EU countries by tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 64, 2025

Ireland had the highest tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 64 of 27 EU countries in 2025, at 58.7%. Romania had the lowest, at 19.5%. The median was 40% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 36.9%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest58.7Ireland

Lowest19.5Romania

Median4027 EU countries

European Union (27)36.9History

All EU countries, 2025

%. Source: Eurostat, Population by educational attainment level, tertiary education (levels 5 to 8), 25 to 64 years (edat_lfse_03). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	EU countries	2025 (%)	Change on 2024
1	Ireland	58.7	+2.1 pts
2	Luxembourg	55.7	+1 pts
3	Cyprus	52.1	+0.6 pts
4	Sweden	50.8	+0.3 pts
5	Lithuania	49.9	+2.3 pts
6	Belgium	47.5	+2.5 pts
7	Denmark	46.1	+1 pts
7	Netherlands	46.1	+1.5 pts
9	France	44.8	+1.6 pts
10	Finland	42.7	+0.1 pts
11	Spain	42.4	+0.4 pts
12	Estonia	42.1	+0.3 pts
13	Latvia	40.7	+0.6 pts
14	Poland	40	+0.5 pts
15	Malta	37.7	+1.4 pts
16	Austria	37.6	+0.2 pts
17	Bulgaria	35.7	+1.9 pts
18	Germany	35.4	+1.8 pts
19	Slovenia	35.1	+0.5 pts
20	Greece	34.9	-0.3 pts
21	Portugal	32.7	+1.3 pts
22	Hungary	31.6	+0.5 pts
23	Croatia	31	+0.6 pts
24	Slovakia	29.8	+0.8 pts
25	Czechia	28.7	+1.2 pts
26	Italy	22.3	0 pts
27	Romania	19.5	+0.3 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

People aged 25 to 64 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 64. Measured by national labour force surveys.

Includes short-cycle tertiary programmes such as US associate degrees, so it is higher than the US bachelors_degree_share, which also 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 64 years (edat_lfse_03). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/edat_lfse_03/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

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Rank EU countries by tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 64 using official data, and cite the source.

rank_places {"indicator":"tertiary_attainment_share_25_64","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 64?

Ireland, with 58.7% in 2025, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 64?

Romania, with 19.5% in 2025.

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 64 years (edat_lfse_03). Retrieved 2026-10-12.