The proportion of the population that has higher education is higher in the Nordic and Baltic countries. Young people and women also achieve higher levels of education across Europe.
The percentage of the population with higher education, which is the highest level of education, varies considerably across Europe. On average, almost a third of the EU population aged between 25 and 74 has a higher education degree, including public and private universities, colleges, technical training institutes and vocational schools. Educational level also varies with age and sex.
But which countries have the highest rates of higher education in Europe? How do educational levels vary? ¿Which countries pay more attention to vocational training?
How are educational levels defined?
Educational levels are defined as low (less than high school), medium (high school) the high (university studios). The Eurostat classification is based on the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED), and refers to:
● Baja: preschool, primary and lower secondary education (ISCED levels 0-2);
● Media: upper secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education (ISCED levels 3 and 4);
● Alta: tertiary education (ISCED levels 5-8). It includes public and private universities, colleges, technical training institutes and vocational schools.
In 2022, 31.8% of Europeans between 25 and 74 years old had a higher educational level, ranging from 17.4% in Romania and 49.8% in Ireland.
Nordic and Baltic countries lead higher education
The proportion of higher graduates was higher than the EU average in the Nordic and Baltic countries. Sweden and Norway They occupied third and fourth place, with more than 45% having higher education degrees.
44% of Latvia’s population also had a higher education degree. Other Nordic and Baltic countries also presented higher percentages to the EU average in higher education.
In it United Kingdom43.5% of the population aged 25 to 74 had higher education, a higher percentage than in the “Big Four” EU countries. France (38.2%) had the highest proportion among them, followed by Spain (38%).
After Romania, Italy is the second country with the lowest percentage of higher graduates, with 18.5%. This figure was also slightly lower than the EU average in Germany (31.5%).
The percentage of the population with higher education was significantly lower in the candidate countries a accession to the EU.
The population with lower education exceeded 40% in four EU countries
Türkiye had the largest proportion of population with low level of educationby far, since two thirds (61.8%) had a level of education less than upper secondary education.
This figure was also less than 40% in four EU countries: Portugal, Italy, Malta and Spain.
Career guidance plays an important role in several countries
If we look at the details of the average educational level, the proportion of vocational training is considerably high in several countries.
ADVERTISINGThe proportion of people with vocational training at the secondary educational level exceeded 45% in nine EU countriesamong them the Czech Republic (63.9%), Poland (52.2%) and Germany (47.4%).
Younger people reach higher educational levels
The proportion of higher graduates increases considerably among the youngest population throughout Europe. This also indicates the evolution of countries in recent decades.
The level of the population from 25 to 34 years old is widely analyzed by international institutions.
More than two fifths of the EU population have higher education
In 2022, 42% of the EU population 25 to 34 years old had a higher education degree. It varies between 24.7% in Romania and 62.3% in Ireland.
ADVERTISINGBoth Finland like iceland They had a lower percentage of tertiary education to the EU average.
This figure exceeded 50% in a third of EU countrieswhich has set a general objective of 45% by 2030.
Women study more
In 35 European countries for which data are available, women aged 25 to 34 had higher rates of higher education than men. In 2022, on average, the proportion of women with higher education was 47.6%, while for men it was 36.5%.
Except in Finland, in the Nordic and Baltic countries, the gender gap was significantly higher and in favor of women. Iceland (25.4 percentage points-pp), Slovenia (23.8 pp) and Slovakia (22.8 pp) recorded the greatest difference.
ADVERTISINGTürkiye (1.3 percentage points), Switzerland (3.6 percentage points) and Germany (4.6 percentage points) recorded the smallest difference.
Evolution of the proportion of the population with higher education
In the EU, the proportion of people aged 25 to 74 with higher education has not stopped increasing. It has gone from 19.1% in 2004 to 31.8% in 2022.
Lifelong learning: Adults in training
Lifelong learning is also important, as workers often find themselves forced to update their knowledge. It is also called adult learning and involves the participation of adults in education and training.
According to Eurostat, it includes all learning activities for specific purposes, whether formal, non-formal or informal. The objective is to improve the knowledge, skills and competencies of the participants. Adult learning is an important aspect when it comes to digitization and automation in the labor market.
ADVERTISINGIn 2022, the proportion of people aged 25 to 64 in the EU who had participated in some form of education or training in the last four weeks was 11.9%ranging between 1.7% in Bulgaria and 36.2% in Sweden.
While the proportion of adult learning was high in the Nordic countriesthe Balkan countries had significantly lower percentages compared to the EU average.
