This chapter provides an overview of the economic, social and political context for the subsequent analysis of digital education in the Netherlands. It includes a detailed description of the Dutch school system’s structure and organisation as well as its governance and administration. The chapter also reviews the school system’s performance with respect to students’ access, educational achievement and attainment, as well as students’ well-being and equity in the school system. Finally, it discusses the role that digital technology plays in Dutch schools and in the Netherlands more broadly.
OECD Review of Digital Education Policy in the Netherlands
Abstract
Geography and population characteristics
Situated on the coast of the North Sea in northwestern Europe, the Netherlands borders Germany in the East and Belgium in the South. The country covers an area of around 41.5 thousand square kilometres, in addition to three small overseas territories in the Caribbean (Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius). The Dutch mainland is densely populated, counting 18.0 million inhabitants at the start of 2025 (CBS, 2025[1]), and highly urbanised with 93.5% of the population living in urban areas in 2024, compared to 81.9% on average across OECD countries (UN, 2025[2]). Nearly half of the population is concentrated in the country’s largest cities Amsterdam (the capital city), Rotterdam, The Hague (the seat of the government), and Utrecht, which make up a major European metropolitan area (referred to as the Randstad). Other cities with over 200 000 inhabitants are Eindhoven and Tilburg in the South, Groningen in the North, and Almere.
The Dutch population has increased steadily over the past decades, growing by an average of 83 thousand inhabitants per year between 2003 and 2023. Since 2014, net migration has accounted for the majority of the country’s population growth and natural growth has been marginally below zero between 2020 and 2024 (CBS, 2025[1]). As was the case across OECD countries, the total fertility rate in the Netherlands declined significantly in the 1960s and 70s before stabilising below “replacement level” at around 1.6 births per woman in the 1980s. In 2022, women in the Netherlands gave birth to 1.5 children on average over the course of a lifetime – the same as the OECD average (OECD, 2024[3]). The national statistics agency projects the Dutch population to continue its steady growth, mainly due to migration and increased longevity. Barring significant changes in the level of migration, fertility and increasing longevity, the population could reach 19 million in 2037 and 20.6 million by the year 2070 (CBS, 2025[1]).
These demographic developments have implications for school education. Based on official projections, the number of students in school education is expected to decrease over the coming years (OCW, 2025[4]; OCW, 2025[5]). However, changes in the student population are likely to be heterogeneous across regions. Rural regions, the Northeast of the Netherlands, Zeeland and Limburg, are expected to see the greatest decline in student numbers, which is expected to place additional pressure on small schools and a strain on rural areas’ ability to keep up an adequate supply of services (Staatscommissie Demografische Ontwikkelingen 2050, 2024, p. 261[6]). Other regions, particularly urban centres, are expected to see an increase in student numbers, which is likely to exacerbate teacher shortages that are already felt most acutely in the major cities (OCW, 2024[7]).
The Dutch population is expected to age significantly over the coming decades. This will add to spending pressures in the future, although the fiscal burden of population ageing in the Netherlands is expected to be relatively small in international comparison, given recent agreements linking the retirement age to life expectancy and moving the occupational pension system from defined benefits to defined contribution pension rights (OECD, 2023, p. 29 f.[8]; OECD, 2025, p. 43[9]).
In 2023, 15.8% of the Dutch population was foreign-born (close to the OECD average of 14.7%), an increase from 11.5% in 2013 (OECD, 2024, pp. 52, Figure 1.23[10]). Based on national statistics, another 11.6% of the population had one or two parents who were born abroad in 2024 (CBS, 2024, p. 251[11]). In 2023, the largest foreign-born populations in the Netherlands were people born in Türkiye, the former USSR, Poland, Suriname, Morocco, Germany, Syria and Indonesia, ranging, in descending order, from 216k to 104k people (OECD, 2024, pp. 328, Table B.4[10]).
The official language of the Netherlands is Dutch, although West Frisian is recognised as a second official language in the province of Frisland. All Dutch students must start learning a foreign language during primary education (typically English) and students must learn two foreign languages from ages 12-17 (OECD, 2024, p. 91[12]). The Dutch population has a strong command of English and in 2023 over 93% of the population reported mastering English well enough to have a conversation, followed by 61% in German (down from 71% in 2012) and 27% in French (European Commission, 2024, p. 20[13]). An analysis of online job vacancies suggests that a knowledge of English was explicitly or implicitly required in 34% of all vacancies in 2021 (in line with the OECD average of 33%) (Marconi, Vergolini and Borgonovi, 2023, p. 16[14]).
Economy, budget and labour market
The Netherlands is a high-income country whose GDP per capita (78.3 thousand USD PPP) was the 6th highest among OECD countries in 2023. The Dutch economy had recovered quickly from the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic, surpassing its pre-crisis GDP by mid-2021, faster than most OECD economies (OECD, 2025, p. 8[9]). GDP growth started to slow from mid-2022 due to lower investment, a weakening trade balance and high inflation, amplified by rising global energy prices. After three quarters of GDP contraction in Q1-Q3 2023, the economy picked up from the second quarter of 2024 and is projected to grow by 1.3% in 2025 and 1.1% in 2026, while headline inflation is set to fall only slowly to 2.9% in 2025 and 2.5% in 2026, as service price pressures persist (OECD, 2025, p. 216[15]).
The Dutch labour market is strong in international comparison. The overall employment rate has been increasing steadily since the mid-2010s, reaching the second highest level among OECD countries in Q4 2024 (at 82.2% of the population aged 15 to 64) (OECD, 2025[16]). The unemployment rate is relatively low but projected to increase marginally from 3.7% in 2024 to 4% in 2026 (compared to 4.9% across OECD countries) (OECD, 2025, p. 13 & 217[15]). Likewise, youth unemployment among 15-24-year-olds stood at 8.7% in 2024, below the OECD average of 11.1% (OECD, 2025, p. 8[9]).
Despite high labour market participation and employment rates, labour input in the Netherlands is comparatively low due to widespread part-time work. In 2024, 34% of employees worked less than 30 hours per week (by far the largest proportion across OECD countries and above the average of 15%) (OECD, 2025[17]). Although surveys suggest that part-time employment in the Netherlands is mostly voluntary, there are large gender differences in working time (CBS, 2022, p. 51[18]). About 51% of Dutch women worked part-time in 2024 – almost three times the rate of Dutch men and more than double the OECD average. This results in one of the largest gender gaps in the hours worked across OECD countries (OECD, 2025, p. 49[9]; OECD, 2025[17]).
Average annual wages in the Netherlands were the eighth highest among OECD countries in terms of purchasing power parity in 2022 and the median household income of USD (PPP) 35 891 was significantly above the OECD average of USD (PPP) 27 896 in 2021 (OECD, 2024, p. 61[3]). Income inequality was slightly below the OECD average in 2021, with a Gini coefficient of 0.297 (compared to 0.313), and the richest 10% earning on average 7.1 times as much income as the poorest 10% of the population (compared to 8.4 on average across OECD countries) (OECD, 2024, p. 86[3]). Although the concentration of wealth is more pronounced than that of income in all OECD countries, wealth inequality in the Netherlands is high in international comparison. Dutch households in the top 10% of the wealth distribution own 62% of the country’s total household wealth (second only to the United States and compared to 52% on average across OECD countries) (OECD, 2024, p. 86[3]).
