Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary both in Belgium
Belgium: Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary both was 37.9% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
37.9%
Change on year
up 2.4%
World rank
31st
of 129 countries
All-time high
38.3%
in 2021
All-time low
17.5%
in 1992
Years of data
32
1992–2023
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Belgium, 1992–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Belgium stood at 37.9%.
That represents a change of up 2.4% on the previous year and up 24.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Belgium peaked at 38.3% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 17.5%, in 1992.
That places Belgium 31st out of 129 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 32 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary both in Belgium, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 17.5% | — |
| 1993 | 18.6% | +6.8% |
| 1994 | 19.3% | +3.6% |
| 1995 | 19.6% | +1.4% |
| 1996 | 20.6% | +5.0% |
| 1997 | 21.4% | +4.2% |
| 1998 | 21.1% | -1.5% |
| 1999 | 22.2% | +5.0% |
| 2000 | 22.6% | +1.8% |
| 2001 | 23.2% | +2.8% |
| 2002 | 23.4% | +1.0% |
| 2003 | 23.7% | +1.0% |
| 2004 | 24.7% | +4.3% |
| 2005 | 26.1% | +5.5% |
| 2006 | 26.8% | +2.7% |
| 2007 | 26.8% | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 27.4% | +2.2% |
| 2009 | 28.4% | +3.8% |
| 2010 | 30.0% | +5.5% |
| 2011 | 29.8% | -0.7% |
| 2012 | 30.4% | +2.1% |
| 2013 | 30.5% | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 31.6% | +3.4% |
| 2015 | 32.1% | +1.6% |
| 2016 | 32.5% | +1.5% |
| 2017 | 35.1% | +7.9% |
| 2018 | 34.3% | -2.5% |
| 2019 | 35.8% | +4.5% |
| 2020 | 36.2% | +1.0% |
| 2021 | 38.3% | +5.8% |
| 2022 | 37.0% | -3.2% |
| 2023 | 37.9% | +2.4% |
Belgium compared with similar countries
- Belgium's 37.9% is above the median for high income countries, which is 37.8%, 1.0× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Belgium's 37.9% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 35.4%, 1.1× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 20.0% | 17.5% | 22.2% | 8 |
| 2000s | 25.3% | 22.6% | 28.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 32.2% | 29.8% | 35.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 37.3% | 36.2% | 38.3% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Belgium
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 short-cycle tertiary education in Belgium?
- Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Belgium was 37.9% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in Belgium?
- The highest recorded value was 38.3% in 2021.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in Belgium?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.5% in 1992.
- How does Belgium rank for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
- Belgium ranks 31st out of 129 countries with data for 2023.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education rising or falling in Belgium?
- Over the last ten years it is up 24.3%. 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 Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education or higher, population 25+ years, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 32 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release