Over-qualification rates by citizenship in Germany

Germany: Over-qualification rates by citizenship was 20.4% in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
20.4%
Change on year
up 3.6%
World rank
16th
of 36 countries
All-time high
24.5%
in 1995
All-time low
13.3%
in 2011
Years of data
30
1995–2025

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

05101520251995201020251995: 24.5 Percentage1996: 24.5 Percentage1997: 24.5 Percentage1999: 24 Percentage2000: 23.9 Percentage2001: 23.4 Percentage2002: 24 Percentage2003: 22.6 Percentage2004: 22.8 Percentage2005: 22.2 Percentage2006: 21.7 Percentage2007: 21 Percentage2008: 21.5 Percentage2009: 21.4 Percentage2010: 21.3 Percentage2011: 13.3 Percentage2012: 18.1 Percentage2013: 18.3 Percentage2014: 19.1 Percentage2015: 18.5 Percentage2016: 19.1 Percentage2017: 19.2 Percentage2018: 19 Percentage2019: 18.5 Percentage2020: 20.2 Percentage2021: 20.4 Percentage2022: 20.4 Percentage2023: 20.2 Percentage2024: 19.7 Percentage2025: 20.4 Percentage

Source: Eurostat. Measured in Percentage.

Analysis

Germany recorded 20.4% for over-qualification rates by citizenship in 2025.

That represents a change of up 3.6% on the previous year and up 10.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, over-qualification rates by citizenship in Germany peaked at 24.5% in 1995 and was at its lowest, 13.3%, in 2011.

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

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 30 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 24.4% 24.0% 24.5% 4
2000s 22.4% 21.0% 24.0% 10
2010s 18.4% 13.3% 21.3% 10
2020s 20.2% 19.7% 20.4% 6

Countries ranked near Germany

  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 France 20.4% compare
  6. 19 North Macedonia 20.3% compare

See the full ranking of 38 places →

More reference data data for Germany

All data for Germany →

Frequently asked questions

What is over-qualification rates by citizenship in Germany?
Over-qualification rates by citizenship in Germany was 20.4% in 2025, according to Eurostat.
What is the highest over-qualification rates by citizenship recorded in Germany?
The highest recorded value was 24.5% in 1995.
What is the lowest over-qualification rates by citizenship recorded in Germany?
The lowest recorded value was 13.3% in 2011.
How does Germany rank for over-qualification rates by citizenship?
Germany ranks 16th out of 36 countries with data for 2025.
Is over-qualification rates by citizenship rising or falling in Germany?
Over the last ten years it is up 10.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Germany 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 — 30 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