Labour force participation rates by educational attainment level by country
Countries reporting
35
Highest
81.5
Iceland
Lowest
53.8
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Median
68.3
Years covered
43
1983–2025
Data points
1,169
What the numbers show
Labour force participation rates by educational attainment level is currently reported for 35 countries. The highest value is 81.5 in Iceland; the lowest is 53.8 in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The median across all reporting countries is 68.3, and the mean is 67.37.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 2.
Over the past decade 30 countries rose and 3 fell. The largest increase was in Malta (up 22.6%), and the largest decrease in Romania (down 5.3%).
Labour force participation rates by educational attainment level: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iceland | 81.5 | 2025 | down 1.8% | flat |
| 2 | Netherlands | 76.2 | 2025 | up 8.5% | rising |
| 3 | Sweden | 75.7 | 2025 | up 5.1% | rising |
| 4 | Switzerland | 75.5 | 2025 | up 0.7% | flat |
| 5 | Estonia | 74.1 | 2025 | up 6.6% | rising |
| 6 | Denmark | 74 | 2025 | up 9.6% | flat |
| 7 | Malta | 73.8 | 2025 | up 22.6% | rising |
| 8 | Norway | 72.9 | 2025 | up 2.7% | flat |
| 9 | Ireland | 71.9 | 2025 | up 8.8% | rising |
| 9 | Cyprus | 71.9 | 2025 | up 7.5% | rising |
| 11 | Lithuania | 70.7 | 2025 | up 6.6% | rising |
| 12 | Germany | 70.3 | 2025 | up 2.9% | rising |
| 13 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 69.8 | 2019 | up 1.9% | rising |
| 14 | Latvia | 69.3 | 2025 | up 2.7% | rising |
| 15 | Austria | 69.2 | 2025 | up 3.4% | rising |
| 15 | Finland | 69.2 | 2025 | up 5.0% | flat |
| 17 | Portugal | 68.6 | 2025 | up 4.7% | rising |
| 18 | Czechia | 68.3 | 2025 | up 5.7% | rising |
| 19 | Hungary | 68.2 | 2025 | up 13.9% | rising |
| 20 | Luxembourg | 67.4 | 2025 | up 4.0% | rising |
| 21 | Slovakia | 66.6 | 2025 | up 4.2% | rising |
| 22 | Spain | 65.6 | 2025 | unchanged | rising |
| 23 | Slovenia | 65.4 | 2025 | up 3.3% | rising |
| 24 | France | 64.8 | 2025 | up 3.7% | flat |
| 25 | Poland | 64.3 | 2025 | up 5.2% | rising |
| 26 | Bulgaria | 62.9 | 2025 | up 5.0% | rising |
| 27 | Belgium | 62.7 | 2025 | up 5.0% | rising |
| 28 | Serbia | 62.3 | 2025 | up 9.9% | rising |
| 29 | Greece | 61.3 | 2025 | up 3.2% | rising |
| 30 | Croatia | 60.6 | 2025 | up 3.2% | rising |
| 31 | Italy | 58.1 | 2025 | up 3.9% | rising |
| 32 | North Macedonia | 57.1 | 2025 | down 2.7% | flat |
| 33 | Romania | 57 | 2025 | down 5.3% | falling |
| 34 | Montenegro | 56.8 | 2020 | up 9.7% | rising |
| 35 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 53.8 | 2025 | — | flat |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.