Education levels of the Luxembourg population
People born in border countries have the highest proportion of Masters-level graduates and above.
Immigrants at the 2 extremes of education levels
In a country where almost half the total population was born abroad, it is interesting to compare the level of education of the Luxembourg-born and foreign-born populations (see Figure 1).
Among people born in Luxembourg, 47.4% have a secondary school degree, placing the native-born population in the middle of the education levels (see Figure 1). A quarter have a fundamental diploma (22.8%), 16.6% have a Bachelor's degree and 13.2% have a Master's degree or higher.
People born abroad are more represented at the two extremes of the degree distribution. The least qualified make up 28.6% of this population, while those with a Master's degree or more represent 27.8% (i.e. 14.6 percentage points more than the native-born). They therefore make up the bulk of the highly qualified workforce in Luxembourg.
Figure 1 : Breakdown of the population aged 15 and over by level of education and origin in 2021 - Source : STATEC, RP2021
The differences are even more marked when we focus on immigrants who have recently arrived in Luxembourg. The proportion of holders of a Master's degree or higher is 43.3% for immigrants who arrived in the last five years, and 34.2% for those who have been resident in Luxembourg for six to eleven years.
The level of education of the foreign-born population varies greatly according to place of birth. The average level of education of migrants increases with the level of development of the country of origin, but also with the geographical distance between countries, the absence of historical links with the country of origin, or the need to obtain an entry visa.
The highest proportions of people with a Master's degree or higher are found among people born in border countries (40.8%), followed by non-European countries (26.0%) and the rest of the EU27 (21.0%).
| Countries and region of birth | Lower secondary and below | Upper secondary | Bachelor, tertiary and superior | Master and above | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luxembourg | 22,8% | 47,4% | 16,6% | 13,2% | 100% |
| Foreign born | 28,6% | 27,2% | 16,4% | 27,8% | 100% |
| Including border countries | 10,0% | 27,9% | 21,3% | 40,8% | 100% |
| including France | 8,9% | 25,7% | 19,8% | 45,6% | 100% |
| including Belgium | 9,6% | 25,7% | 27,1% | 37,5% | 100% |
| including Germany | 13,1% | 35,7% | 17,4% | 33,8% | 100% |
| Including others EU27 countries | 44,3% | 24,4% | 10,3% | 21,0% | 100% |
| including Portugal | 65,2% | 26,6% | 4,8% | 3,4% | 100% |
| including Italy | 30,9% | 25,4% | 11,3% | 32,3% | 100% |
| including Spain | 14,0% | 12,7% | 21,1% | 52,1% | 100% |
| Including non EU27 countries | 22,5% | 30,6% | 20,9% | 26,0% | 100% |
| including Cape Verde | 58,4% | 34,1% | 5,4% | 2,1% | 100% |
| including United Kingdom | 2,6% | 23,8% | 39,9% | 33,6% | 100% |
| including Brazil | 21,9% | 32,5% | 25,2% | 20,4% | 100% |
| Total | 25,8% | 37,0% | 16,5% | 20,7% | 100% |
Chart 1 : Distribution of the population aged 15 years and over by level of education in 2021 (by region and main countries of birth) - Source : STATEC, RP2021
The proportion of higher education graduates
has risen by more than a third since 2011
Over the period 2011-2021, the level of education of the resident population has risen sharply. Among residents, the proportion with tertiary degrees (Bachelor's, Master's and above) has risen from 27.9% to 37.2% in ten years, which represents a considerable increase of 9.4 percentage points.
Figure 2 : Population aged 15 and over by highest level of education in 2011 and 2021 - Source : STATEC, RP2021
In detail, it is above all the long higher education graduates who are driving the trend, since the proportion of holders of a Master's degree or higher has increased by 35.8% and that of holders of a Bachelor's degree by 31.0%.
