Belgium vs Netherlands: Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP

Belgium
1.5%
in 2022
Netherlands
1.6%
in 2022
Belgium rank
17th
Netherlands rank
15th

Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP over time

  • Belgium
  • Netherlands
0.511.52197019962022

How they compare

Netherlands currently reports 1.6% against 1.5% in Belgium, a difference of 0.1%.

Across all 23 years both countries report, Netherlands has been ahead every year.

Belgium ranks 17th and Netherlands ranks 15th of 173 countries.

Netherlands has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Belgium Netherlands Difference Ahead
1970s 1.0% 1.8% 0.9% Netherlands
1980s 0.9% 1.7% 0.8% Netherlands
1990s 0.8% 1.4% 0.6% Netherlands
2010s 1.5% 1.6% 0.2% Netherlands
2020s 1.6% 1.6% 0.1% Netherlands

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp, Belgium or Netherlands?
Netherlands, at 1.6% against 1.5% in Belgium as of 2022.
What is the difference in government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp between Belgium and Netherlands?
0.1%, with Netherlands ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Belgium and Netherlands?
23 years are reported by both, from 1975 to 2022.
How do Belgium and Netherlands rank globally for government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp?
Belgium ranks 17th and Netherlands ranks 15th of 173 countries.
Where does this data come from?
UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP (%). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Belgium vs Netherlands: Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 15 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/compare/government-expenditure-on-tertiary-education-as-a-percentage-of-gdp-percent/belgium/netherlands/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://education.statizoid.com/compare/government-expenditure-on-tertiary-education-as-a-percentage-of-gdp-percent/belgium/netherlands/">Belgium vs Netherlands: Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
Coverage
173 places, 3,953 data points, 1970–2025
Last refreshed

February 2026 Data Release