How the Netherlands Assigns Inburgeraars to a Learning Route: CBS Figures on the B1, Onderwijs, and Z Routes

Among the 97,890 newcomers who have a learning route (leerroute) set under Wet inburgering 2021, CBS data shows about 70% are placed in the B1-route, 23% in the Z-route (self-reliance route), and 7% in the Onderwijsroute (education route). According to CBS, the route a person ends up in is closely tied to their leerbaarheidstoets (learnability test) advice: of everyone advised that B1 is achievable, roughly 83% are assigned the B1-route. We analyse these official CBS statistics; Inburgering.org is not CBS or a government body, and we only summarise the figures.

Data last updated: end 2025 (preliminary CBS figures).

• The B1-route is the default. Among people with a route set, the B1-route takes about 70%, the Z-route about 23%, and the Onderwijsroute about 7%.
• The learnability test largely sets the route. Of those advised "B1 achievable," about 83% land in the B1-route; of those advised "B1 not achievable," about 64% land in the Z-route.
• Route switches are uncommon — except out of the Onderwijsroute. About 32% of people who start in the Onderwijsroute later switch to the B1- or Z-route, while only about 4% of B1-route starters move down to the Z-route.
• Downscaling (afschaling) has collapsed. About 25% of the 2022 cohort were downscaled to a lower route; for the 2025 cohort it is about 1%.
• Literacy need is concentrated in the Z-route. About 68% of asylum migrants in the Z-route need an alfabetisering (literacy) course, versus about 12% in the B1-route.

Wet inburgering 2021 (the integration law that started on 1 January 2022) routes each obligated newcomer through one of three learning routes (leerroutes). Your municipality (gemeente) decides which route fits you and writes it into your PIP (Persoonlijk plan Inburgering en Participatie), the personal integration and participation plan, after a broad intake and a leerbaarheidstoets (learnability test). In short:

• B1-route: work toward Dutch at level B1, plus knowledge of Dutch society (KNM) and participation. The standard route for people who can reasonably reach B1.
• Onderwijsroute (education route): an intensive language-and-study track aimed at younger newcomers who want to continue into Dutch education.
• Z-route (Zelfredzaamheidsroute, self-reliance route): a participation-focused route for people for whom B1 or study is not realistic, built around hours of language learning and activation rather than high-level exams.

For the rules behind each route, see our guides to the B1-route, the Onderwijsroute, and the Z-route, plus the overview of what changed under Wet inburgering 2021.

The table below shows how the 97,890 people with a learning route set are distributed, according to CBS, summed across the 2022–2025 cohorts. The percentages are of people who already have a route in their PIP; people without a finalised route are excluded.

The B1-route share has been fairly stable across cohorts, ranging from about 68% (2022) to about 74% (2025), according to CBS. The Z-route share has eased from about 27% in the 2022 cohort to about 19% in the 2025 cohort, while the Onderwijsroute has stayed small throughout.

Before the route is set, most newcomers take a leerbaarheidstoets (learnability test) that produces an advice: either "B1 achievable" or "B1 not achievable." The municipality is not bound by that advice, but CBS data shows it follows it closely. The table below shows, for each advice, which route people were actually assigned to.

Restricting to people who already have a finalised PIP route, the link is even tighter: of those advised "B1 achievable," about 86% are in the B1-route. Note that some people advised "B1 not achievable" are still placed in the B1-route (about 29% of that advice group), so the test is a strong steer, not an automatic gate.

A route is not always permanent. CBS records leerroutewisselingen (route switches) from a person's first route. The pattern is clear: switching is rare except out of the Onderwijsroute, which has by far the highest exit rate. The percentages below are of everyone who started in the named route.

According to CBS, about 32% of people who begin in the Onderwijsroute later move to the B1- or Z-route — consistent with the education route being an intensive, demanding track that not everyone can stay on. Movement between the B1- and Z-routes runs in both directions but stays small, at roughly 4% (B1 down to Z) and 7% (Z up to B1).

An afschaling (downscaling to a lower route) is a specific kind of switch: a person is moved to a route with a lower language target, usually because the original route turned out to be too ambitious. CBS data shows downscaling was common in the first cohort and has dropped steeply since — a sign that early route assignment has become more accurate.

Read the drop carefully. Newer cohorts have had less time for a downscaling to occur, so part of the fall reflects how recently people entered. But the gap between roughly 25% (2022) and roughly 1% (2025) is large enough that better initial placement is the more likely main driver, according to the pattern in the CBS figures.

Some newcomers need an alfabetisering (literacy) course before or alongside language learning — they are learning to read and write in the Latin alphabet, not just learning Dutch. CBS reports this for asylum migrants by route, and the contrast is stark: literacy need clusters heavily in the Z-route.

According to CBS, about 68% of asylum migrants in the Z-route need a literacy course, against about 31% of all asylum migrants across the routes. This helps explain why the Z-route is participation-focused rather than exam-focused: a large share of its participants start from a literacy baseline, which makes reaching B1 within the standard timeframe unrealistic.

Statistics describe the average; your own route is set by your municipality in your PIP, based on your broad intake and learnability test, not by these percentages. The figures are most useful as context: they show the leerbaarheidstoets advice is a strong steer toward your route, that route switches are uncommon (so the first decision usually sticks), and that the Z-route is built around participation and literacy rather than reaching B1.

For the level newcomers actually reach across the routes, see what language level inburgeraars achieve. To read the route guide that matches your PIP, start with the B1-route, Z-route, or Onderwijsroute guide, and for the wider DUO view of the route split see our inburgering routes statistics page.