One in four Brussels children in secondary education recorded more than nine half-days of unjustified absence in 2024-2025, while one in five left school without a certificate or qualification, according to a report published on Thursday by the Brussels Institute for Statistics and Analysis, IBSA.
IBSA used several indicators to assess school disengagement in Brussels, including problematic absenteeism and early school leaving. It said it could not measure absolute dropouts, defined as children of compulsory school age who are not enrolled in any school, because no reliable statistics are available for Brussels-Capital Region.
In 2024-2025, 14% of Brussels children in primary education and 26% in secondary education accumulated at least nine half-days of unjustified absence. Across Belgium as a whole, the figures were 6% and 17% respectively.
The gap between Brussels and the national average is widening, IBSA said. In Brussels, the absenteeism figures have risen steadily since 2019-2020.
As for school leaving, 18% of young people in Brussels-Capital Region left secondary education in 2024-2025 without obtaining the required qualification, compared with 12% nationally.
Unlike problematic absenteeism, the school-leaving rate in Brussels has remained stable.
Geographically, the wider Brussels urban area recorded a school absenteeism rate of 23%, similar to Antwerp and Liège, both at 24%. When the Brussels-Capital Region is considered on its own, the figure rises to 26%, still below Charleroi’s 33%.
A similar pattern is seen in early school leaving. Brussels-Capital Region recorded 18% of school leavers without a certificate, compared with 16% in Antwerp and 22% in Charleroi.
IBSA also found sharp disparities between municipalities. Those in the north and west of the region are more affected by problematic absenteeism and early school leaving than those in the south and east.
