Official entrance age to early childhood education in Switzerland
Switzerland: Official entrance age to early childhood education was 4 years in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
4 years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
7th
of 207 countries
All-time high
5 years
in 1999
All-time low
4 years
in 2015
Years of data
27
1999–2025
Official entrance age to early childhood education in Switzerland, 1999–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2025, official entrance age to early childhood education in Switzerland stood at 4 years. That is the lowest value across all 27 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, official entrance age to early childhood education in Switzerland peaked at 5 years in 1999 and was at its lowest, 4 years, in 2015.
That places Switzerland 7th out of 207 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 27 years of available data.
Official entrance age to early childhood education in Switzerland, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 5 years | — |
| 2000 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 4 years | -20.0% |
| 2016 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 4 years | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5 years | 5 years | 5 years | 1 |
| 2000s | 5 years | 5 years | 5 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.5 years | 4 years | 5 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 4 years | 4 years | 4 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Switzerland
- 7 Benin 4 years compare
- 7 Bermuda 4 years compare
- 7 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 4 years compare
- 7 Cameroon 4 years compare
- 7 Djibouti 4 years compare
- 7 Egypt 4 years compare
- 7 Eritrea 4 years compare
- 7 Ethiopia 4 years compare
- 7 Guinea 4 years compare
- 7 Guyana 4 years compare
- 7 Iraq 4 years compare
- 7 Jordan 4 years compare
- 7 Kuwait 4 years compare
- 7 Libya 4 years compare
- 7 Mali 4 years compare
- 7 Malaysia 4 years compare
- 7 Niger 4 years compare
- 7 Palestine, State of 4 years compare
- 7 Sudan 4 years compare
- 7 Suriname 4 years compare
- 7 Seychelles 4 years compare
- 7 Turks and Caicos Islands 4 years compare
- 7 Tonga 4 years compare
- 7 Vanuatu 4 years compare
- 7 Zimbabwe 4 years compare
More education data for Switzerland
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 68,266 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 5,583 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 94,990 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 89,549 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 636,381 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 556,945 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.34 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0618 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is official entrance age to early childhood education in Switzerland?
- Official entrance age to early childhood education in Switzerland was 4 years in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest official entrance age to early childhood education recorded in Switzerland?
- The highest recorded value was 5 years in 1999.
- What is the lowest official entrance age to early childhood education recorded in Switzerland?
- The lowest recorded value was 4 years in 2015.
- How does Switzerland rank for official entrance age to early childhood education?
- Switzerland ranks 7th out of 207 countries with data for 2025.
- Is official entrance age to early childhood education rising or falling in Switzerland?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Switzerland data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Official entrance age to early childhood education (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
February 2026 Data Release