Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary both in Netherlands
Netherlands: Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary both was 38.9% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Netherlands, 1996–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Netherlands stood at 38.9%. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 30.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Netherlands peaked at 38.9% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 19.8%, in 1996.
That places Netherlands 24th out of 129 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary both in Netherlands, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 19.8% | — |
| 1997 | 20.9% | +6.0% |
| 1998 | 20.0% | -4.4% |
| 1999 | 20.7% | +3.5% |
| 2000 | 21.8% | +5.3% |
| 2001 | 21.7% | -0.4% |
| 2002 | 22.6% | +3.9% |
| 2003 | 24.7% | +9.5% |
| 2004 | 26.7% | +8.3% |
| 2005 | 26.1% | -2.3% |
| 2006 | 25.2% | -3.7% |
| 2007 | 27.8% | +10.3% |
| 2008 | 27.5% | -1.0% |
| 2009 | 28.2% | +2.5% |
| 2010 | 28.8% | +2.3% |
| 2011 | 28.6% | -0.7% |
| 2012 | 29.3% | +2.3% |
| 2013 | 29.9% | +2.0% |
| 2014 | 30.3% | +1.3% |
| 2015 | 31.0% | +2.3% |
| 2016 | 31.5% | +1.8% |
| 2017 | 33.7% | +6.8% |
| 2018 | 33.0% | -1.8% |
| 2019 | 36.5% | +10.3% |
| 2020 | 36.7% | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 37.7% | +2.7% |
| 2022 | 38.8% | +3.1% |
| 2023 | 38.9% | +0.1% |
Netherlands compared with similar countries
- Netherlands's 38.9% is above the median for high income countries, which is 37.8%, 1.0× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Netherlands's 38.9% 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 | 20.3% | 19.8% | 20.9% | 4 |
| 2000s | 25.2% | 21.7% | 28.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 31.2% | 28.6% | 36.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 38.0% | 36.7% | 38.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Netherlands
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 short-cycle tertiary education in Netherlands?
- Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Netherlands was 38.9% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in Netherlands?
- The highest recorded value was 38.9% in 2023.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in Netherlands?
- The lowest recorded value was 19.8% in 1996.
- How does Netherlands rank for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
- Netherlands ranks 24th out of 129 countries with data for 2023.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education rising or falling in Netherlands?
- Over the last ten years it is up 30.1%. 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 short-cycle tertiary education or higher, population 25+ years, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release