Netherlands vs Portugal: Share of children in primary school age who are in school

Netherlands
99.5%
in 2023
Portugal
99.5%
in 2023
Netherlands rank
28th
Portugal rank
27th

Share of children in primary school age who are in school over time

  • Netherlands
  • Portugal
020406080100182019212023

How they compare

Portugal currently reports 99.5% against 99.5% in Netherlands, a difference of 0.0%.

The two have swapped places 7 times across 54 shared years of data; in 1820 it was Netherlands ahead.

Netherlands ranks 28th and Portugal ranks 27th of 209 countries.

Across the 20 decades both report, Netherlands averaged higher in 17 and Portugal in 3.

Head to head by decade

Decade Netherlands Portugal Difference Ahead
1820s 66.2% 3.4% 62.8% Netherlands
1830s 69.9% 4.9% 65.0% Netherlands
1840s 73.5% 7.0% 66.4% Netherlands
1850s 73.8% 11.3% 62.5% Netherlands
1860s 75.3% 20.0% 55.3% Netherlands
1870s 80.8% 29.5% 51.2% Netherlands
1880s 81.0% 41.4% 39.6% Netherlands
1890s 83.3% 40.5% 42.7% Netherlands
1900s 85.5% 37.3% 48.1% Netherlands
1910s 88.9% 39.9% 49.0% Netherlands
1920s 89.2% 42.4% 46.8% Netherlands
1930s 90.8% 55.1% 35.8% Netherlands
1940s 90.2% 66.0% 24.2% Netherlands
1950s 88.3% 85.0% 3.4% Netherlands
1960s 95.3% 88.0% 7.3% Netherlands
1970s 92.0% 85.0% 7.0% Netherlands
1980s 93.0% 97.0% 4.0% Portugal
2000s 99.4% 99.8% 0.4% Portugal
2010s 99.8% 98.7% 1.0% Netherlands
2020s 99.7% 99.7% 0.1% Portugal

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher share of children in primary school age who are in school, Netherlands or Portugal?
Portugal, at 99.5% against 99.5% in Netherlands as of 2023.
What is the difference in share of children in primary school age who are in school between Netherlands and Portugal?
0.0%, with Portugal ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Netherlands and Portugal?
54 years are reported by both, from 1820 to 2023.
How do Netherlands and Portugal rank globally for share of children in primary school age who are in school?
Netherlands ranks 28th and Portugal ranks 27th of 209 countries.
Where does this data come from?
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of children in primary school age who are in school. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Share of children in primary school age who are in school
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
209 places, 8,478 data points, 1820–2025
Last refreshed

The share of children of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.