Data extracted in May 2024.
Planned article update: September 2025.
Highlights
In 2023, 72.3% of people aged 25–34 in the Lithuanian capital region of Sostinės regionas had a tertiary level of educational attainment; this was the highest regional share and considerably above the EU average of 43.1%.
In 2023, 12.7% of the EU population aged 25–64 participated in education and training during the 4 weeks prior to the survey. Across EU regions, this share peaked at 41.3% in the Swedish capital region of Stockholm.
Alongside the provision of health care, public expenditure on education is often considered one of the most important investments that can be made in people. Education has the potential to drive socioeconomic development forward: this is particularly the case in a globalised world, where a highly-skilled workforce can be an advantage in terms of productivity, innovation and competitiveness.
Education and training play a vital role in the economic and social strategies of the European Union (EU). In February 2021, a Council Resolution on a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training towards the European Education Area and beyond (2021–2030) (2021/C 66/01) was adopted. The resolution sets a number of policy targets for the European Education Area designed to promote collaboration between EU countries and monitor progress; several of these targets are referred to within this chapter.
The European Year of Skills 2023/24 was designed to ‘promote reskilling and upskilling, helping people to get the right skills for quality jobs’. It was also designed to provide fresh impetus to help the EU reach 2 of its social targets that form part of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan: to have, by 2030, at least 60% of adults in training every year, and at least 78% in employment.
The infographic above provides information for the 10 NUTS level 2 regions across the EU that recorded the highest shares of people (aged 25–34) with a tertiary level of educational attainment. In 2023, several of the highest shares were recorded in capital regions. This was the case in the Lithuanian capital region, where 72.3% of people aged 25–34 had a tertiary level of educational attainment, while the Polish, French, Irish, Swedish, Belgian and Dutch capital regions also recorded high shares, as did Cyprus.
This article forms part of Eurostat’s annual flagship publication, the Eurostat regional yearbook.
Maps can be explored interactively using Eurostat’s Statistical Atlas.
Footnotes
Explore further
Other articles
- Education and training in the EU – facts and figures (online publication)
Database
- Regional education statistics (reg_educ)
- Regional education statistics – ISCED 2011 (reg_educ_11)
- Participation in education and training (educ_part)
- Pupils and students – enrolments (educ_uoe_enr)
- Early childhood education and primary education (educ_uoe_enrp)
- Lower secondary, upper secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education (educ_uoe_enrs)
- Tertiary education (educ_uoe_enrt)
- All education levels (educ_uoe_enra)
- Pupils and students – enrolments (educ_uoe_enr)
- Education and training outcomes (educ_outc)
- Educational attainment level (edat)
- Population by educational attainment level (edat1)
- Labour status by educational attainment level (edat2)
- Transition from education to work (edatt)
- Early leavers from education and training (edatt1)
- Labour status of young people by years since completion of highest level of education (edatt2)
- Educational attainment level (edat)
Thematic section
Publications
- Early school leavers down to 10% in 2022
- Eurostat regional yearbook – 2024 edition
- Participation in lifelong learning increases in 2021
Online publications
Selected datasets
- Regional education statistics (t_reg_educ)
- Participation in education and training (t_educ_part)
- Education and training outcomes (t_educ_outc)
Methodology
Manuals and further methodological information
- Dedicated section on education and training: methodology
- EU’s labour force survey (LFS)
- EU labour force survey – new methodology from 2021 onwards
- Methodological manual on territorial typologies
- Statistical regions in the European Union and partner countries: NUTS and statistical regions 2021 – 2022 edition
Metadata
- Regional education statistics (ESMS metadata file – reg_educ_esms)
- Participation in education and training (based on EU-LFS) (ESMS metadata file – trng_lfs_4w0_esms)
- Educational attainment level and transition from education to work (based on EU-LFS) (ESMS metadata file – edat1_esms)
External links
- Council Resolution on a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training towards the European Education Area and beyond (2021–30)
- European Commission – EACEA – Eurydice – Description of national education systems
- European Commission – Education and Training – Digital education action plan (2021–27)
- European Commission – Education and Training – European education area
- European Commission – Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion – European skills agenda
- European Commission – European Vocational Skills Week
- European Commission – European Year of Skills
- European Commission – Regional Policy – Education and training
- International standard classification of education (ISCED 2011)
- UNESCO-UIS website