& Maud Zaba
Published on •Updated
In 2014, just over a quarter (26%) of EU citizens aged 25–74 had completed higher education. By 2024, that share had risen to 33.5%.
Ireland, Luxembourg and Cyprus lead the pack, with more than 60% of young adults (25–34) holding university degrees. Romania sits at the other end of the spectrum, with fewer than 30% of that age group pursuing higher levels of education, the lowest rate in the EU.
The generational divide
The figures reveal shifting attitudes toward education across generations. Among adults aged 25–54, 82.7% have completed at least upper-secondary education, compared with 70.4% of those aged 55–74.
Young people are nearly twice as likely to have finished higher education (39.8%) as their older counterparts (23.9%).
Differences in vocational qualifications between age groups vary sharply by country. In Luxembourg, in both older and younger generations with medium levels of education, vocational paths dominate (over 96%).
In Portugal, only 13.5% of older adults with medium-level education hold a vocational qualification, versus 37.2% of younger adults.
Similar generational leaps in vocational uptake are observed in Greece, Ireland, Cyprus and Spain, signalling a broader European shift toward skills-focused education.
Women staying in education longer
Across Europe, women are outpacing men in educational attainment.
In 2024, nearly half (49.9%) of women aged 25–34 had completed higher education.
Men also progressed, but more slowly, reaching 38.7% in the same age group. That gap widened by just over 1% in 10 years.
For upper-secondary education, 86.8% of women aged 20–24 had completed at least this level, compared with 81.8% of men.
Only in Romania did men slightly outperform women.
