35% of EU regions met the EU’s higher education target

The EU-wide target states that by 2030, at least 45% of young people in the EU aged 25 to 34 years should have attained a tertiary level of education (ISCED levels 5-8). In 2024, 44.2% of this age group had reached tertiary education level. Of the 242 regions classified at level 2 of the nomenclature of territorial units for statistics (NUTS 2) with available data, 84 regions had already reached or surpassed the EU target (as shown by the 3 shades of teal in the map). 

At the top end of the distribution, 25 regions reported that at least 57.5% of people aged 25 to 34 years had attained a tertiary level. 

This group included several regions and economic hubs marked by high-quality universities and focusing on research and innovation. It comprised: 

• the capital regions of Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Spain, France, Lithuania, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia and Sweden 
• 6 additional regions from Spain, clustered in the north (with specialisations in, among other activities, advanced manufacturing and automotive industries) 
• both remaining regions of Ireland (pharmaceuticals, life sciences and electronics) 
• Utrecht and Groningen in the Netherlands (high-tech industries and green technologies) 
• Prov. Brabant Wallon in Belgium (knowledge-intensive industries)
• Midi-Pyrénées in France (aerospace) 
• Cyprus and Luxembourg
  
  https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/cache/news/maps/tertiary-educational-attainment-nuts2-2024.html

Source dataset: edat_lfse_04

On the other end of the scale, 24 regions registered fewer than 26.5% of people aged 25 to 34 years as having attained a tertiary level of education (as shown by the darkest shade of gold in the map). These regions were primarily rural or geographically remote/isolated, often characterised by relatively large agricultural sectors and limited opportunities for highly skilled employment. In several of these regions, vocational education plays a dominant role, with young people entering the labour market via apprenticeships or training schemes, rather than through a tertiary education qualification. 

These 24 regions were mainly concentrated in eastern and southern EU countries and included: 

• 7 out of the 8 regions in Romania, the exception being Bucureşti-Ilfov (the capital region) 
• 6 out of the 8 regions in Hungary, the exceptions being Budapest (the capital region) and the surrounding region of Pest 
• 4 regions in Italy – including the islands of Sicilia and Sardegna
• 2 regions from Czechia – Severozápad and Střední Čechy 
• 2 regions from France – including the island region of Corse and the outermost region of Guyane 
• 3 other regions from across the EU – Sterea Elláda in Greece, Panonska Hrvatska in Croatia, the island region of Região Autónoma dos Açores in Portugal
  

Would you like to know more about education statistics at the regional level? 

You can read more about education statistics in the Eurostat regional yearbook – 2025 edition,  also available as a set of Statistics Explained articles, as well as in the education section of the interactive publication Regions in Europe and the Statistical Atlas.

For more information

• Statistics Explained article on education and training statistics at regional level
• Thematic section on education and training
• Database on education and training
• Thematic section on regions and cities 
• Database on regions

Methodological notes

• This article relies on the data from Eurostat regional yearbook - note that some of the data may have been updated since its publication.
• Prov. Vlaams-Brabant (BE24), Trier (DEB2), Ciudad de Ceuta (ES63), Ciudad de Melilla (ES64), Corse (FRM0) and Região Autónoma dos Açores (PT20): data with low reliability.
• Tertiary education refers to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) levels 5-8. These include:
  • ISCED level 5: Short-cycle tertiary education
  • ISCED level 6: Bachelor’s or equivalent
  • ISCED level 7: Master’s or equivalent
  • ISCED level 8: Doctoral or equivalent

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