Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper rural both in Netherlands
Netherlands: Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper rural both was 71.3% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Netherlands, 1996–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Netherlands recorded 71.3% for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in 2023. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.2% on the previous year and up 7.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Netherlands peaked at 71.3% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 53.8%, in 1999.
Netherlands ranks 33rd of 113 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper rural both in Netherlands, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 56.8% | — |
| 1997 | 56.7% | -0.2% |
| 1998 | 57.9% | +2.2% |
| 1999 | 53.8% | -7.2% |
| 2000 | 55.4% | +3.0% |
| 2001 | 57.7% | +4.2% |
| 2002 | 58.1% | +0.7% |
| 2003 | 62.9% | +8.2% |
| 2004 | 62.4% | -0.8% |
| 2005 | 61.3% | -1.8% |
| 2006 | 60.5% | -1.2% |
| 2007 | 63.0% | +4.1% |
| 2008 | 61.4% | -2.6% |
| 2009 | 63.4% | +3.2% |
| 2010 | 63.7% | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 62.6% | -1.8% |
| 2012 | 63.2% | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 66.2% | +4.8% |
| 2014 | 65.7% | -0.8% |
| 2015 | 66.3% | +1.0% |
| 2016 | 65.2% | -1.6% |
| 2017 | 69.9% | +7.2% |
| 2018 | 67.7% | -3.2% |
| 2019 | 69.3% | +2.3% |
| 2020 | 69.7% | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 69.7% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 70.5% | +1.1% |
| 2023 | 71.3% | +1.2% |
Netherlands compared with similar countries
- Netherlands's 71.3% is below the median for high income countries, which is 73.5%, 97% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Netherlands's 71.3% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 77.6%, 92% of the median. (43 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 56.3% | 53.8% | 57.9% | 4 |
| 2000s | 60.6% | 55.4% | 63.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 66.0% | 62.6% | 69.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 70.3% | 69.7% | 71.3% | 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 upper secondary education or in Netherlands?
- Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Netherlands was 71.3% 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 71.3% in 2023.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Netherlands?
- The lowest recorded value was 53.8% in 1999.
- How does Netherlands rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- Netherlands ranks 33rd out of 113 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 7.6%. 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, rural, 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