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 2024, at 65.2%. Romania had the lowest, at 23.2%. The median was 44.5% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 43.9%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest65.2Ireland

Lowest23.2Romania

Median44.527 EU countries

European Union (27)43.9History

Map of EU countries, 2024

Under 39
39 to 43
43 to 47
47 to 54
54 and over

%, 2024. 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, 2024

%. 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	2024 (%)	Change on 2023
1	Ireland	65.2	+2.5 pts
2	Luxembourg	63.8	+3.6 pts
3	Cyprus	60.3	-1.4 pts
4	Lithuania	58.2	+0.8 pts
5	Netherlands	55.1	+0.6 pts
6	Sweden	54.4	+0.3 pts
7	France Series break	53.1	+1.2 pts
8	Spain	52.6	+0.6 pts
9	Denmark	51.2	+2.2 pts
10	Belgium	50.7	+0.7 pts
11	Malta	47.1	+0.9 pts
12	Poland	45.7	-0.6 pts
13	Latvia	45	-0.1 pts
14	Greece	44.5	0 pts
15	Austria	44.1	+0.6 pts
16	Portugal	43.2	+1.7 pts
17	Slovenia	43.1	+2.4 pts
18	Estonia	42.7	-0.8 pts
19	Bulgaria Series break	40.5	+4.7 pts
20	Croatia	39.4	+0.6 pts
21	Finland	39.1	-0.1 pts
21	Germany	39.1	+1.2 pts
23	Slovakia	37.2	-2.6 pts
24	Czechia	33.5	-0.2 pts
25	Hungary	32.3	+2.2 pts
26	Italy	31.6	+1 pts
27	Romania	23.2	+0.7 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, 2024) [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, 2024. 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=2024. 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, 2024. 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=2024.

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, 2024 [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=2024 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_tertiary_2024,
  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, 2024}},
  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=2024. 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, 2024
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=2024
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/tertiary-education-attainment-25-34/eu-countries?period=2024.
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 65.2% in 2024, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

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

Romania, with 23.2% in 2024.

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.