European higher education shows female dominance in graduation rates

According to 2024 Eurostat data, women hold a clear advantage in European higher education regarding both participation and graduation rates. In the European Union, approximately 19.1 million people are enrolled in higher education, with 59% pursuing bachelor's degrees, 29.4% master's degrees, and 3.8% doctoral studies.

Despite the overall female majority, significant gender gaps persist in specific sectors. In Information Technology (IT), male graduates outnumber female graduates by nearly four to one. The most popular fields of study remain business, administration, and law, which account for 22% of all students and roughly one in four degrees awarded in the EU. Other significant fields include education, health and social care, engineering, and construction.