Statizoid

Official entrance age to early childhood education (years) by country

Age at which students would enter early childhood education.

Countries reporting
198
Highest
6 years
Afghanistan
Lowest
0 years
South Africa
Median
3 years
Years covered
51
1970–2020
Data points
4,285

What the numbers show

Official entrance age to early childhood education (years) is currently reported for 198 countries. The highest value is 6 years in Afghanistan; the lowest is 0 years in South Africa.

The median across all reporting countries is 3 years, and the mean is 2.17 years.

Over the past decade 7 countries rose and 67 fell. The largest increase was in Turks and Caicos Islands (up 300.0%), and the largest decrease in Angola (down 100.0%).

Official entrance age to early childhood education: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Afghanistan 6 years 2019 unchanged flat
2 Burundi 5 years 2019 unchanged rising
2 Switzerland 5 years 2020 unchanged flat
2 Algeria 5 years 2020 unchanged rising
2 Iran 5 years 2019 unchanged flat
2 Liechtenstein 5 years 2019 unchanged flat
2 Philippines 5 years 2019 unchanged flat
2 Tanzania 5 years 2019 unchanged flat
9 Aruba 4 years 2019 unchanged flat
9 Benin 4 years 2019 unchanged flat
9 Bermuda 4 years 2019 unchanged flat
9 Bolivia 4 years 2019 unchanged flat
9 Bhutan 4 years 2020 unchanged flat
9 Cameroon 4 years 2019 unchanged flat
9 Curacao 4 years 2019 unchanged flat
9 Djibouti 4 years 2020 unchanged flat
9 Egypt 4 years 2019 unchanged flat
9 Eritrea 4 years 2019 down 20.0% falling
9 Ethiopia 4 years 2019 unchanged flat
9 Iraq 4 years 2019 unchanged flat
9 Jordan 4 years 2019 unchanged flat
9 Kuwait 4 years 2019 unchanged flat
9 Libya 4 years 2019 unchanged flat
9 Marshall Islands 4 years 2019 unchanged flat
9 Mali 4 years 2019 up 33.3% rising
9 Malaysia 4 years 2020 unchanged flat
9 Niger 4 years 2019 unchanged flat
9 Palestine 4 years 2019 unchanged flat
9 Sudan 4 years 2020 unchanged flat
9 Suriname 4 years 2019 unchanged flat
9 Seychelles 4 years 2019 unchanged flat
9 Turks and Caicos Islands 4 years 2019 up 300.0% rising
9 Tonga 4 years 2019 up 33.3% rising
9 Vanuatu 4 years 2019 unchanged flat
9 Zimbabwe 4 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Andorra 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Armenia 3 years 2020 unchanged flat
36 Burkina Faso 3 years 2019 down 25.0% falling
36 Bangladesh 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Bulgaria 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Bahamas 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Belize 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Brunei 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Botswana 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Central African Republic 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Canada 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 China 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Cote d'Ivoire 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Democratic Republic of Congo 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Congo 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Comoros 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Cape Verde 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Czechia 3 years 2020 unchanged flat
36 Dominican Republic 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Ecuador 3 years 2019 unchanged falling
36 Fiji 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 France 3 years 2020 unchanged flat
36 Micronesia (country) 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Gabon 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Georgia 3 years 2020 unchanged flat
36 Guinea-Bissau 3 years 2019 down 25.0% falling
36 Guyana 3 years 2019 down 25.0% falling
36 Hong Kong 3 years 2019 unchanged volatile
36 Honduras 3 years 2019 unchanged falling
36 India 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Italy 3 years 2020 unchanged flat
36 Kenya 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Kiribati 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Lebanon 3 years 2020 unchanged flat
36 Liberia 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Sri Lanka 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Lesotho 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Luxembourg 3 years 2020 unchanged flat
36 Macao 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Monaco 3 years 2020 unchanged flat
36 Madagascar 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Maldives 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Malta 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Mozambique 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Malawi 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Namibia 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Netherlands 3 years 2020 down 25.0% falling
36 Nepal 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Nauru 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Pakistan 3 years 2019 up 200.0% volatile
36 Palau 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Papua New Guinea 3 years 2019 down 50.0% falling
36 Poland 3 years 2020 unchanged flat
36 North Korea 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Portugal 3 years 2020 unchanged flat
36 Senegal 3 years 2019 unchanged rising
