Compulsory education, duration in Belgium
Belgium: Compulsory education, duration was 13 years in 2025. ▲ Rising
Compulsory education, duration in Belgium, 1998–2025
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for compulsory education, duration in Belgium is 13 years, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 8.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, compulsory education, duration in Belgium peaked at 13 years in 2021 and was at its lowest, 12 years, in 1998.
Belgium ranks 17th of 197 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 12 years | 12 years | 12 years | 2 |
| 2000s | 12 years | 12 years | 12 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 12 years | 12 years | 12 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.83 years | 12 years | 13 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Belgium
- 17 Aruba 13 years compare
- 17 Austria 13 years compare
- 17 Bermuda 13 years compare
- 17 Costa Rica 13 years compare
- 17 France 13 years compare
- 17 Germany 13 years compare
- 17 Gibraltar 13 years compare
- 17 Hungary 13 years compare
- 17 Marshall Islands 13 years compare
- 17 Netherlands 13 years compare
- 17 North Macedonia 13 years compare
- 17 Paraguay 13 years compare
- 17 Philippines 13 years compare
- 17 Puerto Rico 13 years compare
- 17 Turks and Caicos Islands 13 years compare
More education data for Belgium
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 15.7% (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 63.3% (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 102.1% (2023)
- Primary education, teachers 80,763 (2023)
- School enrollment, primary, female 102.1% (2023)
- School enrollment, primary, male 102.1% (2023)
- Labor force, female 46.8% (2025)
- Labor force, total 5.46 million (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is compulsory education, duration in Belgium?
- Compulsory education, duration in Belgium was 13 years in 2025, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest compulsory education, duration recorded in Belgium?
- The highest recorded value was 13 years in 2021.
- What is the lowest compulsory education, duration recorded in Belgium?
- The lowest recorded value was 12 years in 1998.
- How does Belgium rank for compulsory education, duration?
- Belgium ranks 17th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is compulsory education, duration rising or falling in Belgium?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Belgium data come from?
- The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Compulsory education, duration (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Duration of compulsory education is the number of years that children are legally obliged to attend school.