Statizoid

Duration of pre-primary education in Canada

Canada: Duration of pre-primary education was 3 years in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
3 years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
27th
of 223 countries
All-time high
3 years
in 2000
All-time low
1 years
in 1998
Years of data
56
1970–2025

Duration of pre-primary education in Canada, 1970–2025

11.522.53197019972025

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.

Analysis

In 2025, duration of pre-primary education in Canada stood at 3 years. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.

That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, duration of pre-primary education in Canada peaked at 3 years in 2000 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1998.

Canada ranks 27th of 223 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.

Duration of pre-primary education in Canada, year by year

Year years Change
1970 2 years —
1971 2 years +0.0%
1972 2 years +0.0%
1973 2 years +0.0%
1974 2 years +0.0%
1975 2 years +0.0%
1976 2 years +0.0%
1977 2 years +0.0%
1978 2 years +0.0%
1979 2 years +0.0%
1980 2 years +0.0%
1981 2 years +0.0%
1982 2 years +0.0%
1983 2 years +0.0%
1984 2 years +0.0%
1985 2 years +0.0%
1986 2 years +0.0%
1987 2 years +0.0%
1988 2 years +0.0%
1989 2 years +0.0%
1990 2 years +0.0%
1991 2 years +0.0%
1992 2 years +0.0%
1993 2 years +0.0%
1994 2 years +0.0%
1995 2 years +0.0%
1996 2 years +0.0%
1997 2 years +0.0%
1998 1 years -50.0%
1999 1 years +0.0%
2000 3 years +200.0%
2001 3 years +0.0%
2002 3 years +0.0%
2003 3 years +0.0%
2004 3 years +0.0%
2005 3 years +0.0%
2006 3 years +0.0%
2007 3 years +0.0%
2008 3 years +0.0%
2009 3 years +0.0%
2010 3 years +0.0%
2011 3 years +0.0%
2012 3 years +0.0%
2013 3 years +0.0%
2014 3 years +0.0%
2015 3 years +0.0%
2016 3 years +0.0%
2017 3 years +0.0%
2018 3 years +0.0%
2019 3 years +0.0%
2020 3 years +0.0%
2021 3 years +0.0%
2022 3 years +0.0%
2023 3 years +0.0%
2024 3 years +0.0%
2025 3 years +0.0%

Canada compared with similar countries

  • Canada's 3 years is above the median for high income countries, which is 3 years, 1.0× the median. (80 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 2 years 2 years 2 years 10
1980s 2 years 2 years 2 years 10
1990s 1.8 years 1 years 2 years 10
2000s 3 years 3 years 3 years 10
2010s 3 years 3 years 3 years 10
2020s 3 years 3 years 3 years 6

