Compulsory education, duration in Netherlands
Netherlands: Compulsory education, duration was 13 years in 2025. ▬ Flat
Latest (2025)
13 years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
17th
of 197 countries
All-time high
13 years
in 1997
All-time low
13 years
in 1997
Years of data
29
1997–2025
Compulsory education, duration in Netherlands, 1997–2025
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2025, compulsory education, duration in Netherlands stood at 13 years. That is the highest value across all 29 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, compulsory education, duration in Netherlands peaked at 13 years in 1997 and was at its lowest, 13 years, in 1997.
Netherlands ranks 17th of 197 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
Compulsory education, duration in Netherlands, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 13 years | — |
| 1998 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 13 years | +0.0% |
Netherlands compared with similar countries
- Netherlands's 13 years is above the median for high income countries, which is 11 years, 1.2× the median. (77 countries reporting)
- Netherlands's 13 years is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 10 years, 1.3× the median. (53 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 13 years | 13 years | 13 years | 3 |
| 2000s | 13 years | 13 years | 13 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 13 years | 13 years | 13 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 13 years | 13 years | 13 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Netherlands
- 17 Aruba 13 years compare
- 17 Austria 13 years compare
- 17 Belgium 13 years compare
- 17 Bermuda 13 years compare
- 17 Costa Rica 13 years compare
- 17 France 13 years compare
- 17 Germany 13 years compare
- 17 Gibraltar 13 years compare
- 17 Hungary 13 years compare
- 17 Marshall Islands 13 years compare
- 17 North Macedonia 13 years compare
- 17 Paraguay 13 years compare
- 17 Philippines 13 years compare
- 17 Puerto Rico 13 years compare
- 17 Turks and Caicos Islands 13 years compare
More education data for Netherlands
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 118,472 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 23,856 (1985)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 247,743 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 240,049 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.61 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.14 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.0937 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.064 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is compulsory education, duration in Netherlands?
- Compulsory education, duration in Netherlands was 13 years in 2025, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest compulsory education, duration recorded in Netherlands?
- The highest recorded value was 13 years in 1997.
- What is the lowest compulsory education, duration recorded in Netherlands?
- The lowest recorded value was 13 years in 1997.
- How does Netherlands rank for compulsory education, duration?
- Netherlands ranks 17th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is compulsory education, duration rising or falling in Netherlands?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Netherlands data come from?
- The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Compulsory education, duration (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 29 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Duration of compulsory education is the number of years that children are legally obliged to attend school.