Official entrance age to compulsory education in Belgium
Belgium: Official entrance age to compulsory education was 5 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Official entrance age to compulsory education in Belgium, 1998–2025
Source: UNICEF.
Analysis
The most recent figure for official entrance age to compulsory education in Belgium is 5, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 28 years on record.
That represents a change of down 16.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, official entrance age to compulsory education in Belgium peaked at 6 in 1998 and was at its lowest, 5, in 2021.
That places Belgium 59th out of 73 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 28 years of available data.
Official entrance age to compulsory education in Belgium, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 6 | — |
| 1999 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 5 | -16.7% |
| 2022 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 5 | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 6 | 6 | 6 | 2 |
| 2000s | 6 | 6 | 6 | 10 |
| 2010s | 6 | 6 | 6 | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.17 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Belgium
More education data for Belgium
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 80,763 (2023)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (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)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 102.11 (2023)
- School enrollment, primary 102.1% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is official entrance age to compulsory education in Belgium?
- Official entrance age to compulsory education in Belgium was 5 in 2025, according to UNICEF.
- What is the highest official entrance age to compulsory education recorded in Belgium?
- The highest recorded value was 6 in 1998.
- What is the lowest official entrance age to compulsory education recorded in Belgium?
- The lowest recorded value was 5 in 2021.
- How does Belgium rank for official entrance age to compulsory education?
- Belgium ranks 59th out of 73 countries with data for 2025.
- Is official entrance age to compulsory education rising or falling in Belgium?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Belgium data come from?
- The figures come from UNICEF, published as part of Official entrance age to compulsory education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under UNICEF Terms of Use (attribution required).