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 2024, at 56.6%. Romania had the lowest, at 19.2%. The median was 39.5% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 35.9%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest56.6Ireland

Lowest19.2Romania

Median39.527 EU countries

European Union (27)35.9History

Map of EU countries, 2024

Under 31
31 to 36
36 to 42
42 to 45
45 and over

%, 2024. 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, 2024

%. 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	2024 (%)	Change on 2023
1	Ireland	56.6	+2.1 pts
2	Luxembourg	54.7	+2.8 pts
3	Cyprus	51.5	+0.6 pts
4	Sweden	50.5	+1.1 pts
5	Lithuania	47.6	+1.2 pts
6	Denmark	45.1	+2.2 pts
7	Belgium	45	+0.2 pts
8	Netherlands	44.6	+0.3 pts
9	France Series break	43.2	+0.8 pts
10	Finland	42.6	0 pts
11	Spain	42	+0.6 pts
12	Estonia	41.8	+0.2 pts
13	Latvia	40.1	+0.9 pts
14	Poland	39.5	+1.6 pts
15	Austria	37.4	+0.8 pts
16	Malta	36.3	+3.1 pts
17	Greece	35.2	+0.9 pts
18	Slovenia	34.6	+0.8 pts
19	Bulgaria Series break	33.8	+3.3 pts
20	Germany	33.6	+0.6 pts
21	Portugal	31.4	+1.6 pts
22	Hungary	31.1	+1.3 pts
23	Croatia	30.4	+1.7 pts
24	Slovakia	29	+0.2 pts
25	Czechia	27.5	+0.5 pts
26	Italy	22.3	+0.7 pts
27	Romania	19.2	+0.6 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, 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 64 years (edat_lfse_03), EU countries by tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 64, 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-25-64/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 64 years (edat_lfse_03). EU countries by tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 64, 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-25-64/eu-countries?period=2024.

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, 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-25-64/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 64 years (edat\_lfse\_03): EU countries by tertiary education attainment, ages 25 to 64, 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-25-64/eu-countries?period=2024. 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, 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-25-64/eu-countries?period=2024
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/tertiary-education-attainment-25-64/eu-countries?period=2024.
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 56.6% in 2024, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

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

Romania, with 19.2% 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 64 years (edat_lfse_03). Retrieved 2026-10-12.