Over-qualification rates by citizenship in France

France: Over-qualification rates by citizenship was 20.4% in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
20.4%
Change on year
down 1.0%
World rank
16th
of 36 countries
All-time high
22.3%
in 2014
All-time low
13.6%
in 1995
Years of data
31
1995–2025

Over-qualification rates by citizenship in France, 1995–2025

051015201995201020251995: 13.6 Percentage1996: 14 Percentage1997: 14.9 Percentage1998: 16.5 Percentage1999: 17.1 Percentage2000: 18 Percentage2001: 18.2 Percentage2002: 18.6 Percentage2003: 18.5 Percentage2004: 19.3 Percentage2005: 19.6 Percentage2006: 20.4 Percentage2007: 20.6 Percentage2008: 20.7 Percentage2009: 21.1 Percentage2010: 20.5 Percentage2011: 20 Percentage2012: 19.9 Percentage2013: 21.1 Percentage2014: 22.3 Percentage2015: 22 Percentage2016: 21.6 Percentage2017: 22 Percentage2018: 21.9 Percentage2019: 21.7 Percentage2020: 21.1 Percentage2021: 20.5 Percentage2022: 21.5 Percentage2023: 21.1 Percentage2024: 20.6 Percentage2025: 20.4 Percentage

Source: Eurostat. Measured in Percentage.

Analysis

In 2025, over-qualification rates by citizenship in France stood at 20.4%.

The figure is down 1.0% on the previous year and down 7.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, over-qualification rates by citizenship in France peaked at 22.3% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 13.6%, in 1995.

That places France 16th out of 36 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 31 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 15.2% 13.6% 17.1% 5
2000s 19.5% 18.0% 21.1% 10
2010s 21.3% 19.9% 22.3% 10
2020s 20.9% 20.4% 21.5% 6

Countries ranked near France

  1. 13 Bulgaria 20.7% compare
  2. 13 Latvia 20.7% compare
  3. 15 Italy 20.6% compare
  4. 16 Bosnia and Herzegovina 20.4% compare
  5. 16 Germany 20.4% compare
  6. 19 North Macedonia 20.3% compare

See the full ranking of 38 places →

More reference data data for France

All data for France →

Frequently asked questions

What is over-qualification rates by citizenship in France?
Over-qualification rates by citizenship in France was 20.4% in 2025, according to Eurostat.
What is the highest over-qualification rates by citizenship recorded in France?
The highest recorded value was 22.3% in 2014.
What is the lowest over-qualification rates by citizenship recorded in France?
The lowest recorded value was 13.6% in 1995.
How does France rank for over-qualification rates by citizenship?
France ranks 16th out of 36 countries with data for 2025.
Is over-qualification rates by citizenship rising or falling in France?
Over the last ten years it is down 7.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this France data come from?
The figures come from Eurostat, published as part of Over-qualification rates by citizenship. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Eurostat).

About this data

Indicator
Over-qualification rates by citizenship
Unit
Percentage
Source
Eurostat
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Eurostat)
Coverage
38 places, 1,011 data points, 1995–2025
Last refreshed