GENEVA, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- Around 95 percent of Swiss university graduates have found work one year after finishing their studies, faring well in comparison with other European nations, official government statistics showed Monday.

The figures, released by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), show that just 4.8 percent of Swiss graduates are still unemployed a year after graduating, a number that tallies with the overall unemployment rate in the country.

The percentage is favorable compared with the surrounding European Union countries, where the average unemployment rate of third-level graduates between one and three years after graduation is 15.1 percent, according to Eurostat, which keeps statistics for the EU, the Swiss News Agency, SDA-ATS, reported.

However, the picture is far from homogenous within Switzerland, and geography, education type, and age show sharp differences.

For example, university graduates from French- and Italian-speaking cantons in the south and east are much more likely to be unemployed.

For example, 9.6 percent of University of Geneva graduates are out of work after a year, while the figure for Neuchâtel is 7.5 percent and Lugano in the Italian-speaking region is 7 percent.

In contrast, the universities in Lucerne (1.7 percent), the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (2.1 percent), St. Gallen (2.7 percent) and Bern (2.8 percent), all in German-speaking areas, offer almost full employment outcomes.

Graduates of teacher training colleges -- rather than academic or vocational universities -- have the best opportunities (0.6 percent unemployment rate) and also the best financial prospects.

They earn an average of 12 percent more than other third-level graduates, according to the statistics.

Age is also a factor: graduates who finish before the age of 25 have better prospects than those that earn their degree after the age of 30, even though the latter earn more.

Practical and technical degrees relating to areas such as information technology, medicine, and pharmaceutical, eclipse liberal arts degrees and qualifications in art, theater, film, and design for employment prospects.