Belgium vs New Zealand: Share of the population with tertiary education

Belgium
34.5%
in 2020
New Zealand
39.8%
in 2020
Belgium rank
11th
New Zealand rank
9th

Share of the population with tertiary education over time

  • Belgium
  • New Zealand
010203040187019452020

How they compare

New Zealand currently reports 39.8% against 34.5% in Belgium, a difference of 5.3%.

That makes New Zealand's figure about 1.2 times Belgium's.

The two have swapped places 3 times across 31 shared years of data; in 1870 it was Belgium ahead.

Belgium ranks 11th and New Zealand ranks 9th of 111 countries.

Across the 16 decades both report, Belgium averaged higher in 5 and New Zealand in 11.

Head to head by decade

Decade Belgium New Zealand Difference Ahead
1870s 0.3% 0.1% 0.3% Belgium
1880s 0.5% 0.2% 0.3% Belgium
1890s 0.7% 0.4% 0.3% Belgium
1900s 0.8% 0.7% 0.1% Belgium
1910s 0.9% 0.8% 0.0% Belgium
1920s 1.1% 1.5% 0.4% New Zealand
1930s 1.5% 2.3% 0.8% New Zealand
1940s 2.4% 3.1% 0.7% New Zealand
1950s 3.5% 4.3% 0.8% New Zealand
1960s 4.8% 5.2% 0.5% New Zealand
1970s 7.7% 17.4% 9.7% New Zealand
1980s 14.6% 32.7% 18.1% New Zealand
1990s 22.8% 41.7% 19.0% New Zealand
2000s 30.2% 42.9% 12.6% New Zealand
2010s 34.8% 40.0% 5.2% New Zealand
2020s 34.5% 39.8% 5.3% New Zealand

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher share of the population with tertiary education, Belgium or New Zealand?
New Zealand, at 39.8% against 34.5% in Belgium as of 2020.
What is the difference in share of the population with tertiary education between Belgium and New Zealand?
5.3%, with New Zealand ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Belgium and New Zealand?
31 years are reported by both, from 1870 to 2020.
How do Belgium and New Zealand rank globally for share of the population with tertiary education?
Belgium ranks 11th and New Zealand ranks 9th of 111 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of the population with tertiary education. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Belgium vs New Zealand: Share of the population with tertiary education. Statizoid, drawing on Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 07 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/compare/share-of-the-population-with-completed-tertiary-education/belgium/new-zealand/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of the population with tertiary education
Unit
%
Source
Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
111 places, 3,441 data points, 1870–2020
Last refreshed

Percentage of the population aged 25 to 65 years who have either completed or partially completed tertiary education.