In the competition for the best jobs and resources, education has always been a critical factor in our success.

According to available data, the proportion of the European adult population with tertiary education, i.e. with the highest level of education, varies considerably across the continent.

On average, almost a third of adults aged 25 to 74 in the European Union have a tertiary education, including from public and private universities, polytechnics, technical training institutes and vocational schools.

The level of education also varies according to age and gender.

So which countries have the highest higher education rate in Europe, how do education levels differ across Europe and which countries place more emphasis on vocational training? Euronews Next analyses the data.

How are educational levels defined?

The level of education is defined as low (below secondary school), medium (secondary school) or high (university level).

The classification of the European data agency Eurostat is based on the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) and refers to:

● Low: Pre-primary, primary and lower secondary education (ISCED levels 0-2);

● Medium: Upper secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education (ISCED levels 3 and 4);

● High: Tertiary education (ISCED levels 5–8). This includes public and private universities, colleges, technical training institutes and vocational schools.

In 2022, 31.8 percent of 25- to 74-year-olds in the EU had a higher level of education, ranging from 17.4 percent in Romania to 49.8 percent in Ireland.

Nordic and Baltic countries have more university graduates than the EU average

In the Nordic and Baltic countries, the proportion of university graduates was higher than the EU average. Sweden and Norway came third and fourth with over 45 percent of university graduates.

44 percent of the Latvian population had a university degree. In other Nordic and Baltic countries, the proportion of university graduates was also higher than the EU average.

In the UK, 43.5 percent of the population aged between 25 and 74 had a university degree. This proportion is higher than in the “big four” EU countries. France (38.2 percent) had the highest proportion, followed by Spain (38 percent).

After Romania, Italy had the lowest proportion of university graduates at 18.5 percent. In Germany, too, this figure was slightly below the EU average (31.5 percent).

In four EU countries, the proportion of the population with a lower level of education was over 40 percent

In the EU candidate countries, the proportion of the population with higher education was significantly lower.

Turkey had by far the highest proportion of population groups with a low level of education: two thirds (61.8 percent) had no upper secondary education.

In four EU countries – Portugal, Italy, Malta and Spain – this figure was also below 40 percent.

Career guidance plays an important role in several countries

Looking at intermediate educational qualifications, consisting of general and vocational education, the share of vocational training is considerably high in several countries.

The proportion of people with a vocational orientation and medium level of education was above 45 percent in nine EU countries, including the Czech Republic (63.9), Poland (52.2) and Germany (47.4).

Younger people achieve higher levels of education

The proportion of university graduates is increasing significantly among the younger population throughout Europe.

This also shows how countries have developed over the last few decades. International institutions primarily analyse the population group of 25 to 34 year olds.

More than two fifths of the EU population have a university degree

In 2022, 42 percent of the EU population aged 25 to 34 had a tertiary education, ranging from 24.7 percent in Romania to 62.3 percent in Ireland.

In contrast to the population aged 25 to 74, in the Nordic countries Finland and Iceland the proportion of people with a university degree was lower than the EU average.

In a third of EU countries, this figure was above 50 percent. Ten EU countries also fell short of the EU’s 45 percent target for 2030.

Women are better educated than men

In 35 European countries for which data are available, women aged 25 to 34 had a higher level of tertiary education than men.

In 2022, the proportion of women with a university degree averaged 47.6 percent, compared to 36.5 percent for men.

With the exception of Finland, the gender gap was significantly larger in the Nordic and Baltic countries, favouring women. Iceland (25.4 percentage points or PP), Slovenia (23.8 PP) and Slovakia (22.8 PP) recorded the largest differences.

The smallest gap was recorded in Turkey (1.3 percentage points), Switzerland (3.6 percentage points) and Germany (4.6 percentage points), showing that the proportions of women and men with a university degree are very close.

Share of population with higher education is growing

In the EU, the proportion of 25- to 74-year-olds with a university degree has steadily increased, from 19.1 percent in 2004 to 31.8 percent in 2022.

Lifelong learning: adults in education

Lifelong learning is also important because people may need to update their skills. It is also called adult education and refers to participation in adult education and training.

According to Eurostat, it includes all targeted learning activities, whether formal, non-formal or informal.

The aim is to improve the knowledge, skills and competences of the participants. Adult education is an important aspect with regard to digitalization and automation in the labor market.

In 2022, the proportion of 25-64 year-olds in the EU who had participated in education and training in the last four weeks was 11.9 percent, compared to 1.7 percent in Bulgaria and 36.2 percent in Sweden.

While the share of adult education is high in the Nordic countries, the Balkan countries have significantly lower shares compared to the EU average.