Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Belgium
Belgium: Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary was 1.6% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Belgium, 2001–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Belgium stood at 1.6%.
That represents a change of up 15.0% on the previous year and up 1.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Belgium peaked at 2.0% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 2003.
Belgium ranks 156th of 171 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Belgium, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 0.6% | — |
| 2002 | 0.5% | -25.7% |
| 2003 | 0.1% | -78.1% |
| 2004 | 0.5% | +330.2% |
| 2005 | 0.7% | +50.1% |
| 2006 | 0.4% | -35.5% |
| 2007 | 0.8% | +91.4% |
| 2008 | 1.0% | +18.1% |
| 2009 | 1.0% | +5.2% |
| 2010 | 1.1% | +1.2% |
| 2011 | 1.8% | +73.3% |
| 2012 | 1.5% | -15.6% |
| 2013 | 1.6% | +5.7% |
| 2014 | 1.8% | +10.6% |
| 2015 | 2.0% | +8.6% |
| 2016 | 2.0% | +3.5% |
| 2017 | 1.2% | -43.1% |
| 2018 | 1.1% | -2.3% |
| 2019 | 1.2% | +10.7% |
| 2020 | 1.1% | -11.0% |
| 2021 | 1.2% | +10.5% |
| 2022 | 1.4% | +17.0% |
| 2023 | 1.6% | +15.0% |
Belgium compared with similar countries
- Belgium's 1.6% is below the median for high income countries, which is 3.6%, 46% of the median. (65 countries reporting)
- Belgium's 1.6% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 3.7%, 44% of the median. (49 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | +330.2% | 0.1% | 0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.6% | 0.1% | 1.0% | 9 |
| 2010s | 1.5% | 1.1% | 2.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.4% | 1.1% | 1.6% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Belgium
More education data for Belgium
- 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)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0691 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Belgium?
- Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Belgium was 1.6% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary recorded in Belgium?
- The highest recorded value was 2.0% in 2016.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary recorded in Belgium?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 2003.
- How does Belgium rank for out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary?
- Belgium ranks 156th out of 171 countries with data for 2023.
- Is out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary rising or falling in Belgium?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.1%. 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 children, adolescents and youth of primary, lower secondary and upper secondary school age, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release