Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper both in Belgium
Belgium: Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper both was 74.4% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Belgium, 1970–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Belgium is 74.4%, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 33 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.0% on the previous year and up 15.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Belgium peaked at 74.4% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 14.0%, in 1970.
Belgium ranks 49th of 142 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 33 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper both in Belgium, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 14.0% | — |
| 1992 | 43.0% | +206.7% |
| 1993 | 43.6% | +1.4% |
| 1994 | 45.3% | +3.8% |
| 1995 | 46.8% | +3.4% |
| 1996 | 48.6% | +3.8% |
| 1997 | 49.4% | +1.7% |
| 1998 | 48.4% | -2.2% |
| 1999 | 48.9% | +1.2% |
| 2000 | 50.0% | +2.2% |
| 2001 | 50.7% | +1.4% |
| 2002 | 52.0% | +2.7% |
| 2003 | 52.6% | +1.1% |
| 2004 | 54.6% | +3.9% |
| 2005 | 56.8% | +3.9% |
| 2006 | 57.7% | +1.7% |
| 2007 | 58.8% | +1.9% |
| 2008 | 60.4% | +2.7% |
| 2009 | 61.7% | +2.1% |
| 2010 | 61.7% | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 62.8% | +1.7% |
| 2012 | 63.2% | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 64.3% | +1.7% |
| 2014 | 64.0% | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 66.2% | +3.4% |
| 2016 | 67.1% | +1.3% |
| 2017 | 69.2% | +3.1% |
| 2018 | 70.1% | +1.3% |
| 2019 | 71.4% | +2.0% |
| 2020 | 72.1% | +1.0% |
| 2021 | 73.6% | +2.1% |
| 2022 | 73.7% | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 74.4% | +1.0% |
Belgium compared with similar countries
- Belgium's 74.4% is below the median for high income countries, which is 79.5%, 94% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Belgium's 74.4% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 81.4%, 91% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper both in Belgium 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | +206.7% | 14.0% | 43.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 14.0% | 14.0% | 14.0% | 1 |
| 1990s | 46.8% | 43.0% | 49.4% | 8 |
| 2000s | 55.5% | 50.0% | 61.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 66.0% | 61.7% | 71.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 73.5% | 72.1% | 74.4% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Belgium
- 46 Saudi Arabia 76.0% compare
- 47 Moldova 75.3% compare
- 48 New Zealand 75.1% compare
- 50 Netherlands 74.1% compare
- 51 Romania 72.8% compare
- 52 Ukraine 72.5% compare
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 upper secondary education or in Belgium?
- Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Belgium was 74.4% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Belgium?
- The highest recorded value was 74.4% in 2023.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Belgium?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.0% in 1970.
- How does Belgium rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- Belgium ranks 49th out of 142 countries with data for 2023.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or rising or falling in Belgium?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.8%. 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 upper secondary education or higher, population 25+ years, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 33 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release