Comparative report

Tertiary education is a driving force for economic growth. At individual level, higher levels of education lead to better job opportunities and higher income, thereby contributing to upward social mobility. Higher levels of education are also associated with numerous benefits to society at large, ranging from democratic participation to better health outcomes, and from productivity and innovation to social trust and volunteering. Europe has seen a substantial rise in young people with a tertiary degree, spurred by a wider access to universities and a growing demand for high skills on the labour market. Labour market advantages such as lower unemployment rates and higher relative earnings are an important driver of this expansion. The anticipated rate of return to education is a critical factor in deciding to pursue higher education and these drivers have remained stable over the last decade, despite a sizeable increase of highly educated people. This chapter looks at latest evidence regarding the expansion of tertiary education as well as inward and outward mobility as drivers for increasing employability and attracting global talent.

6.1 Expansion of tertiary education

6.1.1. Tertiary educational attainment

During the last decade, the average proportion of 25–34-year-olds with a tertiary qualification increased from 36.5% to 44.1% (Figure 27), rising by one percentage point in the last year alone. The current value is only 0.9 percentage points lower than the EU-level target of 45% set for 2030. In ten countries, more than half of all 25–34-year-olds now have a tertiary degree.

The increase between 2015 and 2024 in tertiary attainment was higher among women (8.0 percentage points) than men (7.4). Women with a tertiary degree now make up almost the majority of female 25–34-year-olds, at 49.8% of compared with 38.6% of their male peers (an average 11.2 percentage point gender gap). This gender gap surpasses 20 percentage points in Croatia (20.5), Estonia (21.6), Latvia (22.9) and Slovenia (23.7). The gap increased very slightly by 0.6 percentage points between 2015 and 2024. Most EU countries recorded an increase in the gender gap as well. The dynamics behind this gender gap are complex and multi-faceted. Three examples are worth flagging. Firstly, a larger share of boys is enrolled in vocational programmes, sometimes without direct access to tertiary education (Section 5.2). Secondly, girls are less likely to leave before completing upper secondary education (Section 4.1.2). Thirdly, women gain more from pursuing tertiary education due to the substantially higher unemployment rates they face with just upper secondary educational attainment when compared with men.

Other examples of under-represented groups are limited by the availability of cross-EU comparative data. Adults aged 25-34 born outside the EU are the least likely to have obtained a tertiary degree (38.4% in 2024). The results are 4.0 percentage points higher for adults born in another EU country and increase to 45.2% for adults born in the reporting country. However, the rate for people born outside the EU has increased by 11.4 percentage points since 2015 and the gap between them and people born in the reporting country shrank by 3.7 percentage points (from 10.7 in 2015 to 7.0 in 2024). This decrease could be associated with the higher focus on the inclusion of under-represented groups in higher education. Almost all EU countries have a strategy in place to improve access for those groups (see Section 6.1.2). Nevertheless, the gap between native-born and non-native born people remains relatively high. People with migrant backgrounds often face challenges that make it harder for them to participate in and complete tertiary education, including language barriers, financial constraints, and a lack of access to information and support systems. Another obstacle and an explanation for a lower tertiary attainment rate could be the lack of recognition of qualifications acquired in third countries.

Results for rural areas also improved over the past decade, rising from 26.9% in 2015 to 32.2% in 2024. However, the gap between rural and urban areas increased by 3.1 percentage points on average and by up to 10 percentage points in Hungary. The concentration of universities in urban areas attracts students, while the high demand for highly qualified workers, with the added wage premium, attracts those with a tertiary education and makes it easy for them to find a job matching their skills. At the same time, firms are also more likely to find the skills they need in such areas. The increase in the rural-urban gap may be due to the fact that challenges, such as climate transition, demographic decline and technological transformation, are impacting the EU’s poorer regions more heavily, making them even less attractive to people with a tertiary qualification and businesses.

6.1.2. Broadening participation in tertiary education

The 2023 OECD  Survey of Adult Skills, a product of its Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), confirms that larger shares of 25-44-year-olds from a disadvantaged background have had access to tertiary education when compared with the previous cycle of the survey. However, Figure 28 reveals that the gap in access to higher education between 25-44-year-olds with a higher parental educational background and those with parents without a tertiary qualification remains high. This gap ranges from around 20 percentage points in Sweden and Denmark (19.2 and 20.2 respectively) to more than 45 percentage points in Poland, Portugal and Hungary, and up to 50 in Italy.

Broadening participation to traditionally disadvantaged or otherwise under-represented groups is a priority. Almost all EU education systems have a strategy in place to increase the participation for under-represented groups covering all higher education institutions. The rest of this section looks at three major policy responses.

