In 2020, approximately four in ten adults (41%) aged 25-34 years had completed tertiary education in the European Union, according to Eurostat’s latest figures published on 25 June. This figure corresponds to an increase of 1 percentage point in comparison to 2019, and an increase of almost 10 p.p. in comparison with 2010, when only 32% of the EU’s population aged 25-34 years had completed tertiary education. The result for 2020 put the EU on the trajectory to meet the 2030 target set by the EU Member States of 45%.

By Member State, the share of the population aged 25-34 years with tertiary education attainment was the highest in Luxembourg with 61%, followed by Ireland (58%) and Cyprus (58%). On the other hand, the EU countries with the lowest shares were Romania (25%), Italy (29%) and Hungary (31%).

Over the past 10 years, all the EU countries have improved their shares, with the highest increases recorded in Austria (+20.7 percentage points), Luxembourg (+16.4 p.p.) and Malta (+15.9 p.p.). In comparison with 2019, Portugal and Luxembourg recorded the highest improvements (+4.5 p.p. each). On the other hand, six countries saw their shares declining, with Cyprus decreasing by 2.5 p.p. 

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