At the opposite end of the degree hierarchy, the proportion of residents with fundamental level degrees declined from 35.6% to 25.7% of the population. At the intermediate level of degrees, the proportion of residents with upper secondary education (typically bachelor's degrees and similar) remains stable at around 37% of the respondent population.
A comparison of men and women shows that, in higher education, women are rapidly catching up with their historical lag: in 2021, the proportion of men who have attained Master's level and above is 22.2% and 19.3% for women, compared with 17.1 and 13.4% respectively ten years earlier: the gap has narrowed by a third. At Bachelor's level, the gaps are reversed, to the advantage of women. In 2011, 11.8% of women and 13.4% of men had obtained a Bachelor's degree, while by 2021 these proportions had risen to 16.9% for women and 16.1% for men.
Degrees remain an advantage
The Luxembourg job market remains dynamic and continues to require highly qualified employees.
The rapid growth in employment, particularly in sectors requiring high degrees, has made it possible to absorb the increase in the number of graduates without giving rise to a degree inflation.
Some sectors, such as Luxembourg's financial center, require an increasingly highly skilled workforce. While a third of jobs in the “Financial and insurance activities” sector were filled by graduates with a Master's degree or higher in 2011, half of its employees will have this level by 2021. This also applies to the “Information and communication” sector and the “Professional, scientific and technical activities and administrative and support services” sector, where most of the expert services companies are located.
More than a third of higher education graduates born in Luxembourg acquired their highest degree in Luxembourg
Almost all the secondary education of native-born residents took place in Luxembourg. In 62.6% of cases, the higher education of Luxembourg-born residents took place outside the country, particularly for holders of a Master's degree or higher (91%). At Master's level, in the past, the 1962-66 generation mainly went to France and Belgium, in almost 60% of cases, and Germany in 22.5% of cases. Since then, the higher education landscape has changed radically, notably with the creation of the University of Luxembourg. There has been considerable diversification, with a substantial fall in the shares of France and Belgium in Master's degrees and above, an expansion of Germany and a rise in power of Luxembourg, which has gone from 3.8% to 13% in less than 25 years. This market share may seem modest, but it is making a significant contribution to the rise in the level of education of the new generations of native Luxembourgers.
The most highly graduated are strongly
geographically centered
The most highly graduated people are mainly concentrated in Luxembourg City and the surrounding area.
Map 1 : Percentage of Masters and over at place of residence per 1 km cell and per municipality in 2021 - Source : STATEC, RP2021
This map shows very clearly how the percentage of highly qualified people decreases with distance from Luxembourg City. The pattern of decrease with distance is crystal clear, and distance alone explains 60% of the variation in the share of highly qualified people in each 1 km cell. The effect is not linear: the highly qualified population represents 52% of the population in the center, in Luxembourg City, but falls to 32% at 5 km, 15% at 20 km and 8% at 35 km.
Conclusion
As a key indicator of human development and socio-economic progress, the level of education of Luxembourg's population has risen rapidly over the intercensal period 2011-2021: half of all adults under the age of 40 have achieved higher education and 28% have a Master's degree or higher. These changes conceal differences between Luxembourg-born and foreign-born people, major inequalities between immigrants according to their national origin, between “golden immigration” and immigration for low-skilled work, and major generational disparities. These inequalities in degrees are a feature of Luxembourg's territory, as they accompany the effects of centrality that set the most economically active areas, close to the capital, against the more remote communes, particularly in the northern half of the country, but also in the post-industrial south.
Methodological insert
As this is a national census, this study only covers responses from residents. Cross-border commuters are therefore not considered.
Levels of education are grouped into four main categories:
- holders of a university Master's degree or doctorate (referred to as Master's and above),
- holders of a Bachelor's/Licence or short higher diploma (referred to as Bachelor's),
- holders of an upper secondary diploma (referred to as Secondary),
- individuals with lower levels of degree (referred to as Fundamental).
Find out more about the education levels of the population in Luxembourg
More results
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