The gender gap in the share of higher education graduates widens
One of the indicators under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for quality education is the percentage of 25-34-year-olds with a higher education diploma. This figure is calculated at international level based on the Labour Force Survey and is estimated at 50.0% in 2023, which is slightly lower than the year before.
Whereas in the early 2000s only just over a third of the population aged 25 to 34 held a higher education diploma, this has risen to one person in two in recent years. This has already achieved the SDG target of 45% by the year 2030 set by the United Nations since 2017.
Yet this appears to be mainly due to the high level of education among women, where the target of 45% higher education graduates among 25-34-year-olds was already achieved in 2004. In 2023, no less than 57.3% of women aged 25 to 34 have a higher education diploma. Among men, with 42.6%, the figure remains well below that of women and still just below the SDG target. What is particularly striking is that the gender gap has only widened since the 2000s. In 2000, the gap was 5.9 percentage points, but in 2023 it rose to 14.7 percentage points.
At regional level, we see the highest share of higher education graduates in Brussels, where 61.6% of people aged 25-34 living there have a higher education diploma in 2023. In Flanders, the share is 10 percentage points lower (51.6%) and in Wallonia, the figure drops by another 10 percentage points to 41.5%. In each of the three regions, we see a widening gender gap. Especially in Wallonia, the gender gap is very high in 2023, with 18.4 percentage points.
Level of education of the Belgian population of 15-64 years
Access to latest statisticsShare of people aged 30-34 having completed higher education
| Belgium | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 (b) | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 35.2% | 39.2% | 44.4% | 42.7% | 47.5% | 47.8% | 49.9% | 53.1% | 50.2% |
| Men | 33.3% | 35.1% | 39.0% | 36.7% | 39.8% | 40.2% | 43.3% | 45.6% | 41.9% |
| Women | 37.2% | 43.5% | 50.0% | 48.7% | 55.2% | 55.5% | 56.4% | 60.6% | 58.5% |
| Brussels-Capital Region | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 (b) | 2022 | 2023 |
| Total | 43.9% | 49.8% | 48.7% | 48.4% | 55.6% | 58.2% | 58.4% | 60.5% | 60.6% |
| Men | 41.2% | 49.1% | 48.0% | 47.1% | 52.8% | 55.9% | 56.8% | 53.8% | 53.6% |
| Women | 46.8% | 50.6% | 49.4% | 49.7% | 58.2% | 60.4% | 60.0% | 67.1% | 67.4% |
| Flemish Region | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 (b) | 2022 | 2023 |
| Total | 36.4% | 40.0% | 45.0% | 43.2% | 48.5% | 49.3% | 52.4% | 56.2% | 51.1% |
| Men | 34.9% | 35.5% | 38.6% | 36.0% | 39.8% | 40.8% | 44.8% | 48.9% | 43.7% |
| Women | 38.0% | 44.6% | 51.4% | 50.4% | 57.2% | 57.8% | 59.9% | 63.5% | 58.4% |
| Walloon Region | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 (b) | 2022 | 2023 |
| Total | 30.0% | 33.9% | 41.5% | 39.1% | 42.2% | 40.6% | 41.7% | 44.3% | 44.0% |
| Men | 27.6% | 28.9% | 35.6% | 33.2% | 34.1% | 32.1% | 34.7% | 35.9% | 33.4% |
| Women | 32.5% | 38.9% | 47.5% | 45.0% | 50.3% | 49.1% | 48.7% | 52.7% | 54.6% |
| (a) Break in the results following a considerable reform of the Labour Force Survey.
(b) Break in the results in 2021 due to the revision of the questionnaire. | |||||||||
Labour force survey (LFS)
Purpose and short description
The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is a socio-economic household sample survey. Its main objective is to classify the working age population (15 and older) into three groups (employed, unemployed and inactive persons) and to provide descriptive and explanatory data on every category. This survey is also carried out in the other EU Member States and is coordinated by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In Belgium, the LFS is organised by Statbel. The objective is to obtain comparable information at European level, in particular as regards employment and unemployment rates as defined by the International Labour Office (ILO), but also to collect and disseminate data that are otherwise not available, for example about the mobility of workers, the reasons for working part-time, the various forms of part-time employment, the occupation, the educational level of the working age population, ... .
Survey population
Members of private households aged 15 or older.
Sample frame
Demographic data from the National Register.
Data collection method and sample size
Data are collected through face-to-face interviews. Since 2017, there have been three (shorter) follow-up surveys to which households respond online or by telephone.
Households with only inactive persons older than 64 can also be interviewed by telephone.
Every year, around 47,000 households receive a letter asking them to take part in this survey.
Response rate
The response rate is above 75%.
Periodicity
Quarterly
Release calendar
Results availability: around 3 months after the end of the reference period.
Forms
- Labour Force Survey 2020 (PDF, 541 Kb)
- Labour Force Survey 2021 (PDF, 1 Mb)
Metadata
Survey methodology
- Modifications to the Labour Force Survey (LFS) in 2021
- LFS: Methodological improvements to the Labour Force Survey 2017 (PDF, 99 Kb)
- LFS: Presentation of the survey until 2016 (NL-FR)
- LFS: Presentation of the survey from 2017 (NL-FR)