Americans take it for granted that the level of education at American colleges is extremely variable. Cornell is called "college" but Tumbleweed State Technical College is called college, too.

The education one would get out of university in Germany is equivalent to a top-25 college in the US. On that front, the Germans are doing rather well. How many Americans have a degree from a top-25 institution?

"The education one would get out of university in Germany is equivalent to a top-25 college in the US. "

Yeah well I have to call bullshit on this one. Fachhochschule is tertiary, too.

You have to keep in mind that Germany has strong apprenticeship programs which include practical on-the-job training half of the time and vocational school the other half. Those are not included in the numbers above.

The 60ish percent number almost definitely includes community college ("2 year") degrees, which German apprenticeships mirror.

The percentage of Americans with a bachelors degree is closer to 28 percent.