While the Netherlands is in a solid fiscal position, several challenges are expected to exert spending pressures in the longer term, which may require adjustments to public spending. These include the rising cost of healthcare and pensions due to population ageing, as well as efforts needed to address climate change, labour and housing shortages (OECD, 2023, p. 61[8]). The 17th report of the Netherlands’ Budget Space Study Group, an official advisory group, estimated in 2023 that the country’s structural balance will need to be adjusted by EUR 17 billion (or about 2% of GDP) by 2028 to stabilise public debt and keep the budget deficit below the European Union’s 3% limit (Studiegroep Begrotingsruimte, 2023[19]).
In its Framework Coalition Agreement 2024-2028, published in May 2024, the last government committed to the fiscal implications of the analyses laid out by the Budget Space Study Group (Government of the Netherlands, 2024, p. 17[20]). Its fiscal plans, presented in September 2024 and adjusted in the 2025 Spring Memorandum, reflected a shift in economic policy priorities with important budgetary implications for education and research funding. The government adopted an expansionary fiscal stance, increasing spending on healthcare, housing and defence while reducing personal, corporate and environmental taxes. Part of this fiscal cost has been offset by spending cuts on education, research and development, and climate policy (OECD, 2025, p. 33[9]). The cabinet’s policy plans for 2025-28, presented in September 2024, implied a EUR 1.8 billion decrease in annual spending on education by 2028, including through a reduction in funding per student, the scrapping of extra funding for disadvantaged schools and the teacher salary top-up in secondary schools in the Randstad, as well as cuts in general education subsidies and in funding for scientific education and research. The plans also foresaw a EUR 5.5 billion cut by phasing out the National Growth Fund, which subsidises projects in the areas of research, development, and innovation, including several projects on digital education (OECD, 2025, p. 26 & 33[9]).
Housing shortages
The shortage of housing is a major concern in the Netherlands, particularly in the larger cities. As is the case across OECD countries, many people in the Netherlands report being concerned about not being able to find and maintain adequate housing. This is particularly true for young people aged 18-29, 58% of whom expressed this concern in 2022 (close to the OECD average of 60%) (OECD, 2024, p. 95[3]). Since the Global Financial Crisis, the housing supply in the Netherlands has not kept pace with the growing population and high demand stimulated by generous tax advantages for home ownership. This resulted in an estimated shortage of about 400 000 homes (OECD, 2025, p. 14[9]). Although the housing market had briefly cooled in 2022, residential house prices have rebounded strongly since late 2023 and remain significantly above the OECD and euro area averages (OECD, 2025, p. 31[9]). Though the Netherlands has a large share of renters (41% of households), the private rental market is small (partly due to considerable tax incentives for owner-occupancy) and over 80% of the rental market is subsidised (OECD, 2022[21]). This leaves households that do not qualify for price-controlled social housing and cannot obtain a sufficient mortgage with limited options (OECD, 2023, p. 23 f.[8]).
The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy whose King or Queen serves as the head of state but has limited constitutional powers. The government comprises the monarch, the ministers and the state secretaries and is presided over by a Prime Minister. The ministers and state secretaries are responsible for the day-to-day business of government and their power is vested in the parliament – the “States General” (Staten-Generaal). The bicameral parliament consists of the Senate (Eerste Kamer) and the House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer), whose members are elected for four-year terms (Government of the Netherlands, 2025[22]). The Netherlands has a tradition of multi-party coalition governments since no single party has ever commanded an outright majority in Parliament.
Trust in public institutions and satisfaction with public services are important yardsticks of the quality of public governance. In the Netherlands, the share of the population reporting high or moderately high trust in the national government (44%), the parliament (43%) and the civil service (52%) remains above the OECD average though the share reporting low or no trust in the national government increased from 33% to 40% between 2021 and 2023 (OECD, 2025, pp. 45, Figure 2.1[23]). However, people’s satisfaction with public services is high with 78% reporting that they are satisfied with administrative services. Furthermore, 71% reported being satisfied with the education system in 2023, which marked a slight decrease from 73% in 2021 but remained well above the OECD average of 57% (OECD, 2025, p. 69 & 73[23]).
Administrative units
The Netherlands is a founding member of the European Union and comprises 12 provinces: Groningen, Friesland, Drenthe, North Holland, Overijssel, Flevoland, Gelderland, South Holland, Utrecht, North Brabant, Zeeland, and Limburg. Each province has an elected parliament (the provincial council) and a provincial executive tasked with matters of regional importance, such as spatial development and regional public transport. At the local level, the Netherlands is divided into 342 regular municipalities (and three special overseas municipalities), ranging widely in size from the country’s major cities to small islands in the North and municipal towns with little more than 10 000 inhabitants. Responsibilities delegated to the local level include land-use planning, public housing, local road maintenance, social security and public school transportation. The main responsibility for governing schools is shared between the central government and school boards (see below).
Governance of the school system
School autonomy and freedom of education
The governance of education in the Netherlands is highly decentralised and based on the “freedom of education” – a principle first expressed in the Dutch Constitution in 1848 and revised in 1917 to guarantee constitutional equality between public and private schools. The principle provides any natural or legal person with the right to set up a school and to determine the content, methods and (religious, didactic or ideological) principles on which its teaching is based (Nusche et al., 2014[24]). Schools and teachers in the Netherlands enjoy a high degree of autonomy. In 2017, 92% of decisions in public lower secondary education were taken at the school level – by far the highest proportion across OECD countries (OECD, 2018, pp. 418, Table D6.1[25]). All schools that are recognised by the ministry and that meet the requirements of their respective levels of education are publicly funded on the same basis (OCW, 2024[7]). The Dutch education system therefore has the OECD’s largest sector of government-dependent private schools, enrolling more than two thirds of students from primary to upper secondary education (OECD, 2025[26]). The per-student funding system, combined with parents’ free school choice, has historically created a high degree of competition among schools (see Chapter 2).
The role of school boards
Each school is governed by a legally recognised school board, which oversees the school’s implementation of legislation and regulations and employs its teachers and other school staff (see Chapter 5). While public schools were traditionally established by the state and mostly run by local government, many local authorities have set up separate legal entities or foundations as school boards and transferred the governance of schools to them since the 1980s (Nusche et al., 2014, p. 21[24]). School boards are accountable for their schools’ quality of education and self-evaluation process. They also distribute school funding received from the central level (see Chapter 3). School boards vary greatly in size and may be staffed by volunteers, including parents, or by salaried professionals (OCW, 2024[7]).
In 2023/24, there were 881 school boards at the primary level (down from 1 169 in 2012) (Nusche et al., 2014[24]; Po-Raad, 2024[27]). 37% of the primary school boards were responsible for a single school and 10% were responsible for 21 schools or more. The average number of primary schools governed by a school board has risen from 7.2 to 7.8 between 2018 and 2023 (PO-Raad, 2023[28]). At the secondary level, there were 281 school boards overseeing 1 457 schools in 2023/24, 92 of which (33%) oversaw a single school (VO-raad, 2024[29]). As for the primary level, school boards at the secondary level have undergone a process of consolidation due to mergers and acquisitions. The average number of secondary schools overseen by a board has increased from 4.3 to 4.9 between 2018 and 2023 (VO-raad, 2023[30]) (see Figure 1.1). The governance of the school system is explained in more detail in Chapter 2.
Share of school boards by number of schools under their legal authority
Note: In primary education, there were 881 school boards in total, 88 of which had between 21 and 75 branches; In secondary education, there were 269 school boards in total, 16 of which had 16 branches or more.
