Netherlands vs United States: Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education
Netherlands
12
in 2025
United States
12
in 2025
Netherlands rank
5th
United States rank
5th
Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education over time
- Netherlands
- United States
How they compare
Netherlands currently reports 12 against 12 in United States, a difference of 0.
Across all 28 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.
Netherlands ranks 5th and United States ranks 5th of 214 countries.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Netherlands | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 12 | 12 | 0 | — |
| 2000s | 12 | 12 | 0 | — |
| 2010s | 12 | 12 | 0 | — |
| 2020s | 12 | 12 | 0 | — |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education, Netherlands or United States?
- Netherlands, at 12 against 12 in United States as of 2025.
- What is the difference in number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education between Netherlands and United States?
- 0, with Netherlands ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Netherlands and United States?
- 28 years are reported by both, from 1998 to 2025.
- How do Netherlands and United States rank globally for number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education?
- Netherlands ranks 5th and United States ranks 5th of 214 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education guaranteed in legal frameworks. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
February 2026 Data Release