Share of the population with at least some formal education in Netherlands
Netherlands: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 99.8% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Latest (2020)
99.8%
World rank
3rd
of 111 countries
All-time high
100.0%
in 2010
All-time low
72.0%
in 1870
Years of data
31
1870–2020
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Netherlands, 1870–2020
Source: Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Netherlands recorded 99.8% for share of the population with at least some formal education in 2020.
That represents a change of down 0.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in Netherlands peaked at 100.0% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 72.0%, in 1870.
Netherlands ranks 3rd of 111 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 31 years of available data.
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Netherlands, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 72.0% | — |
| 1875 | 73.3% | +1.8% |
| 1880 | 74.8% | +2.0% |
| 1885 | 76.2% | +1.9% |
| 1890 | 77.3% | +1.4% |
| 1895 | 78.4% | +1.4% |
| 1900 | 79.5% | +1.4% |
| 1905 | 82.1% | +3.3% |
| 1910 | 84.5% | +2.9% |
| 1915 | 87.1% | +3.1% |
| 1920 | 90.6% | +4.0% |
| 1925 | 92.5% | +2.1% |
| 1930 | 93.9% | +1.5% |
| 1935 | 95.2% | +1.4% |
| 1940 | 96.7% | +1.6% |
| 1945 | 97.7% | +1.0% |
| 1950 | 98.0% | +0.3% |
| 1955 | 98.3% | +0.3% |
| 1960 | 98.7% | +0.4% |
| 1965 | 98.2% | -0.5% |
| 1970 | 98.4% | +0.2% |
| 1975 | 98.4% | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 98.5% | +0.1% |
| 1985 | 98.0% | -0.5% |
| 1990 | 98.5% | +0.5% |
| 1995 | 98.9% | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 99.2% | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 96.9% | -2.3% |
| 2010 | 100.0% | +3.2% |
| 2015 | 99.8% | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 99.8% | +0.0% |
Netherlands compared with similar countries
- Netherlands's 99.8% is above the median for high income countries, which is 99.0%, 1.0× the median. (41 countries reporting)
- Netherlands's 99.8% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 99.0%, 1.0× the median. (28 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 72.7% | 72.0% | 73.3% | 2 |
| 1880s | 75.5% | 74.8% | 76.2% | 2 |
| 1890s | 77.8% | 77.3% | 78.4% | 2 |
| 1900s | 80.8% | 79.5% | 82.1% | 2 |
| 1910s | 85.8% | 84.5% | 87.1% | 2 |
| 1920s | 91.5% | 90.6% | 92.5% | 2 |
| 1930s | 94.6% | 93.9% | 95.2% | 2 |
| 1940s | 97.2% | 96.7% | 97.7% | 2 |
| 1950s | 98.2% | 98.0% | 98.3% | 2 |
| 1960s | 98.5% | 98.2% | 98.7% | 2 |
| 1970s | 98.4% | 98.4% | 98.4% | 2 |
| 1980s | 98.2% | 98.0% | 98.5% | 2 |
| 1990s | 98.7% | 98.5% | 98.9% | 2 |
| 2000s | 98.1% | 96.9% | 99.2% | 2 |
| 2010s | 99.9% | 99.8% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 2020s | 99.8% | 99.8% | 99.8% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Netherlands
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 share of the population with at least some formal education in Netherlands?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in Netherlands was 99.8% in 2020, according to Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Netherlands?
- The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 2010.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Netherlands?
- The lowest recorded value was 72.0% in 1870.
- How does Netherlands rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- Netherlands ranks 3rd out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in Netherlands?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Netherlands data come from?
- The figures come from Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of the population with at least some formal education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Based on the population aged 15 years and older.