In Croatia, 35.7 percent of those aged 24-35 have a tertiary level of educational attainments, according to Eurostat data for 2021, and Zagreb ranks along with Berlin as to the number of young people with tertiary education, the Jutarnji List daily reported on Tuesday.

According to Eurostat, 50.6 percent of young people in Zagreb have a university degree, ahead of 31.2 percent in North Croatia, 29.4 percent in Pannonian Croatia, 34.6 percent in Continental Croatia and a similar percentage in the coastal regions of Dalmatia and Istria combined.

In the EU, the percentage of those aged 25-34 with a tertiary level of educational attainment went up from 39.4 percent in 2019 to 41.2 percent last year, and the goal is to reach at least 45 percent by 2030.

In Croatia, the percentage of people with a tertiary level of educational attainment rose from 18.5 percent in 2008 to 24.5 percent in 2010.

At the top end of the distribution, there were 22 regions in the EU where at least 55 percent of people aged 25-34 years had tertiary qualifications in 2021. They included the capital regions of Lithuania, France, Poland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Denmark, Hungary, the Netherlands, Sweden, Czechia, Cyprus, Spain, and Belgium.

Relatively high shares of tertiary level of educational attainment were also recorded in several regions specialised in research and innovation activities and/or high-technology manufacturing, for example, Utrecht in the Netherlands, País Vasco in northern Spain, Southern in Ireland and Prov. Brabant Wallon in Belgium.

Data for Croatia show that 35.5 percent of those aged 25-34 had a tertiary level of educational attainment in 2019 and 36.6 percent in 2020.