Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Belgium
Belgium: Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher was 87.4% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Belgium, 2006–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Belgium recorded 87.4% for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in 2023.
The figure is down 0.5% on the previous year and up 11.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Belgium peaked at 89.0% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 77.2%, in 2007.
Belgium ranks 28th of 31 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 18 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Belgium, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 78.1% | — |
| 2007 | 77.2% | -1.0% |
| 2008 | 78.4% | +1.5% |
| 2009 | 79.1% | +0.8% |
| 2010 | 79.6% | +0.7% |
| 2011 | 78.4% | -1.5% |
| 2012 | 77.5% | -1.2% |
| 2013 | 78.7% | +1.6% |
| 2014 | 82.7% | +5.1% |
| 2015 | 84.8% | +2.5% |
| 2016 | 85.8% | +1.2% |
| 2017 | 87.0% | +1.3% |
| 2018 | 89.0% | +2.3% |
| 2019 | 87.6% | -1.6% |
| 2020 | 89.0% | +1.6% |
| 2021 | 88.0% | -1.1% |
| 2022 | 87.9% | -0.1% |
| 2023 | 87.4% | -0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 78.2% | 77.2% | 79.1% | 4 |
| 2010s | 83.1% | 77.5% | 89.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 88.1% | 87.4% | 89.0% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Belgium
- 25 Spain 94.0% compare
- 26 Bosnia and Herzegovina 93.6% compare
- 27 France 91.5% compare
- 29 Brunei Darussalam 86.0% compare
- 30 Netherlands 85.5% compare
- 31 Costa Rica 74.8% 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)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 102.11 (2023)
- School enrollment, primary 102.1% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Belgium?
- Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Belgium was 87.4% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in Belgium?
- The highest recorded value was 89.0% in 2018.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in Belgium?
- The lowest recorded value was 77.2% in 2007.
- How does Belgium rank for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher?
- Belgium ranks 28th out of 31 countries with data for 2023.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher rising or falling in Belgium?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.1%. 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 primary education or higher, population 25+ years, immigrant background, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 18 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release