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 2018, at 46.9%. Romania had the lowest, at 17.8%. The median was 32.7% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 30.7%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest46.9Ireland

Lowest17.8Romania

Median32.727 EU countries

European Union (27)30.7History

Map of EU countries, 2018

Under 25
25 to 31
31 to 37
37 to 41
41 and over

%, 2018. 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, 2018

%. 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	2018 (%)	Change on 2017
1	Ireland	46.9	+0.4 pts
2	Finland	44.5	+0.8 pts
3	Cyprus	44.1	+1.6 pts
3	Luxembourg	44.1	+4.2 pts
5	Sweden Series break	43.2	+1.3 pts
6	Lithuania	41.7	+1.4 pts
7	Belgium	40.6	+0.3 pts
8	Denmark	39.4	+0.5 pts
9	Estonia	39.1	+0.7 pts
10	Netherlands	38.3	+1.1 pts
11	Spain	37.3	+0.9 pts
12	France	36.9	+1.6 pts
13	Latvia	33.9	0 pts
14	Austria	32.7	+0.3 pts
15	Slovenia	32.5	0 pts
16	Greece	31.7	+0.7 pts
17	Poland	30.9	+1 pts
18	Germany	29.1	+0.5 pts
19	Bulgaria	28.2	+0.4 pts
20	Malta	26.9	+3 pts
21	Croatia	25.2	+1.5 pts
22	Hungary Series break	25	+0.9 pts
22	Portugal	25	+0.9 pts
24	Slovakia	24.6	+1.5 pts
25	Czechia	24.3	+0.4 pts
26	Italy Series break	19.4	+0.7 pts
27	Romania	17.8	+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, 2018) [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, 2018. 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=2018. 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, 2018. 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=2018.

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, 2018 [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=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_tertiary_2018,
  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, 2018}},
  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=2018. 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, 2018
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=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/tertiary-education-attainment-25-64/eu-countries?period=2018.
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 46.9% in 2018, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

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

Romania, with 17.8% in 2018.

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.