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 2020, at 49.9%. Romania had the lowest, at 18.7%. The median was 35.9% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 32.8%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest49.9Ireland

Lowest18.7Romania

Median35.927 EU countries

European Union (27)32.8History

Map of EU countries, 2020

Under 27
27 to 33
33 to 40
40 to 44
44 and over

%, 2020. 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, 2020

%. 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	2020 (%)	Change on 2019
1	Ireland	49.9	+2.6 pts
2	Finland	47.5	+1.5 pts
3	Luxembourg	47.1	+0.1 pts
4	Cyprus	45	+0.4 pts
5	Sweden	44.6	+0.6 pts
6	Lithuania	44.1	+1 pts
7	Netherlands	42.6	+2.2 pts
8	Belgium	42.4	+1.7 pts
9	Denmark	40.6	+0.2 pts
10	Estonia	40.1	+0.6 pts
11	France	39.7	+1.7 pts
11	Spain	39.7	+1.1 pts
13	Latvia	37.8	+2.1 pts
14	Slovenia	35.9	+2.6 pts
15	Austria	34.2	+0.4 pts
16	Poland	33.3	+0.9 pts
17	Greece	32.7	+0.8 pts
18	Germany Series break	31.2	+1.3 pts
19	Malta	30.8	+1.1 pts
20	Bulgaria	29.2	+1.3 pts
21	Portugal	27.5	+1.1 pts
22	Hungary	27.1	+1.2 pts
23	Slovakia	26.8	+1 pts
24	Croatia	25.5	+0.3 pts
25	Czechia	24.9	+0.7 pts
26	Italy	20	+0.3 pts
27	Romania	18.7	+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.

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, 2020) [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, 2020. 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=2020. 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, 2020. 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=2020.

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, 2020 [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=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_tertiary_2020,
  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, 2020}},
  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=2020. 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, 2020
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=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/tertiary-education-attainment-25-64/eu-countries?period=2020.
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 49.9% in 2020, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

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

Romania, with 18.7% in 2020.

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.