The aim of this study is to compare the implementation of sustainable development goals targeted at an important area of socio-economic life: quality education. The study focuses on a sample of 28 European Union countries and uses multivariate approaches to check to what extent the goals have been achieved. Due to data availability, the study is based on data for 2018. Regardless of the employed method, the results, presented in the form of rankings, show that Romania and Italy achieved the lowest positions and were outliers; in contrast, Sweden was the best performer. The rankings underscore the differences within the European Union, highlighting the dissimilarities between countries. The results show that globalisation and the creation of unified policy frameworks in the European Union require additional effort at the domestic level, especially since education is an important element of the European Union's strategies and the Sustainable Development Goals announced by the United Nations.