Fewer early school leavers in the Netherlands than EU average

Early school leavers are young people who drop out of education without having completed at least secondary education (i.e. HAVO or VWO or secondary vocational education (MBO-2)). This share fell steadily until 2021, but has increased again in recent years.
Among the 27 member states of the EU, 9.5 percent of people aged between 18 and 24 were early school leavers. This share has declined in recent years. The increase seen in the Netherlands since 2021 does not apply to the EU-27 as a whole. Among other member states, Romania had the highest share of early school leavers at 16.6 percent.
EU-landen | Early school leavers (18-24 yrs) (%) |
---|---|
Romania | 16.6 |
Spain | 13.7 |
Germany | 12.8 |
Hungary | 11.6 |
Italy | 10.5 |
Denmark | 10.4 |
Cyprus | 10.4 |
Malta | 10.2 |
Estonia | 9.7 |
Finland | 9.6 |
EU-27 | 9.5 |
Bulgaria | 9.3 |
Austria | 8.6 |
Portugal | 8.1 |
Latvia | 7.7 |
France | 7.6 |
Sweden | 7.4 |
Luxembourg | 6.8 |
Czechia | 6.4 |
Lithuania | 6.4 |
Slovakia | 6.4 |
Belgium | 6.2 |
Netherlands | 6.2 |
Slovenia | 5.4 |
Ireland | 4.0 |
Greece | 3.7 |
Poland | 3.7 |
Croatia | 2 |
Young people in the Netherlands are more likely to be in education than EU average
Children in the Netherlands can attend primary school from the age of 4, and education is compulsory from the age of 5. Over 92 percent of 4 to 11-year-olds attended government-funded primary education in the 2023/’24 school year. This was 99 percent among young people aged 12 to 14. As young people become older, this percentage decreases. Many of them go on to complete secondary education, or they reach the age at which they are no longer legally required to attend education or to obtain a basic qualification and enter the labour market directly.Among 15 to 24-year-olds, 73 percent were in education in 2023. This share was higher in the Netherlands than the EU-27 average, which was 66 percent. Only in Slovenia and Greece was educational participation among young people higher than in the Netherlands.
EU-landen | Young people in education (15-24 yrs) (%) |
---|---|
Slovenia | 75.4 |
Griekenland | 73.3 |
Netherlands | 73.1 |
Belgium | 70.9 |
Latvia | 70.7 |
Poland | 69.9 |
Lithuania | 69.9 |
Czechia | 69.7 |
Ireland | 69.5 |
Finland | 69.5 |
Denmark | 69.3 |
Sweden | 68.2 |
Spain | 68.0 |
Germany | 67.8 |
EU (27) | 66.0 |
Portugal | 65.4 |
Croatia | 64.7 |
France | 64.7 |
Estonia | 64.5 |
Italy | 62.9 |
Hungary | 60.2 |
Slovakia | 59.2 |
Bulgaria | 57.7 |
Austria | 57.6 |
Romania | 54.8 |
Cyprus | 50.1 |
Malta | 48.8 |
Luxembourg | 46.7 |
Netherlands ranks first for children in formal childcare
Children who do not yet attend primary school are able to attend day care. In 2023, 72 percent of children aged 0 to 2 years in the Netherlands were in formal childcare for at least 1 hour per week. The share for the EU-27 was 37 percent, on average. People in the Netherlands have made increasing use of formal childcare in recent years: a decade ago, less than half (46 percent) of children aged 0 to 2 years were in day care.
Parents in Denmark are also relatively high users of formal childcare; in 2023, 70 percent of children aged 0 to 2 years were in day care. In the Netherlands the majority of children were in day care for 1 to 30 hours, while in Denmark this was usually more than 30 hours a week. Particularly in Eastern European countries, formal childcare is less common. In Slovakia and Czechia, less than 5 percent of children aged 0 to 2 years were in day care.
EU-landen | 0 hours (%) | 1-30 hours (%) | 30 hours or more (%) |
---|---|---|---|
Nederland | 28.4 | 62.3 | 9.2 |
Denemarken | 30.2 | 8 | 61.9 |
Luxembourg | 40.1 | 15.5 | 44.5 |
France | 42.7 | 17.8 | 39.6 |
Sweden | 43.1 | 13.5 | 43.4 |
Slovenia | 43.4 | 3.4 | 53.2 |
Belgium | 43.7 | 20.4 | 35.9 |
Spain | 44.3 | 27 | 28.8 |
Portugal | 44.5 | 1.6 | 53.9 |
Malta | 48.9 | 21 | 30 |
Finland | 56.1 | 9.9 | 34 |
Estonia | 62.1 | 12.2 | 25.7 |
EU (27) | 62.6 | 14.2 | 23.3 |
Cyprus | 63 | 7.8 | 29.1 |
Latvia | 65.1 | 2.6 | 32.3 |
Italy | 65.5 | 14.1 | 20.4 |
Croatia | 70.4 | 4.4 | 25.2 |
Greece | 70.5 | 12 | 17.6 |
Austria | 75.9 | 17.3 | 6.8 |
Germany | 76.7 | 8.4 | 14.9 |
Ireland | 77.9 | 10.7 | 11.4 |
Hungary | 79.7 | 3.9 | 16.4 |
Lithuania | 80.2 | 3.1 | 16.8 |
Bulgaria | 82.6 | 2.8 | 14.6 |
Poland | 87.4 | 1.4 | 11.2 |
Romania | 87.8 | 4.3 | 8 |
Czechia | 95.6 | 3 | 1.4 |
Slovakia | 99 | 0 | 1 |
Sources
- Eurostat website - Participation rates of selected age groups in education at regional level
- Eurostat website - Early leavers from education and training by sex and labour status
- Eurostat website - Children in formal childcare or education by age group and duration