In 2018, of almost 15 million scientists and engineers in the EU, 59% were men and 41% women, Eurostat data showed.

Men were particularly overrepresented in manufacturing (79% of scientists and engineers in manufacturing were male), while the gender ratio in the services sector was more balanced (54% male and 46% female).

However, in four EU Member States, the majority of scientists and engineers were women: Lithuania (57% female), Bulgaria and Latvia (both 52%), and Denmark (51%).

Less than one-third of scientists and engineers were women in Finland (29%), Hungary (30%), Luxembourg (31%), and Germany (33%).

The data was published to mark the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, celebrated on 11 February.