The number of women working as scientists and engineers in the EU rose from 3.4 million in 2008 to 7.9 million in 2024.
Women made up 40.5% of scientists and engineers across all economic activities in 2024, Eurostat announced on Wednesday.
Their share was higher in services, at 45.0%, and in knowledge-intensive services — sectors such as information, finance and professional activities — at 45.1%.
In manufacturing, women accounted for 22.4% of scientists and engineers in 2024, while the figure was 23.6% in other activities.
Wide differences between countries and regions
The proportion of female scientists and engineers varied across EU countries in 2024, ranging from 50.9% in Latvia to 30.7% in Finland, Eurostat reported.
Other countries with higher shares included Denmark (48.8%), Estonia (47.9%), Spain (47.6%), and Bulgaria and Ireland (both 47.3%).
Among the countries with the lowest representation after Finland were Hungary (31.7%), Luxembourg (32.4%), Slovakia (33.6%) and Germany (34.6%).
At a broad regional level, women were the majority of scientists and engineers in 11 EU regions in 2024, including Canarias in Spain (58.8%) and the Portuguese islands Região Autónoma dos Açores (57.3%) and Madeira (56.4%).
The smallest proportions were recorded in Közép-Magyarország in Hungary (30.0%) and Manner-Suomi in Finland (30.7%), as well as Sud in Italy (31.1%) and several German regions including Rheinland-Pfalz (31.3%), Baden-Württemberg (31.7%) and Hessen (32.3%).
The figures were published ahead of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science on 11 February.
