Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper male in Netherlands
Netherlands: Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper male was 75.6% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Netherlands, 1971–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Netherlands is 75.6%, measured in 2023.
The figure is down 0.8% on the previous year and up 2.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Netherlands peaked at 77.0% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 19.1%, in 1971.
That places Netherlands 50th out of 140 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 29 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper male in Netherlands, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 19.1% | — |
| 1996 | 65.5% | +242.6% |
| 1997 | 66.8% | +2.0% |
| 1998 | 67.1% | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 66.8% | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 66.9% | +0.2% |
| 2001 | 67.0% | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 67.9% | +1.3% |
| 2003 | 69.7% | +2.7% |
| 2004 | 70.6% | +1.2% |
| 2005 | 70.9% | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 70.4% | -0.7% |
| 2007 | 72.4% | +2.9% |
| 2008 | 71.0% | -2.0% |
| 2009 | 70.9% | -0.2% |
| 2010 | 71.5% | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 70.4% | -1.5% |
| 2012 | 71.2% | +1.1% |
| 2013 | 74.0% | +3.9% |
| 2014 | 73.7% | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 73.8% | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 73.9% | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 76.0% | +2.8% |
| 2018 | 74.8% | -1.6% |
| 2019 | 77.0% | +3.0% |
| 2020 | 76.2% | -1.0% |
| 2021 | 76.0% | -0.3% |
| 2022 | 76.3% | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 75.6% | -0.8% |
Netherlands compared with similar countries
- Netherlands's 75.6% is below the median for high income countries, which is 79.7%, 95% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Netherlands's 75.6% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 81.6%, 93% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper male 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | +242.6% | 19.1% | 65.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 19.1% | 19.1% | 19.1% | 1 |
| 1990s | 66.6% | 65.5% | 67.1% | 4 |
| 2000s | 69.8% | 66.9% | 72.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 73.6% | 70.4% | 77.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 76.0% | 75.6% | 76.3% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Netherlands
- 47 Saudi Arabia 77.2% compare
- 48 Moldova 76.9% compare
- 49 New Zealand 75.7% compare
- 51 United Arab Emirates 75.6% compare
- 52 North Macedonia 75.4% compare
- 53 Ukraine 75.2% 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 upper secondary education or in Netherlands?
- Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Netherlands was 75.6% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Netherlands?
- The highest recorded value was 77.0% in 2019.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Netherlands?
- The lowest recorded value was 19.1% in 1971.
- How does Netherlands rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- Netherlands ranks 50th out of 140 countries with data for 2023.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or rising or falling in Netherlands?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.2%. 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 upper secondary education or higher, population 25+ years, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 29 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release