Firstly, data collection is essential. With the expansion of tertiary education, the student population has become more diverse, adding up to new needs among students. Systematically collected data, for instance on the composition of the student body, access, participation, dropout, completion as well as transition to the labour market, can provide evidence to education authorities on how to address these new needs and on the effectiveness of measures aiming to improve the inclusiveness of higher education. Figure 29 shows whether education systems monitor any student characteristics other than age and gender at various moments during tertiary programmes.

Most EU education systems collect data on students when they enter tertiary education. However, 11 systems do not collect such data beyond that point. This risks not having enough information to develop targeted interventions to support students effectively. Especially during the first year, students are vulnerable, and more at risk of dropping out (see Box 13). The transition to tertiary education poses several challenges for first-year university students. Academically, students may be navigating increased difficulty and independence, adapting to new teaching styles, larger class sizes and more rigorous expectations. Financially, students may become responsible for managing their own finances, including budgeting for tuition, accommodation, textbooks and living expenses. Socially, students may face the challenge of integrating into a diverse community while managing social expectations. As a result of all these challenges, mental health is a critical concern, as the pressure to succeed, combined with environmental adjustments, can exacerbate issues such as stress, anxiety and depression. Disadvantaged learners are particularly vulnerable.

Secondly, more flexibility benefits anyone who wishes to study for a tertiary education degree, but finds the conventional access route (via upper secondary schools) and progression mode (full-time studies requiring physical presence) unsuitable. The main forms of flexible study programmes are part-time studies, distance learning and blended learning. All EU education systems allow higher education institutions to offer part-time studies, blended or distance learning programmes.

Thirdly, validating knowledge and skills acquired in non-formal settings (such as in-work training and structured online learning), or in informal settings (such as self-learning) is another driver for broadening participation in tertiary education. It gives a second chance to students who left school without completing upper secondary education (see Chapter 4) or who followed a short upper secondary vocational path that did not give direct access to tertiary education. This can help increase equity and diversity, as students with disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds tend to be over-represented in educational pathways that do not give direct access to tertiary education. However, Figure 30 shows that no fewer than 14 education systems do not give students without traditional entry qualifications access to bachelor’s programmes.

Yet even in systems where it is possible to validate non-formal and informal learning, regulatory restrictions on providing access to non-traditional students might still apply. In Austria, for instance, validated non-formal and informal learning grant only access to universities of applied sciences. Another potential restriction is on the categories of students eligible for this alternative access route. In Spain, it is restricted to individuals over the age of 40, while in Portugal, the minimum age is 23.

6.2 Learning mobility in tertiary education

6.2.1 Learning mobility in tertiary education

Going abroad to study or to train is commonly associated with an increased motivation to continue education, future mobility, better income prospects, and higher employability. It enhances key transferable skills, including foreign language proficiency, and cultural awareness. Participating in student exchanges has a positive impact on students' awareness of global issues. Additionally, student exchanges raise higher education institutions’ international profiles through collaborations, diversity and academic reputation.

The outward mobility rate declined by 2.5 percentage points between 2020 and 2023. Only 11.0% of the 4 million tertiary education graduates originating from EU countries were mobile in 2023, with 4.4% going for a full degree abroad whereas around 6.6% went for credit mobility. As such, EU average graduate outward mobility remains far below the 23% target set for 2030. However, several data limitations persist, which may result in a progress towards reaching the target being underestimated.

Figure 31 confirms that the share of outward-mobile graduates differs considerably by country. Luxembourg (80.7%) and Cyprus (27.8%) achieved the 2030 EU-level target, while Poland, Italy and Slovenia recorded proportions below 5%. The total proportions are driven by different types of mobility depending on the country. Moreover, on average, the higher the education level, the higher the shares of outward mobility. Across the EU, 3.3% of graduates in short-cycle degrees were mobile in 2023. The outward mobility rate increases to 9.7% at bachelor’s level, 14.9% at master level, and up to 18.8% at doctoral level.

Credit mobility in the EU is generally associated with the EU programmes (i.e. Erasmus and other EU programmes) but a sizeable share (46.0%) of short study periods or traineeships abroad is also organised independently. In France and Denmark, among the graduates who were credit mobile, the share of those who spent a short period abroad under ‘other programmes’ was higher than 60% in 2023. In contrast, EU programmes seem to be virtually the only possibility for going abroad for a short period in Latvia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Cyprus. Over 97% of credit-mobile graduates originating from these countries went abroad under EU programmes.

6.2.2. Choosing Europe

Inward learning mobility is one of the options for attracting global talent and enriching the stock of human capital available in the EU to boost innovation, fill labour shortages in high-level occupations and offset the workforce’s decline, particularly when graduates stay to work or do research in the EU. Compared with other types of highly skilled migrants, international students who stay after graduation may offer particular advantages to their host country because they are often highly proficient in the host country’s language, they have higher education qualifications that are fully recognised in the domestic labour market, and they are also likely to have a good understanding of local cultural and professional norms and practices. These advantages are likely to help such individuals integrate successfully into the labour market and to boost their productivity.

