EU countries by tertiary education gross enrolment ratio
Greece had the highest tertiary education gross enrolment ratio of 27 EU countries in 2021, at 150.6%. Luxembourg had the lowest, at 20.7%. The median was 78%. Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
All EU countries, 2021
Full ranking
| Rank | EU countries | 2021 (%) | Change on 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greece | 150.6 | +6.9 pts |
| 2 | Cyprus | 106.4 | +4 pts |
| 3 | Finland | 100.9 | +4.4 pts |
| 4 | Spain | 95.4 | +3.8 pts |
| 5 | Austria | 93.9 | +5.2 pts |
| 6 | Latvia | 93.5 | -1 pts |
| 7 | Netherlands | 89.4 | +4.1 pts |
| 8 | Sweden | 85.9 | +6.8 pts |
| 9 | Bulgaria | 85.3 | -0.2 pts |
| 10 | Denmark | 84 | +1.3 pts |
| 11 | Belgium | 82.7 | +3.2 pts |
| 12 | Slovenia | 82.2 | +6.4 pts |
| 13 | Ireland | 78.5 | +4.3 pts |
| 14 | Croatia | 78 | +3.3 pts |
| 15 | Germany | 75.7 | +3.3 pts |
| 16 | Lithuania | 75 | +1.4 pts |
| 17 | Estonia | 73.2 | +1.1 pts |
| 18 | Portugal | 72.5 | +4.4 pts |
| 19 | Poland | 72.2 | +1.2 pts |
| 20 | Italy | 71.3 | +2.6 pts |
| 21 | Malta | 70.2 | +8.8 pts |
| 22 | France | 69.9 | +1.1 pts |
| 23 | Czechia | 69.8 | +2.7 pts |
| 24 | Hungary | 58.7 | +2 pts |
| 25 | Romania | 55.3 | +1.8 pts |
| 26 | Slovakia | 50.7 | +2.4 pts |
| 27 | Luxembourg | 20.7 | +0.8 pts |
Other periods
About this ranking
Students enrolled in tertiary education (ISCED levels 5 to 8), of any age, as a percentage of the population in the five-year age group that follows the official secondary school leaving age. UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
A gross ratio: students outside the reference ages and students from abroad are counted, so it can exceed 100%. It counts students, not graduates; for degree holders in the United States see bachelors_degree_share.
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
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). School enrollment, tertiary, % gross (SE.TER.ENRR). Retrieved through World Bank World Development Indicators (data.worldbank.org). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.TER.ENRR. Retrieved 2026-10-12. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. UIS does not endorse Invokely or this use of the data.Use this data in your AI agent
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Rank EU countries by tertiary education gross enrolment ratio using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"tertiary_enrolment_gross","level":"country","within":"European Union (27)","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=tertiary_enrolment_gross&level=country&within=European%20Union%20(27)&limit=10Questions
Which EU country has the highest tertiary education gross enrolment ratio?
Greece, with 150.6% in 2021, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Which EU country has the lowest tertiary education gross enrolment ratio?
Luxembourg, with 20.7% in 2021.
Where does this ranking come from?
Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, School enrollment, tertiary, % gross (SE.TER.ENRR). Retrieved 2026-10-12.