Duration of compulsory education in Belgium
Belgium: Duration of compulsory education was 13 years in 2025. β² Rising
Duration of compulsory education in Belgium, 1998β2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for duration of compulsory education in Belgium is 13 years, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
That represents a change of up 8.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, duration of compulsory education in Belgium peaked at 13 years in 2021 and was at its lowest, 12 years, in 1998.
Belgium ranks 17th of 200 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 12 years | 12 years | 12 years | 2 |
| 2000s | 12 years | 12 years | 12 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 12 years | 12 years | 12 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.83 years | 12 years | 13 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Belgium
- 17 Aruba, Kingdom of the Netherlands 13 years compare
- 17 Austria 13 years compare
- 17 Bermuda 13 years compare
- 17 Costa Rica 13 years compare
- 17 Germany 13 years compare
- 17 France 13 years compare
- 17 Gibraltar 13 years compare
- 17 Hungary 13 years compare
- 17 Marshall Islands, Republic of the 13 years compare
- 17 North Macedonia 13 years compare
- 17 Netherlands 13 years compare
- 17 Philippines 13 years compare
- 17 Puerto Rico 13 years compare
- 17 Paraguay 13 years compare
- 17 Turks and Caicos Islands 13 years compare
More education data for Belgium
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 80,763 (2023)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 63.3% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 15.7% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 102.1% (2023)
- Primary education, teachers, per capita 0.0069 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is duration of compulsory education in Belgium?
- Duration of compulsory education in Belgium was 13 years in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest duration of compulsory education recorded in Belgium?
- The highest recorded value was 13 years in 2021.
- What is the lowest duration of compulsory education recorded in Belgium?
- The lowest recorded value was 12 years in 1998.
- How does Belgium rank for duration of compulsory education?
- Belgium ranks 17th out of 200 countries with data for 2025.
- Is duration of compulsory education rising or falling in Belgium?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Belgium data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Duration of compulsory education (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV Β· JSON β 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release