country profile

Belgium

Europe & Central AsiaHigh income11.86M population

Last updated May 3, 2026

Composite GEFRI Score

Progressing readiness

Belgium shows progressing readiness to meet the challenges and opportunities of education in a rapidly changing world (85th percentile worldwide). Reforms are translating into broader capability, though uneven performance continues to slow system-wide alignment. Higher scores indicate a system that is better prepared to anticipate and shape the future of learning.

71.17Composite score

Global percentile: 85th
Global rank: #28
Regional rank: #19
Viewing data for

Infrastructure

70.48

83rd percentileGlobal avg. 54.77

Human Capital

69.00

98th percentileGlobal avg. 47.01

Innovation

75.86

96th percentileGlobal avg. 45.21

Governance

78.30

89th percentileGlobal avg. 47.75

Access & Parity

62.21

54th percentileGlobal avg. 49.65

Country profile

Belgium shows strong future-readiness momentum, with clear strengths in Innovation (76, 96th percentile) and Human Capital (69, 98th percentile).

Dimension scores cluster tightly, showing the system operates with balanced readiness. High internet adoption enables broad participation in digital learning and innovation. Strong tertiary enrollment expands future talent pipelines and strengthens national innovation potential.

Strong R&D funding and a sizable research workforce keep the innovation pipeline active, moving new solutions into education. Policy and regulatory teams coordinate effectively, keeping reforms aligned and providing the stability needed for long-term educational planning. Girls outperform boys in secondary pathways, adding pressure to address male dropout risks.

Regionally, Belgium leads most clearly in Innovation, sitting well above the peer average.

Areas with room to grow: School Access and Gender Parity (62, 54th percentile). These dimensions sit close to global norms and could accelerate quickly with targeted investment.

Note: Most indicators rely on observed data, offering a dependable evidence base for decisions.

Key insights

Sits above the global median at the 85th percentile.
Places 28th worldwide.
Holds a regional position of 19th within Europe & Central Asia.
Scores range from Governance (78.3) to Access & Parity (62.2), reflecting variation across dimensions.
Leads regional peers most clearly in Innovation.

Regional peers: Europe & Central Asia

Composite GEFRI Score

Global rank	Regional rank	Country	Score
1	1	Denmark	81.64
5	2	Switzerland	77.53
6	3	Sweden	77.03
7	4	Finland	76.62
8	5	Netherlands	76.53
9	6	United Kingdom	76.42
10	7	Norway	76.28
11	8	Germany	76.05
14	9	Austria	75.77
15	10	France	75.31
18	11	Portugal	73.13
20	12	Estonia	72.97
22	13	Ireland	71.84
23	14	Czechia	71.83
24	15	Slovenia	71.66
25	16	Iceland	71.49
26	17	Lithuania	71.48
27	18	Spain	71.19
28	19	Belgium	71.17
29	20	Poland	71.13
30	21	Luxembourg	70.54
31	22	Italy	69.96
32	23	Greece	69.84
33	24	Cyprus	69.79
36	25	Latvia	67.91
—	—	LiechtensteinMicrostate	67.82
37	26	Hungary	66.46
38	27	Croatia	66.37
—	—	San MarinoMicrostate	64.87
—	—	GibraltarMicrostate	64.32
42	28	Moldova	63.22
43	29	Bulgaria	63.11
44	30	Serbia	62.62
—	—	AndorraMicrostate	62.40
—	—	MonacoMicrostate	62.22
46	31	Turkiye	61.60
47	32	Slovak Republic	61.24
51	33	Armenia	60.62
52	34	Montenegro	60.59
56	35	Russian Federation	59.64
57	36	Albania	59.41
—	—	Channel IslandsMicrostate	59.40
58	37	Georgia	59.12
—	—	Isle of ManMicrostate	58.95
59	38	North Macedonia	58.89
—	—	Faroe IslandsMicrostate	58.79
60	39	Kazakhstan	58.57
63	40	Uzbekistan	57.92
64	41	Belarus	57.87
70	42	Bosnia and Herzegovina	56.85
71	43	Kyrgyz Republic	56.77
—	—	GreenlandMicrostate	55.24
79	44	Romania	54.47
90	45	Kosovo	51.06
93	46	UkraineFCS	50.98
100	47	Azerbaijan	48.61
105	48	Turkmenistan	46.83
109	49	Tajikistan	43.64