In 2021, around 63% of people aged 25 to 34 had such a diploma in Luxembourg. This puts the Grand Duchy not only significantly ahead of the EU average of 41%, but also at the top of the list overall. Luxembourg is, however, closely followed by Ireland with 62%.
Luxembourg’s neighbouring countries Belgium and France are ranked sixth and seventh, respectively, with 51%. Germany, on the other hand, is far behind and is only ranked 22nd with 36%. In fact, Germany is even lagging behind the EU target of obtaining a 45% rate in all EU member states by 2030. Almost half of all EU countries have already achieved this goal.
Eurostat also found that much more women than men had a higher education diploma in the age group of 25 to 34. From 2019 to 2021, the average for women increased from 45% to 46.8%. Meanwhile, only 35.7% of men had a diploma in 2021. Women also surpassed men in terms of completing secondary education in 2021. However, in this area, the gap was less significant with 87.7% compared to 82.1%.
It should be pointed out that in Luxembourg, the rate of young people between 20 and 24 who have completed their secondary education is among the lowest in the EU. In 2021, the EU average was 84.6%, compared to only 76.6% in Luxembourg. Only Denmark had an even lower rate with 75.4%.
