couples

Most Dutch couples are two higly educated people

Last year the biggest proportion of Dutch couples consisted of two highly educated people, instead of one highly educated person and one less educated person as was the case in 2006, CBS (Statistics Netherlands) reported this Monday.

In 2006 just one in five couples (19%) had two university or college graduates, but that has now risen to 30%.

According to the Stats office this can be attributed to the fact that more people in the Netherlands achieve at least a bachelors degree. With more highly educated people, also the percentage of higly educated couples grows. Women also have overtaken men in the graduate stakes. According to new research from national statistics office 45% of women aged 25 to 45 are graduates, compared with 39% of men.

The majority of highly educated couples is highest in the large Dutch cities. Utrecht has the most highly educated couples with 63% of couples aged 25 to 45 consisting of two graduates. In Amsterdam 54% of couples in this age group are both graduates, and in Groningen, 56%. Smaller cities are not mentioned in the article.

Some 28% of couples consist of one person with a degree and the other with a vocational qualification or other level of education.

[Source: CBS]