CYPRUS has the biggest proportion of highly educated second generation immigrants among EU member states with 62.3 per cent, according to an EU-wide survey
Furthermore, native-born descendants of immigrants perform extremely well in contrast to first generation immigrants, of whom 39 per cent are highly educated. The difference in percentage points is 23.3, whereas the average difference in the EU is 6.8 per cent, the survey said.
According to a 2014 report by Eurostat which has just been published, Cyprus ranks third regarding the amount of highly educated native people who are 44.7 per cent of the population after Finland and Norway with 46.1 per cent and 45.4 per cent, respectively. The least educated are people from Romania, where the percentage is 18.2, followed by Italy (19.1 per cent).
In Cyprus, Malta, Portugal, Hungary, the United Kingdom and Italy the proportions of highly educated second generation immigrants were five or more percentage points higher than for persons with a native background. In contrast, in Belgium, Luxembourg, Latvia, the Czech Republic and Finland, the proportion of tertiary educated second generation immigrants was at least five percentage points lower than their counterparts with a native background.
Native born people of Cypriot origin in Cyprus had slightly more jobs than immigrants. In 2014, 77.1 per cent of them had paid work. Both immigrant groups were not far behind, three-quarters of them were also employed.
The gap was wider at the EU level with 10 per cent of immigrants less employed compared to the native born population with native background.
In 2014, 82.4 per cent (or 251.7 million individuals) of the EU population aged 15-64 were native born with native background, 11.5 per cent (36.5 million) were foreign-born and 6.1 per cent (18.4 million) were considered as second generation immigrants.
