Gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Netherlands
Netherlands: Gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education was 99.6% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
99.6%
Change on year
down 0.1%
World rank
10th
of 190 countries
All-time high
100.0%
in 2015
All-time low
55.8%
in 1820
Years of data
46
1820–2023
Gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Netherlands, 1820–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Netherlands recorded 99.6% for gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in 2023.
That represents a change of down 0.1% on the previous year and down 0.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Netherlands peaked at 100.0% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 55.8%, in 1820.
Netherlands ranks 10th of 190 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 46 years of available data.
Gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Netherlands, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1820 | 55.8% | — |
| 1825 | 58.0% | +4.0% |
| 1830 | 60.2% | +3.8% |
| 1835 | 62.3% | +3.6% |
| 1840 | 64.4% | +3.4% |
| 1845 | 66.5% | +3.2% |
| 1850 | 67.9% | +2.2% |
| 1855 | 69.4% | +2.1% |
| 1860 | 70.8% | +2.1% |
| 1865 | 72.2% | +2.0% |
| 1870 | 73.7% | +2.0% |
| 1875 | 75.1% | +1.9% |
| 1880 | 76.5% | +1.9% |
| 1885 | 78.0% | +1.9% |
| 1890 | 82.0% | +5.2% |
| 1895 | 80.3% | -2.0% |
| 1900 | 90.8% | +13.0% |
| 1905 | 86.0% | -5.3% |
| 1910 | 87.0% | +1.1% |
| 1915 | 87.2% | +0.3% |
| 1920 | 87.5% | +0.3% |
| 1925 | 87.7% | +0.3% |
| 1930 | 88.0% | +0.3% |
| 1935 | 88.2% | +0.3% |
| 1940 | 88.4% | +0.3% |
| 1945 | 88.7% | +0.3% |
| 1950 | 88.9% | +0.3% |
| 1955 | 86.7% | -2.5% |
| 1960 | 95.8% | +10.5% |
| 1965 | 94.9% | -1.0% |
| 1970 | 94.0% | -1.0% |
| 1975 | 92.0% | -2.1% |
| 1980 | 94.0% | +2.2% |
| 2008 | 98.9% | +5.2% |
| 2009 | 98.9% | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 99.1% | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 99.9% | +0.9% |
| 2012 | 99.9% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 100.0% | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 99.9% | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 99.8% | -0.0% |
| 2019 | 100.0% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 99.9% | -0.0% |
| 2021 | 99.9% | -0.0% |
| 2022 | 99.7% | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 99.6% | -0.1% |
Netherlands compared with similar countries
- Netherlands's 99.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 97.4%, 1.0× the median. (64 countries reporting)
- Netherlands's 99.6% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 98.2%, 1.0× the median. (46 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1820s | 56.9% | 55.8% | 58.0% | 2 |
| 1830s | 61.3% | 60.2% | 62.3% | 2 |
| 1840s | 65.5% | 64.4% | 66.5% | 2 |
| 1850s | 68.6% | 67.9% | 69.4% | 2 |
| 1860s | 71.5% | 70.8% | 72.2% | 2 |
| 1870s | 74.4% | 73.7% | 75.1% | 2 |
| 1880s | 77.3% | 76.5% | 78.0% | 2 |
| 1890s | 81.2% | 80.3% | 82.0% | 2 |
| 1900s | 88.4% | 86.0% | 90.8% | 2 |
| 1910s | 87.1% | 87.0% | 87.2% | 2 |
| 1920s | 87.6% | 87.5% | 87.7% | 2 |
| 1930s | 88.1% | 88.0% | 88.2% | 2 |
| 1940s | 88.6% | 88.4% | 88.7% | 2 |
| 1950s | 87.8% | 86.7% | 88.9% | 2 |
| 1960s | 95.4% | 94.9% | 95.8% | 2 |
| 1970s | 93.0% | 92.0% | 94.0% | 2 |
| 1980s | 94.0% | 94.0% | 94.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 98.9% | 98.9% | 98.9% | 2 |
| 2010s | 99.8% | 99.1% | 100.0% | 7 |
| 2020s | 99.8% | 99.6% | 99.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Netherlands
- 7 United Kingdom 99.7% compare
- 8 Saudi Arabia 99.7% compare
- 9 Cyprus 99.7% compare
- 11 Luxembourg 99.6% compare
- 12 Kenya 99.6% compare
- 13 Tunisia 99.5% compare
More education data for Netherlands
- 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)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.064 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Netherlands?
- Gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Netherlands was 99.6% 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 Netherlands?
- The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 2015.
- What is the lowest gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education recorded in Netherlands?
- The lowest recorded value was 55.8% in 1820.
- How does Netherlands rank for gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education?
- Netherlands ranks 10th out of 190 countries with data for 2023.
- Is gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education rising or falling in Netherlands?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.3%. 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 (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 — 46 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of girls of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.