Sources: PO-Raad (2024[27]), Het Verhaal Achter de Cijfers: PO Raad Sectorrapportage 2024 [The Story Behind the Numbers: Sector Report 2024], https://sectorrapportage.poraad.nl; VO-raad (2024[29]), Het Verhaal Achter de Cijfers: VO Raad Sectorrapportage 2024 [The Story Behind the Numbers: Sector Report 2024], https://sectorrapportage.vo-raad.nl/.
The collective interests of school boards are represented at the central level by the Council for Primary Education (PO-Raad) and the Council for Secondary Education (VO-raad). The PO-Raad and VO-raad represent the common interests of their sectors’ school boards and negotiate on their behalf. They are frequently consulted and closely involved in steering key education initiatives as well as negotiating collective labour agreements. Their members (the school boards) actively contribute to establishing the Councils’ positions. In turn, the PO-Raad and VO-raad provide support and services to their members, including by collecting data (e.g. through the Financial Statement Dashboard and the Vensters Platform), by stimulating the professionalisation of schools and their boards, and by facilitating peer learning between school boards through conferences and collegial visits. While the interests of school boards are mostly represented by the PO-Raad and VO-raad, there is a wide range of smaller organisations representing different sub-sectors of schools and their boards, including general public schools, government-dependent private schools, as well as religious schools and those with specific pedagogical or mission-based orientations.
The role of the Ministry and central agencies
The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap, OCW) bears the overall responsibility for the education system and for ensuring its quality. This includes establishing the education system’s legal framework, structure and funding mechanisms. Even though schools are autonomous in determining the content and methods of their teaching, central authorities set binding quality standards and attainment targets for both public and private schools (Nusche et al., 2014[24]). Although there is no national curriculum in the conventional sense, the Netherlands Institute for Curriculum Development (Stichting Leerplan Ontwikkeling, SLO) establishes core learning objectives that students are expected to meet at the end of primary and lower secondary education (see Chapter 6).
The Minister of Education is also responsible for school inspections (which are carried out by a professionally independent Inspectorate of Education) but does not interfere with the organisation of individual schools unless there is evidence of insufficient quality or financial mismanagement. The Inspectorate monitors schools’ quality of education, the work of school boards, and their compliance with statutory and financial rules and regulations (see Chapter 6). The role of the Ministry and central agencies in the Dutch education system is frequently described as establishing objectives (“the what”) through policies, learning goals or quality standards, while leaving it to the sector to decide how to best pursue them (“the how”) (Teunis, 2024[31]). There is also a large intermediary structure of school support organisations, notably Kennisnet, that offer guidance and expertise on matters related to digital education. Their roles are explained in more detail in Chapter 2.
Local authorities
The 342 municipalities hold limited formal responsibilities related to school education. Municipalities are responsible for the construction and renovation of school buildings, student transportation and for enforcing compulsory education. They receive funding from OCW as well as the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy (EZK) (for school buildings and their renovation) and the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK) (for activities related to poverty reduction and social support, incl. the provision of digital devices). Municipalities are also responsible for youth support, assistance and care and must develop and implement a Youth Care Plan (Jeugdplannen). Since the adoption of the 2014 Tailored Education Act (OCW, 2014[32]) municipalities also have a legal obligation to engage in Consensus-Oriented Consultations (Op Overeenstemming Gericht Overleg, OOGO) with school partnerships in primary and secondary education to discuss and co-ordinate their respective Youth Care Plans and School Support Plans (School Ondersteuningsplan). The OOGO process serves to co-ordinate the co-operation of education and assistance financed by municipalities (Dutch Youth Institute, 2025[33]). At the system level, municipalities are represented by the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (Vereniging van Nederlandse Gemeenten, VNG), which engages in regular consultations with OCW and BZK.
Stakeholder organisations
Teachers and school leaders are organised in different unions and representative associations. Teachers are represented by a General Education Union (Algemene Onderwijsbond, AOb), the Christian National Trade Union Federation (Christelijk Nationaal Vakverbond, CNV) and a federation of 13 unions for subject teachers (Federatie van Onderwijsvakorganisaties, FvOv), but there is no national professional organisation for teachers (see Chapter 5 for a detailed description of teacher unions and support organisations). The Association of School Leaders (Algemene Vereniging Schoolleiders, AVS) represents school leaders, though most of its members work in primary schools and the interests of school leaders at the secondary level are represented by the VO-raad (AVS, 2025[34]).
The participation of students and parents in school-level decision making is regulated by the 2006 School Participation Act (Government of the Netherlands, 2006[35]), which formalised the role of School Participation Councils (Medezeggenschapsraad, MR). The law gives parents, students (and teachers) a right to be informed on school matters and defines topics on which the MR needs to formally agree or be consulted on. At the national level, parents of school-age children are represented by a national parents’ association (Ouders & Onderwijs), which operates as a foundation with 20 staff members and is fully funded by OCW. Ouders & Onderwijs contributes to policy making mostly through their consultation by OCW and by regularly surveying a National Parent Panel (Landelijk Ouderpanel) of about 10 000 parents to formulate positions and develop research reports (Ouders & Onderwijs, 2025[36]). The parents’ association Balans (Oudervereniging Balans) represents parents of children with special education needs (SEN) (Balans, 2025[37]).
Students in secondary education are organised in the National Action Committee for School Students (Landelijk Aktie Komitee Scholieren, LAKS), whose membership comprises schools’ student councils. LAKS publishes an annual survey, the LAKS Monitor (LAKS, 2024[38]), and is consulted on key reform processes, including the curriculum reform, as well as through the Inspectorate’s Ring consultation process (see Chapter 2). Since the creation of student councils is not mandatory, students’ participation in school-level decisions is not always guaranteed and LAKS estimates that around 10% of schools do not have an active student council.
Education in the Netherlands is compulsory from age 5 until the age of 17. It is organised into primary education (primair onderwijs, PO) for children aged 4-12 and secondary education (voortgezet onderwijs, VO) for children aged 12-18 (see Figure 1.2). Children under the age of four can enter a variety of early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings, including day care (kinderopvang), playgroups (peuterspeelzaal) and targeted early childhood education (voor- en vroegschoolse educatie, VVE) programmes for disadvantaged children (OECD, 2017, p. 74[39]). This report focusses on education at the primary (PO) and secondary (VO) levels.
Note: For a detailed legend, see https://gpseducation.oecd.org/Content/MapOfEducationSystem/NLD/NLD_2011_EN.pdf.
Source: OECD (2022[40]), Education GPS, https://gpseducation.oecd.org/ (accessed on 22 July 2024).
Primary education
Primary schools (basisscholen) in the Netherlands cater to children aged 4-12. The first two years (groep 1 and groep 2) are technically pre-primary education (ISCED 0) and enrolment until age 5 (or groep 2) is voluntary, although most parents (95% in 2023) enrol their children from age four (OECD, 2025, pp. 177, Table B1.1[41]). The remainder of primary education is organised into six year groups (Years 1 to 6). Parents can enrol their children in a school of their choice, often based on proximity and the school’s pedagogical orientation. In the final year of primary school, students in most schools sit a standardised test, which is focussed on arithmetic and language skills and used to inform their teachers’ advice (advies) for a suitable track in secondary education. With the 2023/24 school year, the test has been reformed to take place earlier in the year and was renamed from “final test” (eindtoets) to “transfer test” (doorstroomtoets).
Children with special education needs (SEN) can enter two types of separate special education: Special primary schools (speciaal onderwijs, SO) or special schools for primary education (speciaal basisonderwijs, SBAO), which cater to students with milder forms of disabilities, learning or behavioural difficulties. Parents can also choose to enrol children with SEN in mainstream primary schools, in which case additional resources are made available to support their inclusion. Students in special schools usually transfer to secondary school or special secondary education between the ages of 12 and 14 (see below) (Eurydice, 2023[42]).
