EP: The Netherlands does well in education

The Netherlands does well in education

In 2007, almost one third (31 per cent) of the Dutch population between 25 and 64 years of age held a hogeschool or university degree. This is a very high percentage when compared to the European average (25 per cent), and to countries like France (27 per cent) or Germany (24 per cent). Finland has the highest education level (36 per cent of highly educated people), but also newcomers Estonia (33 per cent) and Lithuania (29 per cent) are doing surprisingly well.

Between 2000 and 2005, Dutch government expenditure in all sectors of education increased by a half per cent point to 5.5 per cent of the gross national product. This is slightly more than average (5.1 per cent), but notably less than traditional front runners Denmark (8.3 per cent) and Sweden (7.0 per cent).