Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary … lower both in Belgium
Belgium: Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary … lower both was 88.9% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Belgium, 1970–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Belgium is 88.9%, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 19 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and up 8.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Belgium peaked at 88.9% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 33.9%, in 1970.
Belgium ranks 45th of 135 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary … lower both in Belgium, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 33.9% | — |
| 2006 | 76.8% | +126.7% |
| 2007 | 77.8% | +1.4% |
| 2008 | 78.3% | +0.6% |
| 2009 | 79.4% | +1.4% |
| 2010 | 79.6% | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 80.1% | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 80.3% | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 81.6% | +1.6% |
| 2014 | 82.3% | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 84.4% | +2.5% |
| 2016 | 84.8% | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 86.5% | +2.0% |
| 2018 | 87.3% | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 88.4% | +1.3% |
| 2020 | 88.2% | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 88.6% | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 88.7% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 88.9% | +0.2% |
Belgium compared with similar countries
- Belgium's 88.9% is below the median for high income countries, which is 91.6%, 97% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
- Belgium's 88.9% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 95.4%, 93% of the median. (41 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary … lower both in Belgium changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | +126.7% | 33.9% | 76.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 33.9% | 33.9% | 33.9% | 1 |
| 2000s | 78.1% | 76.8% | 79.4% | 4 |
| 2010s | 83.5% | 79.6% | 88.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 88.6% | 88.2% | 88.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Belgium
- 42 Luxembourg 90.7% compare
- 43 Netherlands 90.3% compare
- 44 South Korea 90.0% compare
- 46 Puerto Rico 88.8% compare
- 47 Brunei 88.7% compare
- 48 Poland 88.2% compare
More education data for Belgium
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 98.32 (2023)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 98.34 (2023)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 137,795 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 17,384 (2022)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 221,494 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 210,503 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.18 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 814,388 (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.1356 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Belgium?
- Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Belgium was 88.9% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or recorded in Belgium?
- The highest recorded value was 88.9% in 2023.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or recorded in Belgium?
- The lowest recorded value was 33.9% in 1970.
- How does Belgium rank for educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or?
- Belgium ranks 45th out of 135 countries with data for 2023.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or rising or falling in Belgium?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.9%. 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 Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or higher, population 25+ years, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 19 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release