Children out of school in Belgium

Belgium: Children out of school was 1.7% in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
1.7%
Change on year
up 35.5%
World rank
134th
of 196 countries
All-time high
2.1%
in 2011
All-time low
0.1%
in 2002
Years of data
23
2001–2023

Children out of school in Belgium, 2001–2023

00.511.522001201220232001: 0.117 % of primary school age2002: 0.088 % of primary school age2003: 0.119 % of primary school age2004: 0.59 % of primary school age2005: 0.55 % of primary school age2006: 0.764 % of primary school age2007: 0.927 % of primary school age2008: 1.1 % of primary school age2009: 1.2 % of primary school age2010: 1.3 % of primary school age2011: 2.1 % of primary school age2012: 1.9 % of primary school age2013: 1.8 % of primary school age2014: 1.8 % of primary school age2015: 1.9 % of primary school age2016: 1.9 % of primary school age2017: 1.4 % of primary school age2018: 1.3 % of primary school age2019: 1.3 % of primary school age2020: 1.2 % of primary school age2021: 1.5 % of primary school age2022: 1.2 % of primary school age2023: 1.7 % of primary school age

Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in % of primary school age.

Analysis

In 2023, children out of school in Belgium stood at 1.7%.

That represents a change of up 35.5% on the previous year and down 8.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, children out of school in Belgium peaked at 2.1% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 2002.

That places Belgium 134th out of 196 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.

Children out of school in Belgium, year by year

Annual values for Children out of school (% of primary school age) in Belgium, 2001 to 2023.
Year % of primary school age Change
2001 0.1%
2002 0.1% -24.3%
2003 0.1% +34.6%
2004 0.6% +396.4%
2005 0.5% -6.8%
2006 0.8% +39.0%
2007 0.9% +21.2%
2008 1.1% +18.1%
2009 1.2% +12.3%
2010 1.3% +5.4%
2011 2.1% +62.2%
2012 1.9% -10.6%
2013 1.8% -3.7%
2014 1.8% +1.3%
2015 1.9% +1.1%
2016 1.9% +3.7%
2017 1.4% -28.0%
2018 1.3% -3.2%
2019 1.3% +0.7%
2020 1.2% -8.8%
2021 1.5% +19.9%
2022 1.2% -16.9%
2023 1.7% +35.5%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 0.6% 0.1% 1.2% 9
2010s 1.7% 1.3% 2.1% 10
2020s 1.4% 1.2% 1.7% 4

Countries ranked near Belgium

  1. 131 Aruba 1.8% compare
  2. 132 Viet Nam 1.7% compare
  3. 133 Antigua and Barbuda 1.7% compare
  4. 135 Gibraltar 1.6% compare
  5. 136 Algeria 1.6% compare
  6. 137 Marshall Islands 1.5% compare

See the full ranking of 201 places →

More education data for Belgium

All data for Belgium →

Frequently asked questions

What is children out of school in Belgium?
Children out of school in Belgium was 1.7% in 2023, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
What is the highest children out of school recorded in Belgium?
The highest recorded value was 2.1% in 2011.
What is the lowest children out of school recorded in Belgium?
The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 2002.
How does Belgium rank for children out of school?
Belgium ranks 134th out of 196 countries with data for 2023.
Is children out of school rising or falling in Belgium?
Over the last ten years it is down 8.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Belgium data come from?
The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Children out of school (% of primary school age). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Children out of school in Belgium. Statizoid, drawing on Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Retrieved 11 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/children-out-of-school-percent-of-primary-school-age/belgium/

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 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://education.statizoid.com/stat/children-out-of-school-percent-of-primary-school-age/belgium/">Children out of school in Belgium</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Children out of school (% of primary school age)
Unit
% of primary school age
Source
Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
201 places, 4,722 data points, 1970–2025
Last refreshed

Children out of school are the percentage of primary-school-age children who are not enrolled in primary or secondary school. Children in the official primary age group that are in preprimary education should be considered out of school.