NT2 state exam pass rates: how many people pass each part?
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Updated on 26 October 2026. Sources: the annual reports of the College voor Toetsen en Examens (CvTE) for 2025, 2024, 2023 and 2022 (in Dutch). The CvTE publishes the figures for a year in the following spring, so check there for the latest year.
Roughly half to two thirds of the exams are passed. The exact figure depends on the programme, the part and the year. In 2025, an average of 51 percent per part was passed in Programme I (B1), the lowest figure since at least 2018. In Listening I it was only 43 percent. Programme II (B2) stayed at an average of 60 percent, about the same as in the years before.
In short
The CvTE makes the Staatsexamen NT2 and publishes in its annual report what percentage of exams was passed per part. Up to and including 2024, the Programme I average was always between 57 and 61 percent. In 2025 it fell to 51 percent, and that was true for all four parts. The CvTE writes that it does not yet have an explanation.
In the same years the group taking the exam changed a lot. Since the Civic Integration Act 2021 (Wet inburgering 2021), the Staatsexamen NT2 is the language exam at B1 and B2 for people who have to integrate. In 2025, Programme I was taken more than four times as often as in 2023. A lower percentage therefore does not automatically mean that the exam got harder.
How many people pass Programme I?
Programme I is comparable to language level B1. Per year and per part, it looks like this:
| Year | Speaking | Listening | Writing | Reading | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 53% | 43% | 62% | 44% | 51% |
| 2024 | 57% | 52% | 70% | 53% | 58% |
| 2023 | 54% | 62% | 66% | 55% | 59% |
| 2022 | 57% | 65% | 66% | 53% | 60% |
| 2021 | 56% | 66% | 65% | 58% | 61% |
| 2020* | 56% | 62% | 67% | 57% | 61% |
| 2019* | 51% | 60% | 66% | 53% | 58% |
| 2018 | 54% | 64% | 66% | 49% | 58% |
Source: CvTE annual reports for 2022 to 2025. The average is the average of the four parts. For the years with an asterisk, the annual report for 2022 gives slightly different figures; these are the ones from the later reports. 2018 only appears in the annual report for 2022.
Up to and including 2023, the number of exams taken stayed below 18,000 a year. In 2024 it was 39,380 and in 2025 73,374. Since 2022, Writing has had the highest pass rate every year.
Listening stands out. From 2021 to 2023, 62 to 66 percent of the exams were passed. In 2024 it was 52 percent and in 2025 only 43 percent. The CvTE already called the drop in 2024 sharp and wrote that it would look into it.
And how many pass Programme II?
Programme II is comparable to B2. Over the same years:
| Year | Speaking | Listening | Writing | Reading | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 59% | 60% | 68% | 53% | 60% |
| 2024 | 57% | 56% | 66% | 54% | 58% |
| 2023 | 57% | 62% | 65% | 56% | 60% |
| 2022 | 72% | 60% | 64% | 59% | 64% |
| 2021 | 73% | 67% | 69% | 59% | 67% |
| 2020* | 64% | 66% | 59% | 46% | 59% |
| 2019* | 61% | 63% | 61% | 43% | 57% |
| 2018 | 59% | 61% | 59% | 49% | 57% |
Source: CvTE annual reports for 2022 to 2025. For the years with an asterisk, the annual report for 2022 gives different figures, in which Speaking and Reading seem to be swapped; these are the ones from the later reports.
In Programme II, Reading has had the lowest pass rate every year since 2021, even in the years when the average was high.
The number of exams grew much more slowly here: from 14,826 in 2021 to 22,268 in 2025. Most people who have to integrate take the exam at B1, so Programme I.
Why did the Programme I figures drop?
Nobody knows for sure. In its annual report for 2025, the CvTE writes that the percentages fell for all skills and that it currently has no explanation. The CvTE does see that the share of people retaking an exam has gone up, and it is having the drop investigated.
