The wage gap between men and women in the Netherlands continues to shrink, as younger women outstrip their male counterparts in terms of qualifications, national statistics agency CBS said on Friday.

The average hourly wage paid to women last year was 14% below that of men, but 10 years ago, the pay gap was 20%, the CBS said.

Looking at the median (or most common) wage, the pay gap shrinks again to 7% – around €20 per hour for women and €22 for men.

In terms of actual income, men earn 38% more than women because women tend to work far fewer hours. Men work an average of 33 hours a week, women 25 hours, the CBS said.

The figures are general and do not take type of work, function or educational level into account, the CBS said.