Dutch couples are now more likely to be made up of two people with a college or university degree, as women overtake men in the graduate stakes, according to new research from national statistics office CBS.

In 2006 just one in five couples were made up of two university or college graduates, but that has now risen to 30%, the CBS said. This is in line with the percentage of graduates in the general population.

Women are also now more likely that men to have a degree, the CBS said. Some 45% of women aged 25 to 45 are graduates, compared with 39% of men.

Well-educated couples are also more likely to live in cities. In Utrecht, for example, 63% of couples aged 25 to 45 consist of two graduates. In Amsterdam 54% of couples in this age group are both graduates, and in Groningen, 56%.

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