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* The question was phrased by the source as follows: "Wat is uw hoogst gevolgde opleiding, afgesloten met een diploma? Als u een opleiding in het buitenland heeft gevolgd, kunt u het niveau aangeven dat vergelijkbaar is met een Nederlandse opleiding." (English: "What is the highest level of education you have followed and received a diploma for? If you studied abroad you can indicate the level which is equivalent by Dutch standards.")

The following is a brief overview of the levels of education which the survey participants were asked about:
WO: education at research universities oriented towards arts and sciences at bachelor, master and PhD level.
HBO: Higher professional education oriented towards professional training and taught at universities of applied science.
HAVO: A five year secondary level education program which provides access to polytechnic and tertiary level education.
MAVO: A four year secondary level education which prepares students for MBO and HAVO. Since 1999, MAVO has been incorporated into VMBO as the theoretical program. It is now known as VMBO-TL.
LBO: A lower vocational education, which emphasized vocational training, provided students with practical skills and access to the MBO level. This program has been incorporated into VMBO.
VBO: A pre-vocational education program which has been incorporated into VMBO.
VMBO: A four year pre-vocational education program combining vocational and theoretical education.