New data released by Eurostat, the statistical service of the European Union, reveals that Cyprus boasts the third highest proportion of young adults aged 25 to 34 who have completed tertiary education.
An impressive 59% of this age group in Cyprus have obtained a higher education degree, surpassing the EU average of 42%.
The report, based on figures from 2022, indicates that tertiary education attainment among young adults in the EU increased by 1 percentage point compared to the previous year, reaching 42%. Similarly, Cyprus experienced a 1 percentage point increase, elevating its figure from 58% to an impressive 59%.
Despite these positive developments, the EU as a whole still falls short of its 2030 target, which aims to see 45% of young adults in the same age range obtaining tertiary education. The current percentage lags behind by 3 percentage points.
Interestingly, the data reveals that both in Cyprus and across the EU, the proportion of women aged 25 to 34 with tertiary education surpasses that of men in the same age group. In Cyprus, 67% of women and 51% of men have attained higher education, while in the EU, the figures stand at 48% for women and 37% for men.
Furthermore, nearly half of the EU member states have already met or surpassed the 2030 target for this indicator.
Countries such as Ireland (62%), Luxembourg (61%), Lithuania (58%), the Netherlands (56%), Sweden (52%), Spain and Belgium (both 51%), France (50%), Denmark (49%), Slovenia (47%), Latvia (46%), and Greece (45%) have made commendable progress.
Conversely, Romania (25%), Italy (29%), and Hungary (32%) recorded the lowest percentages of tertiary education completion among their young adult populations.