Secondary education
Secondary education (VO) in the Netherlands is highly stratified and divided into three main pathways, typically starting from age 12 and lasting between four and six years. Students’ choice of secondary pathways is informed by their achievement in primary school and their teachers’ advice, which can be for either one or two tracks. Students with higher cognitive skills usually attend one of the two general education pathways, HAVO or VWO (see below), while students with lower cognitive skills or greater interest in practical tasks tend to enrol in the pre-vocational VMBO pathway.
The teachers’ advice is binding, i.e. secondary schools are obliged to place students – at a minimum – at the level advised by the primary school but schools are not obliged to enrol students whose advice does not match the tracks they offer. In case of excess demand, some schools use a lottery while others have a set of criteria by which children can receive priority (for example, based on the presence of siblings, proximity, or whether parents are alumni of the school).
Many schools offer a “bridge period” or “bridge year” (brugklas/brugjaar) designed to familiarise students with the new school and learning environment during the first year of secondary school. Some secondary schools offer multiple pathways or programmes (as a “school community” [scholengemeenschap] or “broad school” [brede school]), whereas “categorical” (categoriale) schools offer only one programme (see Figure 1.3 below). Schools offering multiple programmes may combine them during the first years (e.g. a school offering VMBO-t, HAVO and VWO programmes may assign students to shared classes for VMBO-t/HAVO and shared classes for HAVO/VWO). The combination of multiple pathways can make it easier for students to move between pathways without having to change their school.
Pre-vocational secondary education (voorbereidend middelbaar beroepsonderwijs, VMBO) caters to vocationally-oriented students and lasts for four years (typically from age 12 to 16). It is designed to provide a basis for students to pursue further vocational training (middelbaar beroepsonderwijs, MBO), which is focussed on preparing students for the labour market. Students in VMBO can choose among four learning programmes: the theoretical programme (theoretische leerweg, VMBO-t), the middle-management vocational programme (kaderberoepsgerichte leerweg, VMBO-k); the basic vocational programme (basisberoepsgerichte leerweg, VMBO-b); and a programme that combines the latter two (gemengde leerweg, VMBO-g). In 2023/24, 35.8% of students were given a (final) advice to enter VMBO or lower tracks at the end of primary education.
Senior general secondary education (hoger algemeen voortgezet onderwijs, HAVO) lasts for five years (typically from age 12 to 17) and is designed to provide students with a basic general education to prepare them for professional higher education (hoger beroepsonderwijs, HBO), which is typically provided at universities of applied sciences. For the last two years of HAVO, students choose one of four subject combinations: science and technology; science and health; economics and society; or culture and society. In 2023/24, 27.7% of students received a (final) advice to enter HAVO programmes or a combined advice for VMBO-g/HAVO at the end of primary education.
Pre-university education (voorbereidend wetenschappelijk onderwijs, VWO) lasts for six years (typically from age 12 to 18) and is designed to prepare students for academic higher education (wetenschappelijk onderwijs, WO), typically provided at universities. For the last 3 years of VWO, students choose one of the four subject combinations also offered in the HAVO pathway. In 2023/24, 36.5% of students received a (final) advice to enter VWO programmes or a combined advice for HAVO/VWO at the end of primary education.
Students in upper secondary education can transfer to higher pathways provided they successfully completed their pathway. For example, students who completed Year 4 the combined or theoretical VMBO programmes can transfer to Year 4 of the HAVO pathway and students who completed Year 5 of a HAVO programme can transfer to Year 5 of the VWO pathway. This process is referred to as “stapelen” (stacking). 15% of the students who completed a VMBO-t pathway in 2023/24 decided to continue their secondary education by transferring to a HAVO programme and about 7% of all students engage in “stacking” during their secondary education on average (OCW, 2024[43]). Compulsory education (leerplicht) ends at age 17, but students are required to obtain a basic qualification (startkwalificatie) before leaving school, without which they need to continue attending school until age 18.
There are two pathways for separate special education at the secondary level. Students preparing for further education can work towards a school leaving certificate in special secondary education (voortgezet speciaal onderwijs, VSO) schools. Students considered unlikely to obtain a qualification through one of the other learning pathways, even with additional support, can enter a programme of practical education (praktijkonderwijs, PRO), which prepares them for direct entry into the labour market. The upper age limit for special education is 20. Each secondary SEN pathway has its own attainment targets (Eurydice, 2023[42]).
Tertiary education
Post-secondary education is divided into two main sectors: Higher professional education (HBO) and university education (WO). HBO focusses on providing professionally oriented higher education and developing skills that are directly applicable in the labour market. There are currently 37 recognised, government-funded HBO institutions providing bachelor’s degree programmes and, in some cases, master’s degree programmes. University education is focussed on academic teaching and research. The country’s 13 universities provide degree programmes at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral level (Eurydice, 2024[44]).
In 2024, there were 1 421 802 primary education students attending 6 517 primary schools in the Netherlands. 95.2% of primary students attended regular primary schools and 4.8% attended separate schools offering special education (see Table 1.1). The largest proportion of government-dependent primary schools were public schools (31.0%), followed by Roman Catholic schools (30.2%) and Protestant schools (29.3%). The remaining 9.5% were other types of private schools, including schools with different religious orientations (e.g. Muslim, Hindu or Reformed Christian schools) and non-denominational private schools (algemeen bijzonder). The latter include schools that follow specific pedagogical approaches, such as Montessori, Dalton, Steiner or Jenaplan schools. All recognised government-dependent schools receive the same amount of funding (see Chapter 3). At the secondary level, there were 975 822 students in 2024, 40.5% of whom were enrolled in “bridge classes” during the first two years of secondary education or a combined third year. Students in the higher years of secondary education were enrolled in one of the four VMBO programmes (19.6%), HAVO (15.8%) or VWO (16.4%) (see Table 1.1).
Sources: OCW (2025[45]), Kerncijfers en indicatoren Primair Onderwijs [Key figures and indicators Primary Education], https://www.ocwincijfers.nl/sectoren/primair-onderwijs/ (accessed on 1 October 2025); OCW (2025[46]), Kerncijfers en indicatoren Voortgezet Onderwijs [Key figures and indicators Secondary Education], https://www.ocwincijfers.nl/sectoren/voortgezet-onderwijs (accessed on 1 October 2025).
Many of the 639 secondary schools in the Netherlands offer more than one programme and combine multiple pathways (see Figure 1.3). Practical education (PRO) is mostly offered in one of 110 specialised schools or in one of the 54 schools offering the full range of PRO, VMBO, HAVO and VWO programmes. The basic, middle-management and combined pre-vocational programmes (VBO, i.e. VMBO-b/k/g) are typically offered in one of the 223 schools that also provide the technical VMBO-t programme and the general HAVO and VWO pathways (i.e. AVO & VBO). 42 schools exclusively offer the pre-university VWO pathway.
Number of institutions (instellingen) offering each pathway in secondary education
Note: AVO encompasses VMBO-t, HAVO and VWO. VBO encompasses VMBO-b, VMBO-k and VMBO-g. "Broad" means that all sub-programmes are offered, whereas "narrow" means that not all sub-programmes are offered. "Categorical" schools offer only one programme. Vertical school communities are regional training centres (regionale opleiding centra, ROC) and vocational institutions. The figure does not include the 45 schools offering secondary special education (VSO).
