Over-qualification rates by country of birth by country
Countries reporting
35
Highest
33.8
Spain
Lowest
6.5
Luxembourg
Median
20.3
Years covered
31
1995–2025
Data points
1,011
What the numbers show
Over-qualification rates by country of birth is currently reported for 35 countries. The highest value is 33.8 in Spain; the lowest is 6.5 in Luxembourg.
The median across all reporting countries is 20.3, and the mean is 19.92.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 5.
Over the past decade 15 countries rose and 19 fell. The largest increase was in Luxembourg (up 58.5%), and the largest decrease in Switzerland (down 20.0%).
Over-qualification rates by country of birth: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain | 33.8 | 2025 | down 8.4% | rising |
| 2 | Greece | 31.2 | 2025 | up 11.0% | rising |
| 3 | Cyprus | 27.4 | 2025 | down 18.2% | flat |
| 4 | Ireland | 27.1 | 2025 | down 7.2% | flat |
| 5 | Austria | 26 | 2025 | down 11.3% | rising |
| 6 | United Kingdom | 25.3 | 2019 | up 8.1% | rising |
| 7 | Estonia | 24.4 | 2025 | down 6.9% | falling |
| 8 | Serbia | 22.3 | 2025 | down 8.2% | rising |
| 9 | Lithuania | 21.5 | 2025 | down 6.5% | falling |
| 10 | Malta | 21.3 | 2025 | up 55.5% | rising |
| 11 | Slovak Republic | 20.9 | 2025 | down 1.4% | rising |
| 12 | Latvia | 20.7 | 2025 | up 7.3% | rising |
| 12 | Bulgaria | 20.7 | 2025 | down 11.5% | rising |
| 14 | Italy | 20.6 | 2025 | up 7.9% | rising |
| 15 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 20.4 | 2025 | — | falling |
| 15 | France | 20.4 | 2025 | down 7.3% | rising |
| 15 | Germany | 20.4 | 2025 | up 10.3% | falling |
| 18 | North Macedonia | 20.3 | 2025 | down 19.1% | rising |
| 19 | Poland | 20 | 2025 | up 5.3% | rising |
| 20 | Slovenia | 19.9 | 2025 | up 30.9% | rising |
| 21 | Belgium | 19.8 | 2025 | up 2.6% | falling |
| 22 | Norway | 18.3 | 2025 | up 18.8% | flat |
| 22 | Iceland | 18.3 | 2025 | up 43.0% | rising |
| 24 | Montenegro | 18.1 | 2020 | down 4.7% | falling |
| 25 | Switzerland | 17.2 | 2025 | down 20.0% | falling |
| 26 | Finland | 16.9 | 2025 | down 11.5% | flat |
| 27 | Denmark | 16.3 | 2025 | up 12.4% | rising |
| 28 | Portugal | 16.1 | 2025 | up 23.8% | rising |
| 29 | Romania | 15.6 | 2025 | down 16.6% | rising |
| 30 | Sweden | 14.9 | 2025 | down 9.1% | rising |
| 31 | Hungary | 14.3 | 2025 | up 1.4% | rising |
| 32 | Netherlands | 14.1 | 2025 | down 14.5% | rising |
| 33 | Czechia | 13.1 | 2025 | down 3.0% | rising |
| 33 | Croatia | 13.1 | 2025 | down 12.1% | rising |
| 35 | Luxembourg | 6.5 | 2025 | up 58.5% | flat |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- Türkiye 36.1