Duration of compulsory education in Netherlands
Netherlands: Duration of compulsory education was 13 years in 2025. ▬ Flat
Duration of compulsory education in Netherlands, 1997–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for duration of compulsory education in Netherlands is 13 years, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 29 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, duration of compulsory education in Netherlands peaked at 13 years in 1997 and was at its lowest, 13 years, in 1997.
Netherlands ranks 17th of 205 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
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
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 64.2% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 14.9% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 104.2% (2023)
- Primary education, teachers 98,851 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.43 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 103.9% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is duration of compulsory education in Netherlands?
- Duration of compulsory education in Netherlands was 13 years in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest duration of compulsory education recorded in Netherlands?
- The highest recorded value was 13 years in 1997.
- What is the lowest duration of compulsory education recorded in Netherlands?
- The lowest recorded value was 13 years in 1997.
- How does Netherlands rank for duration of compulsory education?
- Netherlands ranks 17th out of 205 countries with data for 2025.
- Is duration of compulsory education 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 UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Duration of compulsory education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 29 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The number of years of compulsory education is based on students starting at the earliest entrance age, studying full-time, and advancing without grade repetition or skipping.