Average years of schooling among adults in Netherlands
Netherlands: Average years of schooling among adults was 12.67 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Average years of schooling among adults in Netherlands, 1990–2023
Source: UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for average years of schooling among adults in Netherlands is 12.67 years, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
The figure is up 5.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, average years of schooling among adults in Netherlands peaked at 12.67 years in 2021 and was at its lowest, 11.1 years, in 1990.
Netherlands ranks 29th of 192 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 11.4 years | 11.1 years | 11.71 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 11.85 years | 11.79 years | 11.99 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.15 years | 11.96 years | 12.45 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.65 years | 12.58 years | 12.67 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Netherlands
More education data for Netherlands
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 64.2% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 14.9% (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 104.2% (2023)
- Primary education, teachers 98,851 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.43 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 103.9% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is average years of schooling among adults in Netherlands?
- Average years of schooling among adults in Netherlands was 12.67 years in 2023, according to UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest average years of schooling among adults recorded in Netherlands?
- The highest recorded value was 12.67 years in 2021.
- What is the lowest average years of schooling among adults recorded in Netherlands?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.1 years in 1990.
- How does Netherlands rank for average years of schooling among adults?
- Netherlands ranks 29th out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is average years of schooling among adults rising or falling in Netherlands?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Netherlands data come from?
- The figures come from UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Average years of schooling among adults. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Average number of years (excluding years spent repeating individual grades) adults over 25 years participated in formal education.