Source: OCW (2025[46]), Kerncijfers en indicatoren Voortgezet Onderwijs: Aantal vo-scholen [Key figures and indicators Secondary Education: Number of secondary schools], https://www.ocwincijfers.nl/sectoren/voortgezet-onderwijs/instellingen/aantal-vo-scholen (accessed on 1 October 2025).
The number of primary students has declined steadily over the past decade, decreasing from 1.53 million in 2014 to 1.42 million in 2024 (see Figure 1.4). Based on official forecasts, this trend is set to continue until around 2032, when student numbers are projected to bottom out at 1.39 million, before rising sharply to around 1.54 million by 2040 (OCW, 2025[5]). In secondary education, the number of students has been steadily declining since 2015 – from a peak of 1.04 million. Although student numbers rose slightly between 2021 and 2023 (see Figure 1.4), official forecasts project them to continue declining to about 0.85 million in 2039 before the trend is expected to reverse (OCW, 2025[5]).
2014 = 100
Note: Primary education includes mainstream and special education (SBAO & SO) as well as the small travelling student population (trekkende bevolking) of sailing children and mobile schools; Secondary education includes mainstream (VO) and special education (VSO).
Sources: OCW (2025[47]), Ontwikkeling van het aantal leerlingen in het primair onderwijs [Development of student numbers in primary education], https://www.ocwincijfers.nl/sectoren/primair-onderwijs/leerlingen/aantallen-ontwikkeling-aantal-leerlingen (accessed on 1 October 2025); OCW (2025[48]), Leerlingenaantallen voortgezet onderwijs [Student numbers in secondary education], https://www.ocwincijfers.nl/sectoren/voortgezet-onderwijs/leerlingen/leerlingenaantallen-voortgezet-onderwijs (accessed on 1 October 2025).
The Dutch government ordered schools to close three times during the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools were initially closed in mid-March 2020 before gradually reopening in May. Only in exceptional situations were schools allowed to remain open for specific groups of vulnerable students or the children of essential workers. Until June 2020, most schools engaged in distance and hybrid learning activities. Schools were closed again in response to further waves of the pandemic between December 2020 and February 2021, during which time schools returned to distance learning, and between December 2021 and January 2022 (for an extended Christmas break) (OCW, 2024[7]). In international comparison, these full school closures lasted for a comparatively short time in the Netherlands. Between 2020 and the first quarter of 2022, schools in the Netherlands were fully closed for 46 instruction days at the primary level and 53 instruction days at the lower secondary level due to the pandemic. This was significantly less than the OECD average 96 days of closures at the lower secondary level (among countries with available data). By contrast, school remained partially closed (in certain areas, for certain grades or for a share of students) for an additional 127 days during this period, which was longer than in most OECD countries with available data (OECD, 2022, pp. 34, Table 1[49]).
Data from the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) suggest that teachers and schools in the Netherlands were comparatively well placed to confront the challenges associated with teaching and learning in the new hybrid environment. Teachers reported above-average self-efficacy in using ICT to support student learning and few schools reported issues related to insufficient digital technology or internet access in 2018 (OECD, 2020[50]; OECD, 2019, p. Table I.3.63[51]). Furthermore, the government mobilised significant resources during the COVID-19 pandemic to support distance education. Starting in 2021, the government provided EUR 5.8 billion through the National Education Programme (Nationaal Programma Onderwijs, NPO) to support schools in mitigating the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis for students (see Chapter 3). The Ministry of Education also purchased 75 000 digital devices (through the ICT procurement co-operative SIVON) and distributed them to school boards to support students without devices at home (OCW, 2024[7]).
Nevertheless, as in many OECD countries, the temporary suspension of in-person teaching and the disruptions caused by the pandemic have resulted in significant learning losses in the Netherlands (De Witte and François, 2023[52]). An analysis of primary students' performance in national mathematics, spelling and reading examinations showed a learning loss of 0.08 standard deviations (equivalent to one fifth of a school year) compared to students in previous cohorts. The impact was up to 60% larger for disadvantaged students (Engzell, Frey and Verhagen, 2021[53]).
Education performance and equity
Students in primary education perform well in mathematics but underperform in reading and science
Dutch students in Grade 4 of primary education perform above the OECD average in mathematics but below average in reading and science in international comparison. In the 2023 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), Dutch primary students scored 537 points, compared to 525 points on average across participating OECD countries (von Davier et al., 2024[54]). Over the past three decades, Dutch students’ scores have steadily declined from 549 points in 1995 (Mullis et al., 2020, p. 16[55]). In TIMSS 2019, the socio-economic gap in students’ performance (30 points between more disadvantaged and more affluent schools) was smaller than the OECD average gap of 47 points (Mullis et al., 2020, p. 315[55]; Varsik, 2024[56]). In science, Dutch fourth-grade students’ achievement was below the OECD average in 2023 (517 points compared to 526) (von Davier et al., 2024[54]), following a similar decline from 530 points in 1995 (Mullis et al., 2020, p. 315[55]).
Dutch fourth-grade students scored 527 points in reading in the 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), compared to 532 on average across participating OECD countries (Mullis et al., 2023, p. 23[57]). This marks a significant drop in reading scores from 545 points in 2016, but scores had already declined steadily prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, down from 554 in 2001 (Mullis et al., 2023, p. 36[57]). The socio-economic gap in reading achievement between more disadvantaged and more affluent schools was 30 points – smaller than the OECD average gap of 41 points (Mullis et al., 2023, p. 100[57]; Varsik, 2024[56]).
The performance of 15-year-olds has declined significantly since before the COVID-19 pandemic
Like most OECD countries, the Netherlands has experienced a significant drop in students’ performance during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the average 15-year-old student performed worse than in 2018 in mathematics, reading and science. In all three subjects, students’ scores were lower than in any previous assessment. This drop reinforced a longer-term negative trajectory, particularly in reading and science, where results had been declining at least since 2012. While students continue to perform above the OECD average in mathematics (493 vs. 480 points), their performance now stands at the OECD average in science (488 points) and below the OECD average in reading (459 vs. 482 points) (see Figure 1.5).1
OECD average-23
Note: The black lines indicate the best-fitting trend line for the Netherlands' performance.
Source: OECD (2023[58]), PISA 2022 Results (Volume I): The State of Learning and Equity in Education, https://doi.org/10.1787/53f23881-en, Tables I.B1.5.4, I.B1.5.5 and I.B1.5.6; Figure I.6.1.
The Netherlands has some of the widest gaps in students’ performance
The variation in students’ performance in the Netherlands is high and increasing. In PISA 2022, the difference in mathematics performance between the highest-performing students (the 10% with the highest scores) and the weakest students (the 10% with the lowest scores) is 282 score points, larger than in any other OECD country (OECD, 2023, pp. 311, Table I.B1.2.1[59]). The performance gap is also the largest among OECD countries in science (296 points) and the second largest in reading (303 points) (OECD, 2023, pp. 313, Tables I.B1.2.2/I.B1.2.3[59]). This gap between the highest-scoring and the lowest-scoring students has widened across all three subjects between 2018 and 2022 (OECD, 2023[59]).
Performance differences in the Netherlands are associated with students’ socio-economic status. The variation in mathematics performance explained by students’ ESCS (15.1%) is close to the OECD average (15.5%) (OECD, 2023, pp. 31, Table I.2[59]). Yet, the most advantaged students (the top 25% on the PISA index of economic, social and cultural status [ESCS]) outperform disadvantaged students (the bottom 25%) by 106 score points in mathematics. For reference, 20 points correspond to about one year of the average 15-year-old’s estimated learning progress. This gap is significantly larger than the average difference between advantaged and disadvantaged students (93 score points) across OECD countries (OECD, 2023[59]). The gaps between the two groups in reading (103 points) and in science (110 points) are also larger than the OECD average (93 and 96 points, respectively) (Varsik, 2024[56]). Over the past 10 years, these socio-economic gaps in students’ performance have widened in all three subjects (OECD, 2023, p. 445[59]).
