Education in Nijmegen, Netherlands: official figures
In 2024, 46.8% of people aged 15 to 74 in the municipality of Nijmegen had completed hbo or university, 4th highest among the 31 large municipalities covered here, up from 43.9% in 2019.
What is the education level in Nijmegen?
The share of people aged 15 to 74 in the municipality of Nijmegen whose highest education was primary school, vmbo or mbo-1 was 19.4% in 2024, below the national figure of 25.9%.
Source: Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) · saved copyHow many students live in Nijmegen?
Students in hbo and university living in Nijmegen numbered 109.7 per 1,000 inhabitants in 2025, above the national figure of 43.0.
Source: Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) · saved copyHow many vocational students are there in Nijmegen?
There were 18.9 mbo (secondary vocational) students per 1,000 residents of Nijmegen in 2025, below the national figure of 25.9.
Source: Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) · saved copyHow many secondary school pupils are there in Nijmegen?
Secondary-school pupils living in the municipality of Nijmegen numbered 43.4 per 1,000 residents in 2025, against 51.0 nationally.
Source: Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) · saved copyHow far is the nearest primary school in Nijmegen?
The average resident of Nijmegen lived 0.7 km by road from the nearest primary school in 2025, below the national figure of 0.8 km.
Source: Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) · saved copyHow far is the nearest secondary school in Nijmegen?
Residents of Nijmegen lived on average 1.5 km by road from the nearest havo/vwo (pre-university track) secondary school in 2024, 4th shortest among the 31 large municipalities covered here and below the national figure of 3.4 km.
Source: Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) · saved copyHow many young children are in childcare in Nijmegen?
126% of children under 5 were in day care or school in 2019 (1,262 per 1,000).
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow many students are there in Nijmegen?
21,730 students were enrolled in higher education in Nijmegen in 2024, 116 for every 1,000 residents.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow many people in Nijmegen have a degree?
Of adults aged 25 to 64 in Nijmegen in 2024, 56% had a degree-level education, 28% an upper secondary education and 16% at most lower secondary schooling.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow Nijmegen compares with other cities in the Netherlands
Residents aged 15 to 74 with higher education (hbo or university) (%) (2024)
Nijmegen ranks 4 of 31, highest first. Heerlen-Kerkrade is shown with figures for the municipality of Heerlen.
| Rank | City | Residents aged 15 to 74 with higher education (hbo or university) (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Utrecht | 55.2% |
| 2 | Leiden | 49.8% |
| 3 | Amsterdam | 49.7% |
| 4 | Nijmegen | 46.8% |
| 5 | Haarlem | 45.2% |
| 6 | Groningen | 44.8% |
| 7 | Amersfoort | 43.5% |
Residents aged 15 to 74 whose highest level is primary, vmbo or mbo-1 (%) (2024)
Nijmegen ranks 28 of 31, highest first. Heerlen-Kerkrade is shown with figures for the municipality of Heerlen.
| Rank | City | Residents aged 15 to 74 whose highest level is primary, vmbo or mbo-1 (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | Haarlem | 21.9% |
| 26 | Zwolle | 21.9% |
| 27 | Amsterdam | 21.5% |
| 28 | Nijmegen | 19.4% |
| 29 | Utrecht | 18.0% |
| 30 | Leiden | 17.8% |
| 31 | Groningen | 15.7% |
Resident hbo and university students per 1,000 residents (2025)
Nijmegen ranks 4 of 31, highest first. Heerlen-Kerkrade is shown with figures for the municipality of Heerlen.
| Rank | City | Resident hbo and university students per 1,000 residents |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Groningen | 149.2 |
| 2 | Leiden | 129.7 |
| 3 | Maastricht | 125.9 |
| 4 | Nijmegen | 109.7 |
| 5 | Utrecht | 87.6 |
| 6 | Enschede | 80.3 |
| 7 | Eindhoven | 72.2 |
Average road distance to a havo/vwo secondary school (km) (2024)
Nijmegen ranks 28 of 31, highest first. Heerlen-Kerkrade is shown with figures for the municipality of Heerlen.
| Rank | City | Average road distance to a havo/vwo secondary school (km) |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | Arnhem | 1.6 km |
| 26 | s-Gravenhage | 1.5 km |
| 27 | Utrecht | 1.5 km |
| 28 | Nijmegen | 1.5 km |
| 29 | Amsterdam | 1.3 km |
| 30 | Leiden | 1.3 km |
| 31 | Haarlem | 1.2 km |
Higher education students per 1,000 residents (2024)
Nijmegen ranks 3 of 29, highest first.
| Rank | City | Higher education students per 1,000 residents |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Groningen | 165 |
| 2 | Maastricht | 145 |
| 3 | Nijmegen | 116 |
| 4 | Enschede | 87 |
| 5 | Ede | 83 |
| 6 | Leiden | 83 |
| 7 | Utrecht | 83 |
Children 0-4 in day care per 1,000 (2019)
Nijmegen ranks 6 of 20, highest first.
| Rank | City | Children 0-4 in day care per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Groningen | 1,310 |
| 4 | Deventer | 1,293 |
| 5 | Breda | 1,281 |
| 6 | Nijmegen | 1,262 |
| 7 | Almere | 1,154 |
| 8 | Apeldoorn | 1,135 |
| 9 | Utrecht | 1,095 |
More on Nijmegen: overview · economy and jobs · health · poverty and living standards · all cities in the Netherlands
Sources
- Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS): Regionale kerncijfers Nederland (table 70072ned): provinces, COROP areas and selected municipalities, 2014-2026, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 d2b63aac3a26…)
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset urb_ceduc: Urban Audit: education (cities), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 af187c7040a4…)
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