Chapter B1.
How does participation in early childhood
education and care differ among countries?
Copy link to Chapter B1. How does participation in early childhood education and care
differ among countries?
Highlights
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• Most children aged 3 to 5 (84%) attend early childhood education (ECE) programmes across
the OECD, yet only 32% of those aged 0 to 2 are enrolled in early childhood educational development
programmes (ISCED 01) on average. Younger children from low-income families are least likely to
attend these programmes, despite being likely to benefit the most.
• Almost all OECD countries provide at least one year of free early childhood education before
primary school. By 2022, enrolment rates among children the year before they reach primary school
age averaged 95% across OECD countries, a 1-percentage point increase since 2013.
• Public provision of early childhood educational development services (ISCED 01) is lower in
many OECD countries than public pre-primary provision (ISCED 02). On average across OECD
countries, one-third of children in pre-primary education are enrolled in private institutions, whereas
half of those in early childhood educational development are enrolled in private institutions.
Context
Education in the early years has a crucial role in children’s development and well-being. An expanding body of
scientific research indicates that early childhood education and care (ECEC) substantially improves children’s
language, cognitive, social and emotional skills while fostering the self-regulation and confidence they need for a
smooth transition into primary school in the short term (Yoshikawa, Weiland and Brooks-Gunn, 2016[1]; Shuey
and Kankaraš, 2018[2]; OECD, 2020[3]; OECD, 2021[4]). Furthermore, the progress that children make in their
first years can have a lasting impact on their educational attainment, academic performance, well-being and
earnings in later life (García et al., 2020[5]; Heckman and Karapakula, 2019[6]). Beyond these individual
benefits, well-designed and high-quality ECEC programmes are likely to benefit children from less advantaged
socio-economic backgrounds and help reduce social inequalities by promoting equitable opportunities among
children in the longer term (Duncan et al., 2023[7]; OECD, 2024[8]). Consequently, these programmes can help
to reduce the disparities in academic performance across socio-economic classes, genders, and rural and urban
populations and strengthen social cohesion among children (UNICEF, 2019[9]). Families and society also
benefit from ECEC in both the short and long term, through the increased engagement of parents, especially
women, in the labour market (OECD, 2021[4]).
Figure B1.1. Trends in enrolment rates of young childrenone year before
the typical primary entry age (2013 and2022)
SDG Indicator 4.2.2.
CHART
Scatter chart with 5 data series.
View as data table, Chart
The chart has 1 X axis displaying categories.
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying values. Data ranges from 20.280845546526 to 100.
End of interactive chart.
1. Year of reference differs from 2013. Refer to the source table for more details.
2. Year of reference differs from 2022. Refer to the source table for more details.
Countries are ranked in descending order of the enrolment rate of young children one year before the
typical primary entry age in 2022.
See Table B1.2 for data and under Chapter B1 Tables for StatLink. For more information see Source
section and Education at a Glance 2024 Sources, Methodologies and Technical Notes
([Link]
Other findings
• Over the last decade, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye stand out for the remarkable increase in
enrolment – by about 30 percentage points – among children in the year before they reach the official
age for starting primary education.
• Children in capital cities are less likely to participate in formal education in a number of
countries. For example, in Chile, the Santiago metropolitan area has among the lowest enrolment rates
for 3-5 year-olds in the country. Even in countries where the enrolment of 3-5 year-olds exceeds 90%
nationally, capital cities tend to have some of the lowest share of children participating in formal
education.
• In Korea, Lithuania and Portugal children benefit from the guaranteed provision of free ECEC
for a minimum of five years, spanning from the end of paid maternity, parental or home care leave to
the start of compulsory education. In contrast, there are 17 OECD countries which still have a “childcare
gap” of at least a year, where children lack access to free ECEC services.
Note
This chapter only covers formal education and care. Informal care services (generally unregulated care
arranged by the child’s parents either in the child’s home or elsewhere, provided by relatives, friends,
neighbours, babysitters or nannies) are not covered (see Definitions section for more details). In some countries,
children under the age of 3 are also likely to be enrolled in other registered ECEC services which do not meet
ISCED 2011 criteria. The enrolment rates of those children should be interpreted with caution, given the limited
availability of data for these services. As a result, the analysis of this chapter concentrates on the children at the
age of 3 and above at pre-primary level where data are more available and comparable.
