The number of students dropping out of mbo trade schools without any qualifications has gone down from 10.8% to 5.4% over the past 10 years, the national statistics office CBS said on Thursday.

Of the 389,000 pupils at a trade school in 20014, 21,000 had left by the end of the academic year without a qualification.

By comparison, just 0.4% of pupils in pre-university streams dropped out without a diploma. Ten years ago, that figure was 2%.

There are, however, strong regional variations and the drop out rate is highest in the three big cities. The Hague region topped the list, with a trade school drop-out rate of 7.2%, followed by greater Amsterdam and Rotterdam.