Moreover, the current geopolitical context provides the EU with unexpected opportunities to become a global magnet for talent. With all this in mind, the Union of Skills includes a proposal for a 2030 target to increase the number of learners from outside the EU coming to study and obtain a degree at tertiary level to 350 000.

In 2023, the EU had 249 340 inward mobile tertiary graduates coming from a non-EU country,  This figure grew by 18.2% at EU level between 2020 and 2023 , despite the COVID-19 pandemic and its limitations on global movements. The rise at EU level was mainly driven by an increase at master’s level (21.0.%) and bachelor’s level (20.5%).

Extra-EU inward mobility is highly unbalanced across EU countries, with the top three destination countries also being among the largest countries in the EU (France, Germany and Spain). Together, these three countries cover almost 58.7% of all extra-EU inward mobile graduates. France alone attracts 32.3% of extra-EU degree mobile graduates, Germany 19.0%, while the next most attractive, Spain, receives only 7.5% of them. Poland and Italy have shares of around 6%, the Netherlands and Ireland around 4% each, while the rest of the EU countries attract less than 3% of all extra-EU degree mobile graduates each.

Approximately four out of ten extra-EU inward mobile graduates originate from Asia (37.3%), with 11.1% coming from China, and 7.7.% from India. Africa is the region of origin of 26.3% of extra-EU inward mobile graduates, with 70.9% of those graduates choosing to obtain their degree in France in 2023 (Figure 32). France is also the main EU destination in which about one third (32.6%) of Chinese students choose to graduate, followed by Germany (27.5%). 37.6% of Indian students choose to graduate in Germany, followed by Ireland (14.4%) and France (13.1%). Extra-EU inward mobile graduates coming from non-EU European countries make up 19.8% of the total; including 2.0% from the United Kingdom and 4.6% from Ukraine. More than half (52.9%) of graduates of Ukrainian origin graduated in Poland in 2023. Only a small portion of extra-EU inward mobile graduates comes from the United States (2.8%). Half of them (50.4%) are distributed among Germany (19.8%), Ireland (15.1%) and France (15.6%). The other American countries represent 13.6% of the total extra-EU inward mobile graduates, around half of them graduating in Spain (37.4%) and France (19.5%). 

A more nuanced picture emerges when the number of extra-EU inward mobile graduates is compared with the total number of graduates in a particular country (see Figure 33). Although France and Germany still rank among the most attractive destinations, Luxembourg (189.2), Malta (143.2) and Estonia (107.5) lead in the number of non-EU inward mobile graduates with figures exceeding 100 per 1 000 graduates. In contrast, Italy (27.6), Croatia (22.7) and Greece (3.0) have the lowest number of non-EU inward mobile graduates relative to their total graduates. At EU level, the number was 57.1 in 2023, up from 49.8 in 2020. Across the EU, almost all countries saw an increase in these numbers, although the extent of the growth varied.

When examining inward mobile graduates coming from another EU country, Luxembourg still stands out with 352.3 EU inward mobile graduates per 1 000 graduates, maintaining its top position. Austria (126.9) and the Netherlands (124.6) also attract a high number of EU inward-mobile graduates per 1 000 graduates. In contrast, Poland and Croatia report the lowest numbers, each with just 3.1 EU mobile graduates per 1 000 graduates each. 

A university’s reputation and teaching quality are major pull factors for inward mobility. Research orientation, and excellence, and the existence of funding schemes also boost attractiveness, especially at PhD level. Other pull factors include the distance between home and host universities, historical and language ties, cultural proximity, costs of living, labour market access during studies, conditions for students to stay after graduation and the availability of English-language programmes. These pull factors – some of them independent from higher education institutions or even policymakers – can play a significant role for countries that cannot rely on the prestige or the perceived quality of their higher education system to attract students. EU countries have been adopting different strategies to attract more international students. For instance, Germany has eased legal requirements (visas, access conditions) for international students, and access to programmes through increased recognition of skills and diplomas. Additionally, foreign students are offered language courses, housing support, and counselling. Estonia has adapted its curricula and carries out campaigns to attract more foreign students. Slovakia is increasingly opening its universities to students from abroad. Greece is creating centres to support foreign students in their academic journey and administrative matters. Similarly, in Cyprus, two public universities are now allowed to offer undergraduate programmes in foreign languages (albeit with tuition fees).

Finally, STEM (see Chapter 1) is the biggest field for EU and non-EU inward degree mobility in tertiary education. On average, inward degree mobile graduates account for about 8.4% of the total number of tertiary graduates in STEM fields. In addition to the higher employment opportunities compared to other fields, STEM fields are more popular among international graduates because these fields are less reliant on language skills (making them attractive to students who may not be fluent in the host country’s language), while scientific and technical knowledge are more transferable. However, substantial differences exist by country and by level of education.