Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Belgium

Belgium: Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper was 1.7% in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
1.7%
Change on year
down 0.1%
World rank
161st
of 175 countries
All-time high
2.2%
in 2016
All-time low
0.1%
in 2006
Years of data
23
2001–2023

Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Belgium, 2001–2023

00.511.522001201220232001: 1.3 %2002: 0.971 %2003: 0.21 %2004: 0.233 %2005: 0.683 %2006: 0.085 %2007: 0.704 %2008: 0.874 %2009: 0.852 %2010: 0.82 %2011: 1.6 %2012: 1.2 %2013: 1.5 %2014: 1.8 %2015: 2.1 %2016: 2.2 %2017: 0.904 %2018: 0.888 %2019: 1.1 %2020: 0.994 %2021: 0.978 %2022: 1.7 %2023: 1.7 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

Belgium recorded 1.7% for out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in 2023.

That represents a change of down 0.1% on the previous year and up 11.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Belgium peaked at 2.2% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 2006.

That places Belgium 161st out of 175 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.

Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Belgium, year by year

Annual values for Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper secondary school age, male (%) in Belgium, 2001 to 2023.
Year % Change
2001 1.3%
2002 1.0% -26.3%
2003 0.2% -78.4%
2004 0.2% +10.9%
2005 0.7% +193.6%
2006 0.1% -87.6%
2007 0.7% +733.2%
2008 0.9% +24.1%
2009 0.9% -2.6%
2010 0.8% -3.7%
2011 1.6% +90.4%
2012 1.2% -21.8%
2013 1.5% +21.4%
2014 1.8% +22.2%
2015 2.1% +15.6%
2016 2.2% +2.9%
2017 0.9% -58.0%
2018 0.9% -1.9%
2019 1.1% +27.4%
2020 1.0% -12.1%
2021 1.0% -1.6%
2022 1.7% +69.8%
2023 1.7% -0.1%

Belgium compared with similar countries

  • Belgium's 1.7% is below the median for high income countries, which is 5.2%, 32% of the median. (66 countries reporting)
  • Belgium's 1.7% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 4.7%, 35% of the median. (49 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper 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.

YearChange FromTo
2007 +733.2% 0.1% 0.7%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 0.7% 0.1% 1.3% 9
2010s 1.4% 0.8% 2.2% 10
2020s 1.3% 1.0% 1.7% 4

Countries ranked near Belgium

  1. 158 Bahrain 1.9% compare
  2. 159 Japan 1.9% compare
  3. 160 Sweden 1.8% compare
  4. 162 Liechtenstein 1.4% compare
  5. 163 Georgia 1.4% compare
  6. 164 Netherlands 1.4% compare

See the full ranking of 175 places →

More education data for Belgium

All data for Belgium →

Frequently asked questions

What is out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Belgium?
Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Belgium was 1.7% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper recorded in Belgium?
The highest recorded value was 2.2% in 2016.
What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper recorded in Belgium?
The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 2006.
How does Belgium rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper?
Belgium ranks 161st out of 175 countries with data for 2023.
Is out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper rising or falling in Belgium?
Over the last ten years it is up 11.9%. 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 Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper secondary school age, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Belgium. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 16 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-rate-for-adolescents-and-youth-of-lower-and-upper-secondary-school-age-male-2/belgium/

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About this data

Indicator
Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper secondary school age, male (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
Coverage
175 places, 2,820 data points, 1970–2025
Last refreshed

February 2026 Data Release