What is certain is that many more, and different, people now take the exam. In 2023 Programme I was taken 17,221 times, in 2024 39,380 times and in 2025 73,374 times. According to the CvTE, this growth comes from the Civic Integration Act 2021. Under that act, the Staatsexamen NT2 is the language exam at B1 and B2 for people who have to integrate. So the group taking the exam is much larger than a few years ago, and many more of them need to pass it for their civic integration.
How civic integration has worked since 2022, and when you need B1, you can read in Civic integration Act 2021: B1 route, education route, Z route and when A2 applies.
Is Listening now the hardest part?
Not necessarily. A lower pass rate does not automatically mean that a part is harder. Not everyone takes every part at the same time, and someone who retakes a part is counted again. If many people fail one part, they also come back to it more often, so that part has more candidates who have already failed it once.
A lower pass rate does not automatically mean that a part is harder.
The groups also differ per part. Someone who reads well but finds speaking difficult may pass Reading and Writing first and take Speaking later. So the percentages do not always compare the same people.
Still, the difference in Listening I is big enough to take seriously. From 62 percent in 2023 to 43 percent in 2025 is a large drop, and the CvTE is investigating it itself. If you are preparing for Listening I, plan enough time and practise with complete practice exams, not just with separate fragments.
What happened with Speaking?
In Programme II, Speaking suddenly fell from 72 to 57 percent in 2023. The CvTE wrote at the time that the difference was being investigated and that it had no explanation. Since then the percentage has been around 57 to 59 percent.
In August 2025 something else went wrong. There was fraud in the Speaking exam: exam questions were shared in a WhatsApp group with hundreds of people. The CvTE declared that day's exam invalid for all candidates and cancelled the Speaking exams planned for that afternoon. After that, fewer Speaking exams were held for a while, so that morning candidates can no longer pass questions on to afternoon candidates.
What do these figures not tell you?
The CvTE counts exams taken, not people. You can take a part more than once, so one person can be counted several times in the same year. The annual report does not say what percentage passes on the first attempt.
The average is the average of the four parts. It is not the percentage of people who get the full diploma. That figure is not in the annual reports. Nor is there a breakdown by country of origin, age, education or route.
Finally, the older figures are not the same in every annual report. In the annual report for 2022, the figures for 2019 and 2020 differ from those in the reports for 2023 and 2024. For Programme II, Speaking and Reading seem to be swapped there. We always use the figures from the most recent annual report. The figures for 2018 only appear in the report for 2022.
What does this mean for your preparation?
Count on the possibility of a retake. In Programme I in 2025, more than half of the Listening and Reading exams were not passed. If you have a deadline, for example for your civic integration or a study programme, plan your first exam so that there is still time for a second attempt. When you can register and how long the result takes, you can read in NT2 state exam dates 2026-2027: registration, results and diploma.
Check where you stand per part, not just your level in general. The official practice exams are free and you can find them in the NT2 practice environment, for Programme I and II. Do them in the same time as the real exam. Not sure yet which programme you need? Read NT2 State Exam Programme I or II: which one do you need?
Frequently asked questions
What percentage passes the Staatsexamen NT2?
That differs per part. In 2025, an average of 51 percent of the exams was passed in Programme I and 60 percent in Programme II. The lowest figure was Listening I at 43 percent, the highest Writing II at 68 percent.
Is Programme II harder to pass than Programme I?
The figures do not tell you that. In 2025 the percentage in Programme II was higher, but these are different groups of people. Programme II is meant for study or work at hbo or university level, and most people who have to integrate take Programme I.
Where can I find the official figures?
In the CvTE annual report, in the chapter on the Staatsexamen NT2. The report on a year comes out in the following spring, so the figures for 2026 are expected in spring 2027.
At Braials you prepare for Programme I or II in private lessons, part by part and with the real exam tasks. Read more on the NT2 exam training page.
This is what a Braials lesson looks like. These are the same blocks as in a real lesson. Want to know your level?
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