In the modern economy, highly-skilled workers play a pivotal role, fostering innovation, productivity, and economic growth. These skilled individuals are defined as individuals aged 25–64 employed in managerial, professional, technical, and associate professional occupations.
In the year 2022, the European Union (EU) boasted approximately 80 million highly-skilled workers, constituting 44.2% of the total workforce aged 25–64. However, the distribution of highly-skilled workers at the regional level within the EU exhibits significant disparities.
Out of the 241 reported regions, 106 regions met or exceeded the EU average in terms of the presence of highly-skilled workers. Notably, 53 regions across the EU featured a workforce where at least half of all employed individuals fell under the category of highly-skilled workers. The highest concentrations of such individuals were predominantly found in capital regions and other urban areas. Impressively, 12 of the 14 EU regions with the highest proportions of highly-skilled workers were capital regions.
In 2022, the regions with the highest percentages of highly-skilled employment included Stockholm (Sweden) at 73.6%, Utrecht (the Netherlands) at 68.9%, Luxembourg at 67.4%, and Prov. Brabant Wallon (Belgium) at 65.8%. Capital regions in Belgium, France, Lithuania, Hungary, Finland, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Czechia followed closely, with percentages ranging from 62.6% to 65.6%.
On the contrary, rural regions, former industrial hubs, and remote peripheral areas within the EU demonstrated lower percentages of highly-skilled workers. Specifically, in 2022, 24 EU regions had less than 29.5% of their workforce aged 25–64 classified as highly-skilled employees. These regions were predominantly situated in the southeastern part of Europe, encompassing 10 regions in Greece, 6 in Romania, and 4 in Bulgaria. Additionally, this category included 3 sparsely-populated regions in the southern half of Spain and Panonska Hrvatska in Croatia.
Among these regions, the lowest proportions of highly-skilled workers were found in Greek regions such as Sterea Elláda (21.8%) and Ionia Nisia (22.3%), as well as in the Romanian region of Sud-Muntenia (22.8%). These statistics underscore the regional disparities within Romania and the broader EU concerning the presence of highly-skilled workers and their role in driving economic growth and development.
source: ec.europa.eu
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