Students with an immigrant background perform worse than their peers in the Netherlands, although the gap is largely explained by their socio-economic profile and language spoken at home (Varsik, 2024[56]). The proportion of 15-year-old students with an immigrant background remained stable around 14% in 2022 (compared to 11% in 2012) (OECD, 2023, pp. 348, Table I.B1.7.1[59]). 5% of them were first-generation immigrants, meaning that they were born in another country. The remaining 9% were born in the Netherlands but had two foreign-born parents. On average in the Netherlands, students with an immigrant background score 58 points lower than non-immigrant students in mathematics. In reading, the difference is 56 points. In both cases, this gap is larger (in absolute terms) than on average across OECD countries.
When controlling for immigrant students’ socio-economic profile, the difference in performance remains significant but drops to 27 points in mathematics and 25 points in reading, reflecting the higher proportion of socio-economically disadvantaged immigrant students (49% of them are in the bottom socio-economic quartile of the Netherlands) (OECD, 2023[59]). 67% of students with an immigrant background in the Netherlands reported speaking a language other than the test language at home. Once the language spoken at home is controlled for alongside students’ socio-economic profile, performance differences based on students’ immigrant background seize to be statistically significant in the Netherlands (Varsik, 2024[56]).
Students’ education access and progression
Participation in early childhood education is high but so are its costs and socio-economic differences persist
In the Netherlands, 86% of 3-year-olds were enrolled in formal early childhood education (ECE) settings in 2023 (above the OECD averages of 79%). At age 4, when parents have a right to free provision, enrolment rises significantly to 95% (above the OECD average of 90%) before reaching near-universal levels of enrolment at age 5, when education becomes compulsory (OECD, 2025, pp. 177, Table B1.1[41]). Reports of 15-year-olds in PISA 2022 point to some socio-economic inequities in students’ access to early childhood education. While 97.6% of advantaged students had attended pre‑primary school for at least one year, only 93.5% of disadvantaged students had. This gap is even larger between students with and without an immigrant background (84.7% vs. 98.5%) (OECD, 2023[60]; Varsik, 2024[56]).
The cost of centre-based childcare for children under the age of 4 in the Netherlands is high and participation in childcare at this age tends to be part-time. Although different forms of support are available for disadvantaged families, the hypothetical cost of full-time childcare for a family of two full-time earners with children aged 2 and 3 amounted to 60% of the country’s average earnings, compared to just under 26% on average across OECD countries in 2021 (OECD, 2022[61]). Nevertheless, the employment rate of Dutch mothers with children under the age of 3 stands at 81% (significantly above the OECD average of 64%) (OECD, 2023[62]).
The great majority of 15-19-year-olds are enrolled in education, but repetition rates are high
As is the case across OECD countries, the great majority of 15-19-year-olds in the Netherlands are enrolled in education (91%, compared to 84% across OECD countries). In 2023, 24% of this age group were enrolled in general upper secondary education (below the OECD average of 37%) and 28% in vocational upper secondary education (more than the OECD average of 23%). 22% were enrolled in lower secondary programmes and 17% in tertiary programmes (OECD, 2025, pp. 218, Table B3.1[41]).
Grade repetition is comparatively frequent in the Netherlands. In PISA 2022, 23.3% of 15-year-olds reported having repeated a grade at least once in primary or secondary school. This is the third highest proportion across OECD countries and significantly above the average of 8.9%. The proportion of repeaters was significantly higher among boys, among disadvantaged students and among immigrant students (OECD, 2023, pp. 138, Figure II.4.6[60]).
Attainment and labour market outcomes
The level of educational attainment is high
Tertiary attainment has become the most common qualification among the working age population in the Netherlands. In 2024, 82% of 25-64-year-olds had attained at least an upper secondary education and 45% held a tertiary qualification (close to the OECD averages of 81% and 42% respectively) (OECD, 2025, pp. 63, Table A1.1[41]). However, despite the importance of upper secondary attainment for a successful participation in the labour market, 11% of men and 8% of women aged 25-34-year in the Netherlands had left education without such a qualification in 2024. This marked a slight decrease (from 13% of men and 11% of women in 2019) and was below the 2024 OECD average of 14% of men and 11% of women (OECD, 2025, pp. 64, Table A1.2[41]).
A very low proportion of young adults are NEET
On average across OECD countries, 14% of 18-24-year-olds were neither in employment nor in formal education or training (NEET) in 2024. In the Netherlands, this proportion stood at 5%, the second lowest among all OECD countries with available data (OECD, 2025, pp. 77, Table A2.1[41]). In most OECD countries, young graduates of vocational programmes are more likely to be NEET than their peers in general programmes one to three years after completing their upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education. In 2022, the Netherlands was one of the only countries, with Denmark and Germany, where vocational upper secondary graduates had lower rates of inactivity (4.3%) than their peers from general programmes (12.5%) (OECD, 2023, pp. 71, Table A2.3[63]).
Labour market returns to higher education are modest
The labour market returns to higher education in the Netherlands are modest in international comparison. In 2023, 25–34-year-old workers with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment earned 10% more than those without upper secondary attainment (compared to 17% on average across OECD countries) (OECD, 2025[26]). 25-34-year-olds with a qualification at the bachelor’s level earned 19% more than their peers with upper secondary attainment and those who had a qualification at the master’s or doctoral level earned 42% more. These advantages are 12 and 11 percentage points smaller than the OECD averages respectively, although the earnings premium of tertiary education in the Netherlands is larger for older cohorts and in line with the OECD average among 45-54-year-olds with a master’s or doctoral degree (OECD, 2025, pp. 121, Table A4.1[41]).
Well-being outcomes
Students’ well-being influences their cognitive development and education outcomes by affecting their motivation, aspirations, attitudes and behaviour (OECD, 2021[64]; Varsik, 2024[56]). In PISA 2022, 15-year-old students were asked a number of questions specifically related to their well-being at school to construct an “index of sense of belonging at school”.2 Although Dutch students’ sense of belonging at school had declined slightly since 2018, it was above the OECD average in 2022 (OECD, 2023, pp. 313, Table II.B1.1.1[60]). More generally, students in the Netherlands reported above-average life satisfaction. In 2022, only 7% of students in the Netherlands reported that they were unsatisfied with their lives (rating it between 0 and 4 on a scale of 10), which was about the same as 2018 (6%). This share of dissatisfied students was significantly below the OECD average of 18%, which had increased from 16% in 2018 and 11% in 2015 (OECD, 2023, pp. 405, Table II.B1.1.10[60]).
In PISA 2022, some 13% of 15-year-old girls and 13% of boys in the Netherlands reported being the victim of bullying at least a few times a month, which was below the OECD average (20% of girls and 21% of boys) (OECD, 2023, pp. 407, Tables II.B1.3.31 and II.B1.3.33[60]). Bullying in the digital space is a growing concern in young people’s lives. This can include being a victim of offensive messages, comments or rumours, the exclusion from online groups and other forms of harassment. In a 2021/22 survey, 11% of 11-, 13- and 15-year-olds in the Netherlands reported that they had been a victim of cyber-bullying at least once in the previous couple of months. This figure was below the OECD average of 16% but, as in all countries, had increased since 2017/18. As in most countries, the reported incidence of cyber-bullying was slightly higher among girls (12%) than among boys (10%) (OECD, 2024, p. 118[3]; Cosma, Molcho and Pickett, 2024[65]).
