
8	France	50.4	+0.1 pts
9	Spain	50.2	+1.7 pts
10	Denmark	49	-0.1 pts
11	Slovenia	47.3	-0.6 pts
12	Latvia	45.9	+0.4 pts
13	Greece	45.2	+1 pts
14	Estonia	43.9	+0.7 pts
15	Austria	43.1	+0.7 pts
16	Portugal	42.9	-3 pts
17	Malta	42.5	-0.4 pts
18	Poland	41.7	-0.1 pts
19	Finland	40.7	+0.6 pts
20	Slovakia	39.1	-0.4 pts
21	Germany	36.8	-0.1 pts
22	Croatia	36	-0.2 pts
23	Czechia	34.6	-0.3 pts
24	Bulgaria	34	+0.2 pts
25	Hungary	32.5	-0.9 pts
26	Italy	29.2	+0.9 pts
27	Romania	24.7	+1.4 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, 2022) [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, 2022. 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=2022. 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, 2022. 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=2022.

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, 2022 [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=2022 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_tertiary_2022,
  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, 2022}},
  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=2022. 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, 2022
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=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/tertiary-education-attainment-25-34/eu-countries?period=2022.
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?

Ireland, with 63% in 2022, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

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

Romania, with 24.7% in 2022.

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.