Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary … lower both in Netherlands
Netherlands: Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary … lower both was 90.3% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Netherlands, 1971–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Netherlands is 90.3%, measured in 2023.
The figure is down 1.0% on the previous year and up 1.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Netherlands peaked at 91.9% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 53.0%, in 1971.
Netherlands ranks 43rd of 135 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary … lower both in Netherlands, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 53.0% | — |
| 2004 | 89.2% | +68.2% |
| 2005 | 89.0% | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 89.2% | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 90.2% | +1.2% |
| 2008 | 89.5% | -0.9% |
| 2009 | 89.4% | -0.0% |
| 2010 | 89.5% | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 89.4% | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 89.9% | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 89.4% | -0.5% |
| 2014 | 89.4% | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 89.5% | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 89.7% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 91.3% | +1.7% |
| 2018 | 90.4% | -1.0% |
| 2019 | 91.9% | +1.7% |
| 2020 | 91.2% | -0.8% |
| 2021 | 91.0% | -0.3% |
| 2022 | 91.1% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 90.3% | -1.0% |
Netherlands compared with similar countries
- Netherlands's 90.3% is below the median for high income countries, which is 91.6%, 99% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
- Netherlands's 90.3% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 95.4%, 95% of the median. (41 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary … lower both in Netherlands 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | +68.2% | 53.0% | 89.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 53.0% | 53.0% | 53.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 89.4% | 89.0% | 90.2% | 6 |
| 2010s | 90.0% | 89.4% | 91.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 90.9% | 90.3% | 91.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Netherlands
- 40 France 91.6% compare
- 41 Cook Islands 90.9% compare
- 42 Luxembourg 90.7% compare
- 44 South Korea 90.0% compare
- 45 Belgium 88.9% compare
- 46 Puerto Rico 88.8% compare
More education data for Netherlands
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 99.64 (2023)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 99.48 (2023)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Netherlands?
- Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Netherlands was 90.3% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or recorded in Netherlands?
- The highest recorded value was 91.9% in 2019.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or recorded in Netherlands?
- The lowest recorded value was 53.0% in 1971.
- How does Netherlands rank for educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or?
- Netherlands ranks 43rd out of 135 countries with data for 2023.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or rising or falling in Netherlands?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Netherlands 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 — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release