Duration of pre-primary education in Netherlands
Netherlands: Duration of pre-primary education was 3 years in 2025. ▲ Rising
Duration of pre-primary education in Netherlands, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for duration of pre-primary education in Netherlands is 3 years, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, duration of pre-primary education in Netherlands peaked at 3 years in 2011 and was at its lowest, 2 years, in 1970.
Netherlands 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 Netherlands, 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 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 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% |
Netherlands compared with similar countries
- Netherlands's 3 years is above the median for high income countries, which is 3 years, 1.0× the median. (80 countries reporting)
- Netherlands's 3 years is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 3 years, 1.0× the median. (53 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2 years | 2 years | 2 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 2 years | 2 years | 2 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 2 years | 2 years | 2 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 2 years | 2 years | 2 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.9 years | 2 years | 3 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 3 years | 3 years | 3 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Netherlands
- 27 Albania 3 years compare
- 27 American Samoa 3 years compare
- 27 Andorra 3 years compare
- 27 Angola 3 years compare
- 27 Argentina 3 years compare
- 27 Armenia 3 years compare
- 27 Austria 3 years compare
- 27 Azerbaijan 3 years compare
- 27 Bahrain 3 years compare
- 27 Bangladesh 3 years compare
- 27 Belarus 3 years compare
- 27 Belgium 3 years compare
- 27 Bhutan 3 years compare
- 27 Bosnia and Herzegovina 3 years compare
- 27 Botswana 3 years compare
- 27 Brunei 3 years compare
- 27 Burkina Faso 3 years compare
- 27 Burundi 3 years compare
- 27 Cambodia 3 years compare
- 27 Canada 3 years compare
- 27 Cape Verde 3 years compare
- 27 Central African Republic 3 years compare
- 27 Chad 3 years compare
- 27 Chile 3 years compare
- 27 China 3 years compare
- 27 Colombia 3 years compare
- 27 Comoros 3 years compare
- 27 Congo 3 years compare
- 27 Cote d'Ivoire 3 years compare
- 27 Cuba 3 years compare
- 27 Curacao 3 years compare
- 27 Cyprus 3 years compare
- 27 Czechia 3 years compare
- 27 Democratic Republic of Congo 3 years compare
- 27 Denmark 3 years compare
- 27 Dominican Republic 3 years compare
- 27 East Timor 3 years compare
- 27 Ecuador 3 years compare
- 27 El Salvador 3 years compare
- 27 Equatorial Guinea 3 years compare
- 27 Eswatini 3 years compare
- 27 Ethiopia 3 years compare
- 27 Fiji 3 years compare
- 27 France 3 years compare
- 27 French Polynesia 3 years compare
- 27 Gabon 3 years compare
- 27 Germany 3 years compare
- 27 Guatemala 3 years compare
- 27 Guinea 3 years compare
- 27 Guinea-Bissau 3 years compare
- 27 Haiti 3 years compare
- 27 Honduras 3 years compare
- 27 Hong Kong 3 years compare
- 27 Iceland 3 years compare
- 27 India 3 years compare
- 27 Israel 3 years compare
- 27 Italy 3 years compare
- 27 Jamaica 3 years compare
- 27 Japan 3 years compare
- 27 Kazakhstan 3 years compare
- 27 Kenya 3 years compare
- 27 Kiribati 3 years compare
- 27 Laos 3 years compare
- 27 Lebanon 3 years compare
- 27 Lesotho 3 years compare
- 27 Liberia 3 years compare
- 27 Luxembourg 3 years compare
- 27 Macao 3 years compare
- 27 Madagascar 3 years compare
- 27 Malawi 3 years compare
- 27 Mali 3 years compare
- 27 Mauritania 3 years compare
- 27 Mexico 3 years compare
- 27 Micronesia (country) 3 years compare
- 27 Monaco 3 years compare
- 27 Montenegro 3 years compare
- 27 Mozambique 3 years compare
- 27 New Caledonia 3 years compare
- 27 Nicaragua 3 years compare
- 27 Niger 3 years compare
- 27 North Macedonia 3 years compare
- 27 Norway 3 years compare
- 27 Palau 3 years compare
- 27 Paraguay 3 years compare
- 27 Peru 3 years compare
- 27 Portugal 3 years compare
- 27 Puerto Rico 3 years compare
- 27 Qatar 3 years compare
- 27 Romania 3 years compare
- 27 Rwanda 3 years compare
- 27 San Marino 3 years compare
- 27 Sao Tome and Principe 3 years compare
- 27 Saudi Arabia 3 years compare
- 27 Senegal 3 years compare
- 27 Sierra Leone 3 years compare
- 27 Singapore 3 years compare
- 27 Sint Maarten (Dutch part) 3 years compare
- 27 Slovakia 3 years compare
- 27 Slovenia 3 years compare
- 27 Solomon Islands 3 years compare
- 27 Somalia 3 years compare
- 27 South Korea 3 years compare
- 27 South Sudan 3 years compare
- 27 Spain 3 years compare
- 27 Syria 3 years compare
- 27 Thailand 3 years compare
- 27 Togo 3 years compare
- 27 Tunisia 3 years compare
- 27 Turkey 3 years compare
- 27 Turkmenistan 3 years compare
- 27 Tuvalu 3 years compare
- 27 Uganda 3 years compare
- 27 Ukraine 3 years compare
- 27 United States 3 years compare
- 27 Uruguay 3 years compare
- 27 Venezuela 3 years compare
- 27 Vietnam 3 years compare
- 27 Yemen 3 years compare
More education data for Netherlands
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 118,472 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 23,856 (1985)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 247,743 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 240,049 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.61 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.14 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.0937 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.064 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is duration of pre-primary education in Netherlands?
- Duration of pre-primary education in Netherlands 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 Netherlands?
- The highest recorded value was 3 years in 2011.
- What is the lowest duration of pre-primary education recorded in Netherlands?
- The lowest recorded value was 2 years in 1970.
- How does Netherlands rank for duration of pre-primary education?
- Netherlands ranks 27th out of 223 countries with data for 2025.
- Is duration of pre-primary education rising or falling in Netherlands?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Netherlands 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 56 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Average number of years that a child is expected to spend in pre-primary education, defined by country's official educational regulations or laws.