Analysis
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In light of the numerous benefits associated with participation in early childhood
education and care (ECEC), it has been a growing priority in education policies of many
OECD countries. The objective of expanding participation in ECEC aligns with global
targets set by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Specifically, SDG Indicator 4.2
aims to ensure that by 2030, all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood
development, care and pre-primary education, thereby preparing them for primary
education (UNESCO, 2024[10]). Specifically, SDG Indicator 4.2.2 monitors enrolment rates
among children one year before the official primary entry age. This indicator serves as a
critical measure to assess the extent to which children are exposed to organised learning
activities before they start primary education.
Enrolment of children the year before they start primary education
Enrolment of children in the year before they reach the official primary education entry
age has become near-universal, reaching 100% in 8 countries and surpassing 90% in
almost all other OECD countries. On average, enrolment among children in this category
has seen a 1 percentage-point increase since 2013, to reach 95% across OECD countries in
2022. Although the theoretical age for starting primary education varies between 5 and 7,
the majority of countries set it at 6. Enrolment rates in these countries are therefore based
on the share of children enrolled at the age of 5 (Table B1.2).
Several countries have experienced large rises in enrolment one year before the official
primary education entry age, of 10 percentage points or more since 2013 (Figure B1.1).
Saudi Arabia and Türkiye stand out as especially remarkable, with increases of about
30 percentage points, indicating a substantial surge in participation in pre-primary
education. These notable rises may be partly attributed to the implementation of effective
ECEC policies, combined with the comparatively low participation rates in these countries
in 2013. In some countries, the increase in enrolment can be partly explained by the
expansion of compulsory education. In the Slovak Republic, for instance, pre-primary
education became compulsory in 2021 and the enrolment of children one year before
primary school has increased by 9 percentage points since 2013 and by 5 percentage
points since 2021.
Some countries offer distinct one-year programmes specifically for children in the year
before starting primary school. These programmes are often designed to help children
with the transition from ECE to primary education. For example,
Finland’s Esiopetus programme for 6-year-olds is the only type of ECE that can be offered
in school-based settings. It follows a different curriculum framework, which is explicitly
aligned with the one for primary education (OECD, 2017[11]). It is also the only ECE
service in Finland that has mandatory attendance, at an average of 4 hours per day, 700
hours per school year. The right to complementary ECE continues until the start of school
to ensure a full-day service. In other countries, the organisation of ECE programmes for
children is similar for all years of pre-primary education. France and Italy, for example,
have a single curriculum framework for all children enrolled in pre-primary education, and
children start attending programmes in school-based settings from the age of 3.
Meanwhile, in Estonia, there is a single ECE programme for children aged from 1.5 to 7,
which is offered in centre-based settings, and is also regulated by a single curriculum
framework.
Differences in the structure of ECEC systems
While all countries acknowledge the need to develop high-quality ECEC programmes,
there is considerable variation in how they are organised, and the design of the supporting
social and family policies aimed at expanding participation. The range of ECEC services
offered in OECD countries varies significantly. There are differences in the age at which
children enter ECEC, the amount of time they spend in ECEC, how ECEC centres are
governed, how services are funded, whether children attend full-day or part-day, and
where the provision is located, whether in centres or schools, or in homes (OECD,
2017[12]). The programmes offered by ECEC services can also vary significantly in terms
of their content. In order to distinguish between ECEC services that primarily offer an
intentional education component and those that aim to offer only childcare, ECEC
provision can be classified into two main categories: those that comply with the ISCED
2011 classification of early childhood education (ECE) services, and other registered ECE
services that are not considered by ISCED to be an educational programme. In other
words, ECE programmes are those that meet ISCED 2011 criteria while ECEC programmes
consist of both ECE programmes and other registered ECEC services which do not meet
the criteria (Box B1.2).
One key difference in the way countries organise their ECEC systems is which
administrative authorities are ultimately in charge and whether the system is split or
integrated at the national level according to the target age. More than half of the OECD
countries with available data have integrated ECEC services for children from the ages of 0
or 1 until they begin primary school. In these countries, a single authority is in charge of
managing the whole ECEC system and establishing appropriate educational programmes
to ensure a smooth transition to primary education. In such cases, it is usually the
education ministry that is in charge of regulating ECEC programmes and any division
between ECEC programmes based on target age groups has been made for the purpose of
facilitating international comparisons. In the remaining countries with available data,
different authorities are responsible for ECEC provision for different age groups. In these
countries, ECEC services for older children (generally 3-5 year-olds) are mostly regulated
by the education ministry, while those designed for younger children (generally aged 0 to
2) are often governed by another authority.
