Gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Belgium
Belgium: Gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education was 98.3% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Belgium, 1820–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Belgium recorded 98.3% for gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.4% on the previous year and up 0.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Belgium peaked at 100.0% in 1960 and was at its lowest, 6.3%, in 1820.
That places Belgium 41st out of 190 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 53 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1820s | 6.7% | 6.3% | 7.2% | 2 |
| 1830s | 8.7% | 8.2% | 9.3% | 2 |
| 1840s | 11.3% | 10.6% | 12.0% | 2 |
| 1850s | 14.4% | 13.6% | 15.3% | 2 |
| 1860s | 18.3% | 17.3% | 19.4% | 2 |
| 1870s | 23.0% | 21.7% | 24.2% | 2 |
| 1880s | 28.4% | 27.0% | 29.9% | 2 |
| 1890s | 58.6% | 55.2% | 62.0% | 2 |
| 1900s | 73.9% | 73.8% | 74.1% | 2 |
| 1910s | 78.5% | 77.7% | 79.4% | 2 |
| 1920s | 82.0% | 81.1% | 82.8% | 2 |
| 1930s | 85.4% | 84.5% | 86.2% | 2 |
| 1940s | 88.8% | 88.0% | 89.7% | 2 |
| 1950s | 89.3% | 87.2% | 91.4% | 2 |
| 1960s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1970s | 97.6% | 97.5% | 97.8% | 2 |
| 1980s | 98.0% | 98.0% | 98.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 99.2% | 98.8% | 99.6% | 6 |
| 2010s | 98.3% | 97.9% | 98.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 98.6% | 98.3% | 98.8% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Belgium
More education data for Belgium
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 63.3% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 15.7% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 102.1% (2023)
- Primary education, teachers 80,763 (2023)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.38 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 102.1% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Belgium?
- Gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Belgium was 98.3% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education recorded in Belgium?
- The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 1960.
- What is the lowest gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education recorded in Belgium?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.3% in 1820.
- How does Belgium rank for gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education?
- Belgium ranks 41st out of 190 countries with data for 2023.
- Is gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education rising or falling in Belgium?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.2%. 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 (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 53 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The share of girls of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.