Participation rate Dutch youth in education above European average

Relative to other European countries, many young people in the Netherlands attend some form of education. The number of young people leaving school without a basic qualification is also below the European Union (EU) average.

Substantial part of young Dutch population still attend some form of education

A substantial part of 15 to 25-year-olds in the EU still attend school. In the EU 27, an average of 60 percent of 15 to 25-year-olds were still attending some form of education in 2006/’07, as against 68 percent in the Netherlands. The percentage is also high in neighbouring countries like Belgium and Germany, but Finland tops the list with 71 percent of 15 to 25-year-olds still participating in education.

Too many young leave school prematurely

In the EU 15, 17 percent of 18 to 25-year-olds did not have a basic qualification in 2007 as opposed to 20 percent in 2000. In the Netherlands, the percentage of young people leaving school without basic qualification is below the average in the EU 15. It dropped from 16 in 2000 to 12 in 2007. The EU has agreed to reduce the number of young people leaving school without basic qualification by half over the period 2000–2010.

Proportion of 18 to 25-year-olds without basic qualification in EU 15,

Nearly 140 million young people in the EU 27

Last year, there were nearly 140 million people in the age category 0–25 in the 27 countries constituting the EU. They made up 28 percent of the total population in the EU 27. With 30 percent, the proportion of people under the age of 25 is marginally higher in the Netherlands. In neighbouring country Germany, the rate of under-25s is relatively low (25 percent). 

People in the age category 0–25 in the EU by country, 2008

Francis van der Mooren