Enrolment of children aged 3 and below
Despite the benefits of high-quality ECEC in the first years of life, participation in early
childhood education is not compulsory in any OECD country for children under the age of
3 (OECD, 2018[13]; OECD, 2018[14]). On average, less than half of 2-year-olds and 18% of
those under 2 were enrolled in formal ECE programmes in OECD countries in 2022
(Figure B1.2). This average hides a great deal of variation across countries. While there are
no formal ECE programmes for 2-year-olds in Greece, India, the Netherlands, Portugal,
Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Switzerland, more than 90% of 2-year-olds are enrolled in
such programmes in Iceland, Korea, Norway and Sweden (Table B1.1).
Some countries have registered ECEC services which are an integral part of ECEC
provision, but do not comply with the criteria for ECE, e.g. crèches in France (Box B1.2). In
the Netherlands, for example, 87% of 2-year-olds and 66% of children under the age of 2
attend such services. Although such programmes exist in many countries, particularly for
children under 3, not all countries are able to report the number of children enrolled in
them (Table B1.1.).
Even when considering all ECEC programmes, regardless of whether they meet the ISCED
standards or not, the enrolment of young children differs across OECD countries. In
Australia, Korea, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, enrolment is high among the youngest
children, with more than 40% of children under 2 enrolled in ECEC programmes. In
contrast, Costa Rica, Greece, Switzerland and Türkiye have low enrolment rates among
children aged 3 and under, but they rise as children become older (Table B1.1.). Enrolment
rates among the youngest children, and the age at which they start to attend ECEC, can be
influenced by a range of factors including the number of places available, the amount of
free provision, the cost of ECEC services, parental employment and leave, as well as
regulations regarding the minimum starting age for ECEC.
Although almost all OECD countries already provide free access to at least one year of
ECEC before children start primary education (see Table B1.1 and Table B2.1 in Chapter
B2), ECEC services for children under the age of 3 are typically not funded by the
government. This reflects the fact that within constrained public budgets for ECEC, often
priority is given to pre-primary education (OECD, 2017[12]; OECD, 2024[8]). As a
consequence, out-of-pocket costs for ECEC can be an important barrier to enrolment in
many OECD countries, particularly for lower income households (Box B1.3). On the other
hand, in the 11 countries where free ECEC services are available to children under the age
of 3 (see Table B2.1 in Chapter B2), enrolment rates are notably high for this age group.
For instance, children are entitled to some free ECEC services from birth in Korea, where
the enrolment rate is 96% for children aged 2-year-olds (Table B1.1). Box B1.1 considers
the issue of childcare “gaps” – the period of time between the end of paid maternity,
parental or home care leave and the start of free provision of ECEC.
Other factors such as availability and length of parental leave, maternal employment and
cultural perspectives on the role of women either in the workplace or as primary
caregivers, are also likely have an impact on enrolment rates among of young children. For
instance, in Hungary and the Slovak Republic, where parental paid leave lasts over three
years, the enrolment rate among children aged under 3 was just 4% in 2022. The
traditional role of women as principal caregiver can be a determining factor in the use of
childcare services. Relatively few young children are enrolled in ECEC in countries where
maternal employment rates are low. In some countries, the employment rate of all women
is generally low: for instance, women’s labour-market participation rates were 50% in
Mexico and just 39% in Türkiye in 2022 (ILOSTAT, 2022[15]). In contrast, in
the Netherlands, 81% of mothers with at least one child under 3 are employed, compared
to the OECD average of 64% (OECD, 2022[16]). Even though parental leave is relatively
short in countries such as Costa Rica, Mexico, Türkiye and Switzerland, the participation of
children in ECE is also low. For example, the enrolment rates among 2-year-olds are 11%
in Czechia and 2% in Türkiye where the employment rates of mothers whose youngest
child is under 3 are below 22% (OECD, 2022[16]). Lastly, childcare can be informal and
provided by family members, neighbours or friends. In some countries, a low participation
in formal ECEC may reflect a high prevalence of informal care mechanisms (Table B1.1).