The proportion of the population with tertiary education is higher in the Nordic and Baltic countries, with women generally being the most educated.
When it comes to competing for the best jobs and resources, education has always been a critical success factor. Europe’s adult population with tertiary education, the highest level, varies widely across the continent, according to available data.
On average, almost a third of adults aged 25-74 in the European Union have a degree from higher education, including public and private universities, colleges, technical training institutions and vocational schools.
Level of education also varies by age and gender.
So, which countries have the highest rates of higher education in Europe, how do education levels differ across Europe, and which countries pay more attention to vocational education? The Euronews Next there is new data.
How are education levels determined?
Educational levels were defined as low (less than high school), medium (high school), or high (university education).
Eurostat’s European Data Service classification is based on the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) and states:
● Low: pre-primary, primary and lower secondary education (ISCED levels 0–2).
● Secondary: high school and post-secondary non-tertiary education (ISCED levels 3 and 4).
● Higher: higher education (ISCED levels 5–8). It includes public and private universities, colleges, technical training institutes and vocational schools.
In 2022, 31.8 percent of 25-74 year olds in the EU had a higher level of education, ranging from 17.4 percent in Romania to 49.8 percent in Ireland.
The Nordic and Baltic countries have more graduates than the EU average
The percentage of university graduates is higher than the EU average in the Nordic and Baltic countries. Sweden and Norway rank third and fourth with over 45 percent of university graduates.
Of the population of Latvia, 44% have higher education. Other Nordic and Baltic countries also have a higher than EU average share of university graduates.
In the UK, 43.5 per cent of the population aged 25-74 had a university degree, above the EU’s “Big Four” with the highest proportion among them. France (38.2 percent), followed by Spain (38 percent).
After Romania, Italy has the lowest percentage of university graduates – 18.5 percent. This figure is also slightly lower than the EU average in Germany (31.5%).
The population with lower education is over 40 percent in four EU countries
The share of the population with higher education is significantly lower in the candidate countries.
Turkey has the highest proportion of the population with low education, with two-thirds (61.8 percent) having less than a high school education.
This figure is also below 40 percent in four EU countries, namely Portugal, Italy, Malta and Spain.
In conclusion about Greece
Greece’s performance in the Eurostat tables for the educational level of the population – as seen in the table above – is slightly above the European average and competes with those of countries with a much higher standard of living than ours. The important place that – fortunately – public education still has in the value system of Greek society, the movements and struggles of students, pupils and teachers are mainly what seem, despite the problems, to still keep Greece close to the European average in terms of of the education of the population, when, on the contrary, in other areas, such as work, wages, standard of living, we are constantly slipping to the last places.
Vocational guidance plays an important role in many countries
Looking at the details of the secondary education level, consisting of general and vocational orientation, the share of vocational education is significantly high in many countries.
The percentage of people with a vocational orientation at secondary level of education is over 45 percent in nine EU countries, including the Czech Republic (63.9), Poland (52.2) and Germany (47.4).
Young people get higher education
The share of university graduates is increasing significantly among the younger population across Europe. It also shows how countries have fared in recent decades. Thus, the level of the population aged 25–34 is largely analyzed by international organizations.
More than two-fifths of the EU population has a higher education
In 2022, 42 percent of the EU population aged 25–34 had a tertiary education. It varies from 24.7% in Romania to 62.3% in Ireland.
In contrast to the population aged 25-74, the Scandinavian countries of Finland and Iceland have a lower share of higher education than the EU average.
This figure is above 50 percent in a third of EU countries, also lagging behind the EU target of 45 percent by 2030.
Women are more educated than men
In 35 European countries where data are available, women aged 25-34 had a higher rate of tertiary attainment than men.
In 2022, on average, the percentage of women with a university degree was 47.6 percent, while for men it was 36.5 percent.
Apart from Finland, the gender gap is significantly higher in the Nordic and Baltic countries in favor of women. Iceland (25.4 percentage points), Slovenia (23.8 percentage points) and Slovakia (22.8 percentage points) show the biggest difference.
Turkey (1.3 percentage points), Switzerland (3.6 percentage points) and Germany (4.6 percentage points) report the smallest difference, showing that the percentages of women and men with higher education are so close.
The percentage of the population with higher education is increasing
In the EU, the share of people aged 25-74 with higher education is constantly increasing. It has increased from 19.1 percent in 2004 to 31.8 percent in 2022.
Lifelong learning: Adults in education
Lifelong learning is also important as people may need to update their skills. It is also called adult education, which is participation in education and training for adults.
According to Eurostat, it includes all intentional learning activities, whether formal, informal or independent.
The aim is to improve the knowledge, skills and abilities of the participants. Adult education is an important aspect of the digitization and automation of the labor market.
In 2022, the proportion of people aged 25 to 64 in the EU who had participated in education or training in the previous 4 weeks was 11.9 percent, ranging from 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 a significantly lower share compared to the EU average.