The Netherlands is a highly digitalised society
The Netherlands is a highly digitalised society and internet use has been widespread for longer than in most OECD countries. In 2005, when only 52% of 16–74-year-olds across OECD countries used the internet, 79% in the Netherlands already did. This proportion has further increased to 95% in 2022 (compared to 92% across OECD countries) (OECD, 2024, p. 118[3]). While internet use among young people is nearly universal in most OECD countries, usage rates tend to vary by age, education and household income. Although the gap is slim, internet access among the top income quartile in the Netherlands is slightly higher than among the lowest income quartile (99% vs. 93%) (OECD, 2024, p. 118[3]; OECD, 2020[66]).
Dutch adults demonstrated strong digital proficiency in the OECD’s first PIAAC Survey of Adult Skills in 2011-12, with 38% of women and 45% of men scoring at the highest two levels in problem solving in technology-rich environments (compared to the OECD averages of 28% and 32%, respectively). Only 7% of women and 6% of men reported having no computer experience or failed the ICT core test (compared to 15% and 16% across OECD countries respectively) (OECD, 2019, pp. 80, Figure 3.11[67]). The latest cycle of PIAAC in 2023 confirmed Dutch adults’ strong proficiency in literacy, numeracy and adaptive problem solving. They scored well above the OECD average in all three domains (OECD, 2024, p. 54 ff.[68]).
The Netherlands is also one the OECD countries that is furthest ahead in the digital transformation of the workplace. Based on the latest available estimates, it has one of the highest shares of workers intensively using ICTs on their job (and predominantly performing non-routine tasks) (OECD, 2019, p. 66[69]) (see Figure 1.6). This high demand for digital skills may explain why 4% of employed adults in the Netherlands reported having inadequate computer and software skills for their jobs in 2023 (in line with the OECD average) (OECD, 2024, pp. 176, Figure 4.16[68]).
Median of the non-routine and ICT intensity across all workers, by country (Survey of Adult Skills, PIAAC)
Note: Each dot represents a country’s median non-routine and ICT intensities across all workers. The construction of the non-routine and ICT intensity indicators is explained in OECD (2019[69]), Box 2.3.
Source: Reproduced from OECD (2019[69]), OECD Skills Outlook 2019: Thriving in a Digital World, https://doi.org/10.1787/df80bc12-en, Figure 2.15 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888933973342).
The Netherlands has a dynamic and quickly expanding ICT sector, with an average annual growth rate of 6.7% over the past ten years (2013-23), compared to 6.2% across OECD countries, and 10.2% growth in 2023 (OECD average: 7.6%) (OECD, 2024, pp. 27, Figures 1.4 and 1.6[70]). In many OECD countries, 2023 marked a significant milestone for the growth of the ICT sector. Ten countries had growth rates above 9%: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. In Belgium and the United Kingdom, the growth of the ICT sector exceeded 11%. The adoption rates of data-driven technologies (such as cloud computing, internet-of-things technologies, big data analytics and AI) in the Dutch business sector is also high, compared with other OECD countries (OECD, 2024, pp. 100, Figure 3.10[70]).
Most students report feeling confident in using technology for remote learning, but many students’ digital skills remain below a basic level
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many Dutch students learned how to use digital technology for remote instruction while school buildings were closed. When asked in PISA 2022 whether they would feel confident about using digital technology for learning remotely in the future, 15-year-old students in the Netherlands expressed a high level of confidence. More than two thirds of students (69%) reported that they feel confident or very confident about using a learning-management system or school learning platform (close to the OECD average of 74%). 77% of 15-year-old students were confident or very confident about using a video communication programme (same as the OECD average) and 75% reported the same for finding learning resources online on their own (close to the OECD average of 73%) (OECD, 2023, pp. 323, Table II.B1.2.5[60]). As was the case across OECD countries, Dutch students who reported feeling confident about these aspects of remote learning using digital resources scored significantly higher in mathematics, reading and science than those who did not, even after accounting for their own and their schools’ socio-economic profile (OECD, 2023, pp. 323, Tables II.B1.2.8-10[60]).
Nevertheless, the direct assessment of Dutch students’ digital literacy as part of the 2023 International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) showed mixed results. 57% of students in Grade 8 (typically around the age of 14) scored below Level 2 in computer and information literacy (CIL), which is considered the minimum level needed to participate effectively in a digital society. Although these weak results were close to the average of participating countries (51%), they highlight that many students in Grade 8 are not equipped to effectively process and assess the reliability of digital information. The results also showed that many students’ computer literacy skills were insufficient, with one in three unable to operate a computer properly (Fraillon, 2024, p. 369[71]; Krepel et al., 2024[72]).
Results from ICILS 2023 also tested students’ computational thinking (CT) skills, which involves such abilities as tackling complex problems by breaking them down into smaller sub-problems that a person or computer can resolve, as well as algorithmic thinking and other cognitive process at the heart of computer programming. 49% of Dutch students scored below Level 2, which was significantly weaker than the international average and below the scores of almost all OECD countries. Only 21% of students scored at the two highest level of proficiency in CT and 18% in CIL (compared to the international averages of 29% and 15% respectively) (Fraillon, 2024, pp. 142, 369[71]; Krepel et al., 2024[72]).
The majority of students start using digital devices for school at the primary level
Fourth-grade primary school students participating in PIRLS 2021 were asked how much time they spend using a computer, tablet or smartphone to find and read information for schoolwork on a normal school day. In the Netherlands, a little more than half of the students (57%) reported spending 30 minutes or less per school day using digital devices for this purpose (close to the international average of 52%). 23% reported doing so for more than 30 minutes per day and 20% reported not using digital devices for this purpose at all (close to the international PIRLS averages of 25% and 23% respectively). There are few discernible differences in Dutch primary students’ reading performance based on their use of digital devices to search for information. This stands in contrast with most countries, where students who use devices for 30 minutes or less tend to score higher than those who use them either more or less frequently (Mullis et al., 2023, p. 128[57]).
The use of digital resources is more widespread at the secondary level but remains moderate in international comparison
The use of digital resources for learning picks up at the secondary level. PISA 2022 asked 15-year-old students to report how many hours they spend using digital resources at school (both during and outside of regular lessons). On average, students in the Netherlands reported using digital resources at school for 3.2 hours per day (2.1 hours for learning and 1.1 hours for leisure) (see Figure 1.7). This is close to the OECD averages of 2.0 hours for learning and 1.1 hours for leisure. (Students in the Netherlands also spend a similar amount of time in regular lessons as the OECD average, which makes these results broadly comparable). In some OECD countries, including Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Iceland, students make significantly more use of digital resources for learning at school (3 hours per day or more). On average across OECD countries, analyses suggest that students who spend a moderate amount of time learning with digital resources perform better than those who do not use them at all or use them for more than 5 hours a day. By contrast, the use of devices for leisure at school is negatively associated with mathematics performance for any amount of time exceeding 1 hour a day (OECD, 2023, p. 194[60]).
Time spent per day by 15-year-old students (in hours)
Note: *Caution is required when interpreting estimates because one or more PISA sampling standards were not met. For more information, see the Reader’s Guide, Annexes A2 and A4 in OECD (2023[59]). Only countries and economies with available data are shown. Time spent in regular lessons at school per school day refers to the time spent in regular lessons per school week divided by five (with the assumption there are five days per school week). Countries and economies are ranked in descending order of the time spent using digital resources at school for both learning and leisure.
