Higher education graduates (i27)
- 31/10/2025
- objective
- assessment
In 2024, 50.7% of the population aged 25 to 34 in Belgium, had a tertiary education degree. To achieve the sustainable development goal, this figure must be at least 45% in 2030. This objective has been reached.
Higher education graduates - Belgium - trend assessment
percentage of population aged 25-34
| 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2020 | 2023 | 2025 | 2030 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| observations | 36.0 | 40.6 | 43.8 | 43.1 | 48.5 | 50.0 | -- | -- |
| trend and extrapolation (November 2025) | 36.9 | 40.2 | 42.6 | 44.7 | 48.3 | 50.7 | 52.2 | 55.0 |
| objective 2030 | 45.0 | 45.0 | 45.0 | 45.0 | 45.0 | 45.0 | 45.0 | 45.0 |
Note: break in series: 2008, 2014, 2017, 2021
Source: Statbel; Eurostat (2025), Tertiary educational attainment by sex, age group 25-34, edat_lfse_03, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat, last update of data 12/06/2025 23:00 (consulted on 07/07/2025)
Higher education graduates - Belgium and international comparison
percentage of population aged 25-34
| 1992 | 2000 | 2002 | 2010 | 2015 | 2019 | 2020 | 2023 | 2024 | 2024//1992 | 2024//2019 | 2024//2002 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 27.8 | 36.0 | 37.6 | 43.8 | 43.1 | 47.3 | 48.5 | 50.0 | 50.7 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 1.4 |
| EU27 | -- | -- | 23.1 | 32.2 | 36.5 | 39.6 | 40.7 | 43.1 | 44.1 | -- | 2.2 | 3.0 |
| //: Average Growth Rates | ||||||||||||
Note: break in time series: BE in 1999, 2008, 2014, 2017, 2021; EU in 2014, 2021
Source: Statbel; Eurostat (2025), Tertiary educational attainment by sex, age group 25-34, edat_lfse_03, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat, last update of data 12/06/2025 23:00 (consulted on 07/07/2025).
Higher education graduates by region - Belgium
percentage of population aged 25-34
| 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2019 | 2020 | 2023 | 2024 | 2024//2000 | 2024//2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brussels-Capital Region | 43.0 | 47.7 | 46.4 | 48.3 | 53.8 | 55.9 | 61.6 | 59.7 | 1.4 | 2.1 |
| Flemish Region | 37.2 | 42.2 | 44.9 | 44.9 | 49.3 | 51.1 | 51.6 | 52.4 | 1.4 | 1.2 |
| Walloon Region | 31.3 | 35.0 | 40.5 | 37.7 | 40.7 | 40.4 | 41.5 | 43.3 | 1.4 | 1.2 |
| //: Average Growth Rates | ||||||||||
Note: The margin of uncertainty for this indicator is indicated in the text for the latest year. Break in time series: 2008, 2014, 2017, 2021
Source: Statbel; Eurostat (2025), Tertiary educational attainment by NUTS 2 regions, age group 25-34, edat_lfse_04, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat, last update of data 12/06/2025 23:00 (consulted on 07/07/2025).
Higher education graduates by sex - Belgium
percentage of population aged 25-34
| 1992 | 2000 | 2010 | 2015 | 2019 | 2020 | 2023 | 2024 | 2024//1992 | 2024//2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| females | 29.8 | 38.9 | 49.4 | 49.2 | 54.6 | 56.2 | 57.3 | 56.9 | 2.0 | 0.8 |
| males | 25.8 | 33.1 | 38.2 | 37.1 | 39.9 | 40.8 | 42.6 | 44.4 | 1.7 | 2.2 |
| //: Average Growth Rates | ||||||||||
Note: break in series: 2008, 2014, 2017, 2021
Source: Statbel; Eurostat (2025), Tertiary educational attainment by sex, age group 25-34, edat_lfse_03, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat, last update of data 12/06/2025 23:00 (consulted on 07/07/2025).
Definition: share of the population aged 25-34 with a tertiary education degree. This education level corresponds to the levels 5-8 of the 2011 ISCED (International Standard Classification of Education) for data from 2014 onwards and to the levels 5-6 of the 1997 ISCED for data up to 2013. The data come from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). Statistics Belgium organises this EU-harmonised survey in Belgium and makes the results available, in particular to Eurostat. The methodology of this survey has been revised several times, and comparing data across multiple years requires caution. The data used here come from Eurostat, which publishes detailed and comparable results between EU Member States. Since these data are based on surveys, a margin of uncertainty must be taken into account. This margin of uncertainty increases as the indicator is calculated on smaller sub-populations. The confidence intervals for these data are available on request from Statistics Belgium.
The following breakdowns are available for this indicator: region and sex.
Goal: 45% of people aged 25-34 have completed tertiary education.
The Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs adopted by the UN in 2015 include target 4.3: “By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university.”
The Council of the European Union (2021) set a target in the Council Resolution on a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training towards the European Education Area and beyond (2021-2030) of 45% of people aged 25-34 having completed tertiary education by 2030.
Under the European Pillar of Social Rights, Belgium has set a target of 50.1% in tertiary education among 30- to 34-year-olds by 2030 (European Commission, 2022; Federal Public Service Social Security, 2023). This target applies to a different age group and is not used for evaluation.
UN indicator: the selected indicator does not correspond to any monitoring indicator for the SDGs but is related to target 4.3., since the share of tertiary education graduates illustrates the access to affordable and quality education.
Sources
-
Council of the European Union (2021), Council Resolution on a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training towards the European Education Area and beyond (2021-2030), p. 15, Official Journal of the European Union, https://eur-lex.europa.eu, 2021/C 66/01.
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European Commission (2022), The European Pillar of Social Rights: state of play on the national target for 2030, https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=89&furtherNews=yes&newsId=10299 (consulted on 02/10/2025).
- Federal Public Service Social Security (2023), The evolution of the social situation and social protection in Belgium 2021, https://socialsecurity.belgium.be/sites/default/files/content/docs/en/publications/silc/silc-analysis-social-situation-and-protection-belgium-2021-en.pdf (consulted on 02/10/2025).
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