Countries ranked near Canada

  1. 27 Albania 3 years compare
  2. 27 American Samoa 3 years compare
  3. 27 Andorra 3 years compare
  4. 27 Angola 3 years compare
  5. 27 Argentina 3 years compare
  6. 27 Armenia 3 years compare
  7. 27 Austria 3 years compare
  8. 27 Azerbaijan 3 years compare
  9. 27 Bahrain 3 years compare
  10. 27 Bangladesh 3 years compare
  11. 27 Belarus 3 years compare
  12. 27 Belgium 3 years compare
  13. 27 Bhutan 3 years compare
  14. 27 Bosnia and Herzegovina 3 years compare
  15. 27 Botswana 3 years compare
  16. 27 Brunei 3 years compare
  17. 27 Burkina Faso 3 years compare
  18. 27 Burundi 3 years compare
  19. 27 Cambodia 3 years compare
  20. 27 Cape Verde 3 years compare
  21. 27 Central African Republic 3 years compare
  22. 27 Chad 3 years compare
  23. 27 Chile 3 years compare
  24. 27 China 3 years compare
  25. 27 Colombia 3 years compare
  26. 27 Comoros 3 years compare
  27. 27 Congo 3 years compare
  28. 27 Cote d'Ivoire 3 years compare
  29. 27 Cuba 3 years compare
  30. 27 Curacao 3 years compare
  31. 27 Cyprus 3 years compare
  32. 27 Czechia 3 years compare
  33. 27 Democratic Republic of Congo 3 years compare
  34. 27 Denmark 3 years compare
  35. 27 Dominican Republic 3 years compare
  36. 27 East Timor 3 years compare
  37. 27 Ecuador 3 years compare
  38. 27 El Salvador 3 years compare
  39. 27 Equatorial Guinea 3 years compare
  40. 27 Eswatini 3 years compare
  41. 27 Ethiopia 3 years compare
  42. 27 Fiji 3 years compare
  43. 27 France 3 years compare
  44. 27 French Polynesia 3 years compare
  45. 27 Gabon 3 years compare
  46. 27 Germany 3 years compare
  47. 27 Guatemala 3 years compare
  48. 27 Guinea 3 years compare
  49. 27 Guinea-Bissau 3 years compare
  50. 27 Haiti 3 years compare
  51. 27 Honduras 3 years compare
  52. 27 Hong Kong 3 years compare
  53. 27 Iceland 3 years compare
  54. 27 India 3 years compare
  55. 27 Israel 3 years compare
  56. 27 Italy 3 years compare
  57. 27 Jamaica 3 years compare
  58. 27 Japan 3 years compare
  59. 27 Kazakhstan 3 years compare
  60. 27 Kenya 3 years compare
  61. 27 Kiribati 3 years compare
  62. 27 Laos 3 years compare
  63. 27 Lebanon 3 years compare
  64. 27 Lesotho 3 years compare
  65. 27 Liberia 3 years compare
  66. 27 Luxembourg 3 years compare
  67. 27 Macao 3 years compare
  68. 27 Madagascar 3 years compare
  69. 27 Malawi 3 years compare
  70. 27 Mali 3 years compare
  71. 27 Mauritania 3 years compare
  72. 27 Mexico 3 years compare
  73. 27 Micronesia (country) 3 years compare
  74. 27 Monaco 3 years compare
  75. 27 Montenegro 3 years compare
  76. 27 Mozambique 3 years compare
  77. 27 Netherlands 3 years compare
  78. 27 New Caledonia 3 years compare
  79. 27 Nicaragua 3 years compare
  80. 27 Niger 3 years compare
  81. 27 North Macedonia 3 years compare
  82. 27 Norway 3 years compare
  83. 27 Palau 3 years compare
  84. 27 Paraguay 3 years compare
  85. 27 Peru 3 years compare
  86. 27 Portugal 3 years compare
  87. 27 Puerto Rico 3 years compare
  88. 27 Qatar 3 years compare
  89. 27 Romania 3 years compare
  90. 27 Rwanda 3 years compare
  91. 27 San Marino 3 years compare
  92. 27 Sao Tome and Principe 3 years compare
  93. 27 Saudi Arabia 3 years compare
  94. 27 Senegal 3 years compare
  95. 27 Sierra Leone 3 years compare
  96. 27 Singapore 3 years compare
  97. 27 Sint Maarten (Dutch part) 3 years compare
  98. 27 Slovakia 3 years compare
  99. 27 Slovenia 3 years compare
  100. 27 Solomon Islands 3 years compare
  101. 27 Somalia 3 years compare
  102. 27 South Korea 3 years compare
  103. 27 South Sudan 3 years compare
  104. 27 Spain 3 years compare
  105. 27 Syria 3 years compare
  106. 27 Thailand 3 years compare
  107. 27 Togo 3 years compare
  108. 27 Tunisia 3 years compare
  109. 27 Turkey 3 years compare
  110. 27 Turkmenistan 3 years compare
  111. 27 Tuvalu 3 years compare
  112. 27 Uganda 3 years compare
  113. 27 Ukraine 3 years compare
  114. 27 United States 3 years compare
  115. 27 Uruguay 3 years compare
  116. 27 Venezuela 3 years compare
  117. 27 Vietnam 3 years compare
  118. 27 Yemen 3 years compare

See the full ranking of 223 places →

More education data for Canada

All data for Canada →

Frequently asked questions

What is duration of pre-primary education in Canada?
Duration of pre-primary education in Canada was 3 years in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest duration of pre-primary education recorded in Canada?
The highest recorded value was 3 years in 2000.
What is the lowest duration of pre-primary education recorded in Canada?
The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1998.
How does Canada rank for duration of pre-primary education?
Canada ranks 27th out of 223 countries with data for 2025.
Is duration of pre-primary education rising or falling in Canada?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Canada data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Duration of pre-primary education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Duration of pre-primary education in Canada. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/duration-of-pre-primary-education/canada/

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About this data

Indicator
Duration of pre-primary education
Unit
years
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
223 places, 12,020 data points, 1970–2025
Last refreshed

Average number of years that a child is expected to spend in pre-primary education, defined by country's official educational regulations or laws.