Source: Adapted from OECD (2023[60]), PISA 2022 Results (Volume II): Learning During – and From – Disruption, https://doi.org/10.1787/a97db61c-en, Figure II.5.15 (https://stat.link/6jbfey).
Secondary schools are well-equipped with digital resources
On the whole, Dutch principals surveyed in PISA 2022 are satisfied with the digital resources available at their schools. Only 7.6% of 15-year-old students attend schools whose principal reported a lack of digital resources (compared with 23.9% across OECD countries). Likewise, only 7.5% are in schools whose principal reported that their digital resources were inadequate or of poor quality (significantly below the OECD average of 24.6%). In contrast to many countries, there is no statistically significant difference between principals’ perceptions of digital resources in advantaged and disadvantaged schools. Yet, schools with a high concentration of immigrant students are more likely to report that digital resources are inadequate or of poor quality than those with a low concentration of immigrant students (12.5 vs. 2.3%), albeit at a level significantly below the OECD average (OECD, 2023, pp. 409, Tables II.B1.5.19 and II.B1.5.20[60]).
The number of computers (laptops or desktops) available to Dutch students in schools has increased significantly since 2012, approaching one computer for every student (0.9) at age 15 in 2022 (OECD, 2023, pp. 409, Table II.B1.5.25[60]). (It appears likely that some principals counted personal computers that students bring from home when reporting this data). The number of computers available to Dutch students increased particularly between 2015 and 2018 (from 0.6 to 0.9 per student), while remaining largely unchanged from 2012 to 2015 and from 2018 to 2022 (see Figure 1.8). This computer-student ratio is above the OECD average of 0.8, although several OECD countries also reported that more than one computer is available per student. In addition to computers, principals reported that 3.4 tablet devices or e-book readers were available at school per group of ten 15-year-old students (close to the OECD average of 3.5) (OECD, 2023, pp. 409, Table II.B1.5.27[60]). For an in-depth discussion of the quality and availability of digital resources in schools, see Chapter 3.
Ratio of the number of school computers available for educational purposes to 15-year-olds and the total number of students in the modal grade for 15-year-olds
Note: *Caution is required when interpreting estimates because one or more PISA sampling standards were not met. For more information, see the Reader’s Guide, Annexes A2 and A4 in OECD (2023[59]). Countries are sorted in ascending order of the ratio of computers to students in 2022. Statistically significant changes between 2012 and 2022 are shown next to the country names.
Source: OECD (2023[60]), PISA 2022 Results (Volume II): Learning During – and From – Disruption, https://doi.org/10.1787/a97db61c-en, Table II.B1.5.25.
Principals see room for improvement in their schools’ preparedness for digital learning
The availability and quality of digital resources in schools does not, in and of itself, guarantee that schools and teachers are able to use them effectively to enhance teaching and learning. Nevertheless, in the Netherlands, principals whose school have a higher number of computers per student are more likely to feel well-prepared for digital learning (OECD, 2023, pp. 184, Figure II.5.8[60]). PISA 2022 asked principals a range of questions (e.g. whether teachers had the necessary technical and pedagogical skills to integrate digital devices in instruction and whether the school had sufficient qualified technical assistant staff) to construct an index of preparedness for digital learning (OECD, 2023, pp. 409, Table II.B1.5.29[60]).3 Overall, Dutch principals report that their schools are slightly better prepared than the OECD average. Interestingly, socio‑economically disadvantaged schools reported slightly (albeit not statistically significantly) higher levels of preparedness for digital learning than socio-economically average and advantaged schools (see Figure 1.9) (Varsik, 2024[56]). For an in-depth discussion of teachers’ and schools’ capacity to use digital education resources effectively, see Chapter 5.
Index of preparedness for digital learning, based on the reports of 15-year-old students’ principals
Note: *Caution is required when interpreting estimates because one or more PISA sampling standards were not met. For more information, see the Reader’s Guide, Annexes A2 and A4 in OECD (2023[59]). The socio-economic profile of schools is measured by the PISA index of economic, social and cultural status (ESCS). A socio-economically disadvantaged (advantaged) school is a school in the bottom (top) quarter of the index of ESCS in the relevant country. Data for Belgium represent only the French and German-speaking Communities. Countries are ranked in descending order of the index of preparedness for digital learning in socio-economically average schools.
Source: OECD (2023[60]), PISA 2022 Results (Volume II): Learning During – and From – Disruption, https://doi.org/10.1787/a97db61c-en, Table II.B1.5.30.
Digital devices can also be associated with distractions and feelings of anxiety
The use of digital devices in schools can also have negative effects, contributing to a disciplinary climate that is not favourable to learning. In 2022, for example, about 33% of 15-year-olds in the Netherlands reported that students in their mathematics lessons are getting distracted by using digital devices (OECD average: 30%) and 28% reported that students get distracted by other students who are using digital devices (OECD average: 25%) (OECD, 2023, pp. 101, Figure II.3.4[60]). This was before Dutch schools agreed to ban the use of mobile phones in classrooms in 2024 (see Chapter 6).
In some cases, students’ use of digital devices can be associated with negative feelings or a sense of dependency. Compared to the OECD average, relatively few 15-year-old students in the Netherlands reported feeling nervous or anxious without their digital devices in PISA 2022. Nevertheless, 18% reported feeling this way at least half of the time when they did not have their devices near them (OECD average: 26%) (see Figure 1.10). Students who reported feeling nervous or anxious without their digital devices also reported lower life satisfaction, performed worse in mathematics, and showed less emotional control and resistance to stress, even after accounting for their socio-economic profile, both in the Netherlands and on average across OECD countries (OECD, 2023, pp. 410, Table II.B1.5.81[60]).
Percentage of 15-year-old students reporting to feel nervous or anxious when they don't have their digital devices near them
Note: *Caution is required when interpreting estimates because one or more PISA sampling standards were not met. For more information, see the Reader’s Guide, Annexes A2 and A4 in OECD (2023[59]). Countries and economies are ranked in descending order of the percentage of students who never or almost never feel nervous/anxious when they don't have their digital devices near them.
Source: Adapted from OECD (2023[60]), PISA 2022 Results (Volume II): Learning During – and From – Disruption, https://doi.org/10.1787/a97db61c-en, Figure II.5.16 (https://stat.link/6jbfey).
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← 1. Throughout the report, caution is required when interpreting PISA 2022 estimates for the Netherlands because one or more PISA sampling standards were not met and it is not possible to exclude the possibility of more than minimal bias based on the information available at the time of data adjudication. All countries and economies for which this was the case are marked with an asterisk (*) in relevant Figures. For more information, see the Reader’s Guide, Annexes A2 and A4 in OECD (2023[58]).
← 2. The PISA 2022 index of sense of belonging at school (BELONG) captures whether students’ agree or disagree to the following statements: “I feel like an outsider (or left out of things) at school”; “I make friends easily at school”; “I feel like I belong at school”; “I feel awkward and out of place in my school”; “Other students seem to like me”; and “I feel lonely at school”.
← 3. The PISA index of preparedness for digital learning is based on principals’ agreement or disagreement with the following statements: “Teachers have the necessary technical and pedagogical skills to integrate digital devices in instruction”; “Teachers have sufficient time to prepare lessons integrating digital devices”; “Effective professional resources for teachers to learn how to use digital devices are available”; “An effective online learning support platform is available”; “Teachers are provided with incentives to integrate digital devices in their teaching”; and “The school has sufficient qualified technical assistant staff” (OECD, 2023[60]).