Europe's university degrees: Business, law lead, with women graduates outnumbering men

Business, administration, and law continue to be the most sought-after fields of study across the European Union, attracting millions of students. Notably, women significantly outnumber men in these disciplines, accounting for 58% of all higher education graduates in the EU. This pattern is consistent in Greece, where women also show a clear advantage in both enrollment and graduation rates.

According to Eurostat data from 2024, the EU had 19.1 million higher education students. Of these, 59% were pursuing bachelor's degrees, 29.4% master's degrees, and 3.8% doctoral degrees. Bachelor's and master's students together represented 88.4% of the total. Poland, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Croatia, Italy, Greece, and Romania reported the highest proportions of students pursuing these levels.

Across the EU, over one-fifth (22%) of all higher education students were enrolled in business, administration, or law programs. Other common fields include education, health and social work, and engineering and construction. Arts and humanities were the only other broad subject area with a double-digit percentage of students. Business, administration, and law graduates represented a quarter of all degrees awarded.

In 2024, approximately 4.5 million students graduated from higher education in the EU, with France awarding the most degrees, followed by Germany and Spain. In all countries, including Greece, women graduates outnumbered men. Specifically, 2.6 million graduates were women compared to 1.9 million men. In Greece, women constituted about 60% of higher education graduates.

The trend of female dominance among graduates was observed across most fields. Around 14.5% of all EU graduates were women in business, administration, and law, compared to 10.6% of men in the same fields. Similarly, about one-tenth of all graduates were women in health and social care (11.1%), while a comparable percentage of men graduated in engineering, manufacturing, and construction (10.0%).