EU countries by tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 64

Ireland had the highest tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 64 of 27 EU countries in 2017, at 46.5%. Romania had the lowest, at 17.6%. The median was 32.5% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 29.9%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest46.5Ireland

Lowest17.6Romania

Median32.527 EU countries

European Union (27)29.9History

Map of EU countries, 2017

Under 24
24 to 30
30 to 36
36 to 40
40 and over

%, 2017. Source: Eurostat, Population by educational attainment level, tertiary education (levels 5 to 8), 25 to 64 years (edat_lfse_03). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2017

%. 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	2017 (%)	Change on 2016
1	Ireland Series break	46.5	+1.4 pts
2	Finland	43.7	+0.6 pts
3	Cyprus	42.5	+0.6 pts
4	Sweden	41.9	+0.8 pts
5	Belgium Series break	40.3	+2.8 pts
5	Lithuania	40.3	+0.6 pts
7	Luxembourg Low reliability	39.9	-2.7 pts
8	Denmark Series break	38.9	+1.1 pts
9	Estonia	38.4	+0.7 pts
10	Netherlands	37.2	+1.2 pts
11	Spain	36.4	+0.7 pts
12	France	35.3	+0.7 pts
13	Latvia	33.9	+0.5 pts
14	Slovenia	32.5	+1.8 pts
15	Austria	32.4	+1 pts
16	Greece	31	+0.8 pts
17	Poland	29.9	+1.2 pts
18	Germany	28.6	+0.3 pts
19	Bulgaria	27.8	+0.1 pts
20	Hungary	24.1	+0.4 pts
20	Portugal	24.1	+0.3 pts
22	Czechia	23.9	+0.9 pts
22	Malta	23.9	+1.8 pts
24	Croatia	23.7	+0.7 pts
25	Slovakia	23.1	+1.1 pts
26	Italy	18.7	+1 pts
27	Romania	17.6	+0.2 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.

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 64 years (edat_lfse_03) (EU countries by tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 64, 2017) [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 64 years (edat_lfse_03), EU countries by tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 64, 2017. 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-25-64/eu-countries?period=2017. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Eurostat, European Commission. 2026. Population by educational attainment level, tertiary education (levels 5 to 8), 25 to 64 years (edat_lfse_03). EU countries by tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 64, 2017. 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-25-64/eu-countries?period=2017.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2026) Population by educational attainment level, tertiary education (levels 5 to 8), 25 to 64 years (edat_lfse_03), EU countries by tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 64, 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/edat_lfse_03/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/tertiary-education-attainment-25-64/eu-countries?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_tertiary_2017,
  author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
  title = {{Population by educational attainment level, tertiary education (levels 5 to 8), 25 to 64 years (edat\_lfse\_03): EU countries by tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 64, 2017}},
  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-25-64/eu-countries?period=2017. Publisher attribution: 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.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - Eurostat, European Commission
TI  - Population by educational attainment level, tertiary education (levels 5 to 8), 25 to 64 years (edat_lfse_03): EU countries by tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 64, 2017
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-25-64/eu-countries?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/tertiary-education-attainment-25-64/eu-countries?period=2017.
N1  - Publisher attribution: 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.
ER  -

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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 46.5% in 2017, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

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

Romania, with 17.6% in 2017.

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.