Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Netherlands
Netherlands: Share of children in primary school age who are in school was 99.5% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
99.5%
Change on year
down 0.1%
World rank
28th
of 209 countries
All-time high
99.9%
in 2015
All-time low
65.2%
in 1820
Years of data
54
1820–2023
Share of children in primary school age who are in school 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
The most recent figure for share of children in primary school age who are in school in Netherlands is 99.5%, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of down 0.1% on the previous year and down 0.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Netherlands peaked at 99.9% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 65.2%, in 1820.
That places Netherlands 28th out of 209 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 54 years of available data.
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Netherlands, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1820 | 65.2% | — |
| 1825 | 67.1% | +3.0% |
| 1830 | 69.0% | +2.8% |
| 1835 | 70.8% | +2.7% |
| 1840 | 72.6% | +2.5% |
| 1845 | 74.3% | +2.4% |
| 1850 | 75.9% | +2.2% |
| 1855 | 71.7% | -5.6% |
| 1860 | 74.1% | +3.4% |
| 1865 | 76.5% | +3.3% |
| 1870 | 80.1% | +4.7% |
| 1875 | 81.4% | +1.5% |
| 1880 | 80.2% | -1.5% |
| 1885 | 81.8% | +2.0% |
| 1890 | 83.1% | +1.6% |
| 1895 | 83.4% | +0.3% |
| 1900 | 83.5% | +0.2% |
| 1905 | 87.4% | +4.6% |
| 1910 | 88.3% | +1.1% |
| 1915 | 89.5% | +1.3% |
| 1920 | 89.4% | -0.1% |
| 1925 | 89.0% | -0.4% |
| 1930 | 92.8% | +4.2% |
| 1935 | 88.9% | -4.2% |
| 1940 | 88.9% | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 91.5% | +2.8% |
| 1950 | 88.6% | -3.1% |
| 1955 | 88.0% | -0.7% |
| 1960 | 95.7% | +8.8% |
| 1965 | 94.8% | -1.0% |
| 1970 | 93.0% | -1.9% |
| 1975 | 91.0% | -2.2% |
| 1980 | 93.0% | +2.2% |
| 2001 | 99.4% | +6.9% |
| 2002 | 99.4% | -0.0% |
| 2003 | 99.4% | -0.0% |
| 2004 | 99.2% | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 99.3% | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 99.3% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 99.4% | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 99.4% | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 99.3% | -0.0% |
| 2010 | 99.2% | -0.2% |
| 2011 | 99.9% | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 99.9% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 99.9% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 99.9% | -0.0% |
| 2017 | 99.8% | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 99.7% | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 99.9% | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 99.8% | -0.0% |
| 2021 | 99.8% | -0.0% |
| 2022 | 99.6% | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 99.5% | -0.1% |
Netherlands compared with similar countries
- Netherlands's 99.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 98.2%, 1.0× the median. (74 countries reporting)
- Netherlands's 99.5% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 98.6%, 1.0× the median. (51 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1820s | 66.2% | 65.2% | 67.1% | 2 |
| 1830s | 69.9% | 69.0% | 70.8% | 2 |
| 1840s | 73.5% | 72.6% | 74.3% | 2 |
| 1850s | 73.8% | 71.7% | 75.9% | 2 |
| 1860s | 75.3% | 74.1% | 76.5% | 2 |
| 1870s | 80.8% | 80.1% | 81.4% | 2 |
| 1880s | 81.0% | 80.2% | 81.8% | 2 |
| 1890s | 83.3% | 83.1% | 83.4% | 2 |
| 1900s | 85.5% | 83.5% | 87.4% | 2 |
| 1910s | 88.9% | 88.3% | 89.5% | 2 |
| 1920s | 89.2% | 89.0% | 89.4% | 2 |
| 1930s | 90.8% | 88.9% | 92.8% | 2 |
| 1940s | 90.2% | 88.9% | 91.5% | 2 |
| 1950s | 88.3% | 88.0% | 88.6% | 2 |
| 1960s | 95.3% | 94.8% | 95.7% | 2 |
| 1970s | 92.0% | 91.0% | 93.0% | 2 |
| 1980s | 93.0% | 93.0% | 93.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 99.4% | 99.2% | 99.4% | 9 |
| 2010s | 99.8% | 99.2% | 99.9% | 8 |
| 2020s | 99.7% | 99.5% | 99.8% | 4 |
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 children in primary school age who are in school in Netherlands?
- Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Netherlands was 99.5% 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 share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Netherlands?
- The highest recorded value was 99.9% in 2015.
- What is the lowest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Netherlands?
- The lowest recorded value was 65.2% in 1820.
- How does Netherlands rank for share of children in primary school age who are in school?
- Netherlands ranks 28th out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of children in primary school age who are in school rising or falling in Netherlands?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.4%. 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 Share of children in primary school age who are in school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of children of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.