36 Solomon Islands 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Sierra Leone 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Somalia 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 South Sudan 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Sao Tome and Principe 3 years 2019 up 50.0% rising
36 Slovakia 3 years 2020 unchanged flat
36 Eswatini 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Syria 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Chad 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Togo 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Tajikistan 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 East Timor 3 years 2019 down 25.0% falling
36 Trinidad and Tobago 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Tunisia 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Tuvalu 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Uganda 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Uzbekistan 3 years 2020 unchanged flat
36 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Samoa 3 years 2019 unchanged flat
36 Zambia 3 years 2019 unchanged falling
112 Belarus 2 years 2019 up 100.0% rising
112 Guinea 2 years 2019 down 50.0% falling
112 Gambia 2 years 2020 unchanged flat
112 Hungary 2 years 2020 down 33.3% falling
112 Mongolia 2 years 2019 down 33.3% falling
112 Mauritius 2 years 2019 down 33.3% falling
112 Russia 2 years 2020 unchanged flat
112 Saudi Arabia 2 years 2019 down 33.3% falling
120 Albania 1 years 2019 down 66.7% falling
120 Australia 1 years 2019 unchanged volatile
120 Azerbaijan 1 years 2020 unchanged flat
120 Bahrain 1 years 2019 unchanged falling
120 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 years 2019 down 80.0% volatile
120 Brazil 1 years 2019 unchanged volatile
120 Cayman Islands 1 years 2019 unchanged flat
120 Finland 1 years 2020 down 66.7% falling
120 United Kingdom 1 years 2020 down 66.7% falling
120 Gibraltar 1 years 2019 down 75.0% falling
120 Equatorial Guinea 1 years 2019 down 75.0% falling
120 Croatia 1 years 2019 down 66.7% falling
120 Indonesia 1 years 2019 unchanged flat
120 Japan 1 years 2019 up 100.0% volatile
120 Kazakhstan 1 years 2020 down 66.7% falling
120 Kyrgyzstan 1 years 2020 down 66.7% falling
120 Saint Kitts and Nevis 1 years 2019 unchanged volatile
120 South Korea 1 years 2019 down 80.0% volatile
120 Saint Lucia 1 years 2019 unchanged flat
120 Latvia 1 years 2020 unchanged flat
120 Morocco 1 years 2019 down 75.0% falling
120 Moldova 1 years 2019 down 66.7% falling
120 North Macedonia 1 years 2019 down 66.7% falling
120 Montenegro 1 years 2019 unchanged falling
120 Nigeria 1 years 2019 unchanged flat
120 Norway 1 years 2020 down 66.7% falling
120 Paraguay 1 years 2019 unchanged rising
120 Rwanda 1 years 2019 down 75.0% falling
120 Serbia 1 years 2019 down 66.7% falling
120 Slovenia 1 years 2020 unchanged flat
120 Sweden 1 years 2020 unchanged flat
120 Thailand 1 years 2019 unchanged flat
120 Turkmenistan 1 years 2019 down 66.7% falling
120 Turkey 1 years 2019 unchanged flat
120 Ukraine 1 years 2019 down 66.7% falling
120 Venezuela 1 years 2019 unchanged flat
156 Angola 0 years 2019 down 100.0% volatile
156 United Arab Emirates 0 years 2019 down 100.0% volatile
156 Antigua and Barbuda 0 years 2019 down 100.0% volatile
156 Belgium 0 years 2020 down 100.0% falling
156 Barbados 0 years 2019 down 100.0% volatile
156 Chile 0 years 2019 down 100.0% volatile
156 Colombia 0 years 2019 down 100.0% volatile
156 Cyprus 0 years 2019 down 100.0% volatile
156 Germany 0 years 2020 down 100.0% volatile
156 Dominica 0 years 2019 down 100.0% volatile
156 Denmark 0 years 2020 down 100.0% volatile
156 Spain 0 years 2020 down 100.0% volatile
156 Estonia 0 years 2020 — volatile
156 Ghana 0 years 2019 down 100.0% volatile
156 Greece 0 years 2020 down 100.0% volatile
156 Grenada 0 years 2019 down 100.0% volatile
156 Guatemala 0 years 2019 down 100.0% volatile
156 Haiti 0 years 2019 down 100.0% volatile
156 Ireland 0 years 2020 down 100.0% falling
156 Iceland 0 years 2020 down 100.0% volatile
156 Israel 0 years 2019 down 100.0% volatile
156 Jamaica 0 years 2019 down 100.0% volatile
156 Cambodia 0 years 2019 — volatile
156 Laos 0 years 2019 — volatile
156 Lithuania 0 years 2020 down 100.0% volatile
156 Mexico 0 years 2019 down 100.0% volatile
156 Mauritania 0 years 2019 down 100.0% volatile
156 Nicaragua 0 years 2019 — volatile
156 New Zealand 0 years 2019 down 100.0% volatile
156 Oman 0 years 2019 down 100.0% volatile
156 Panama 0 years 2019 down 100.0% volatile
156 Peru 0 years 2019 down 100.0% volatile
156 Puerto Rico 0 years 2019 down 100.0% volatile
156 Qatar 0 years 2019 down 100.0% volatile
156 Romania 0 years 2020 down 100.0% volatile
156 El Salvador 0 years 2019 — volatile
156 San Marino 0 years 2019 down 100.0% falling
156 Sint Maarten (Dutch part) 0 years 2019 down 100.0% volatile
156 Uruguay 0 years 2019 down 100.0% volatile
156 British Virgin Islands 0 years 2019 — volatile
156 Vietnam 0 years 2019 down 100.0% volatile
156 Yemen 0 years 2019 down 100.0% volatile
156 South Africa 0 years 2019 down 100.0% volatile

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Official entrance age to early childhood education by country. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 01 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/official-entrance-age-to-early-childhood-education-years/

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About this data

Indicator
Official entrance age to early childhood education (years)
Unit
years
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
204 places, 4,285 data points, 1970–2020
Last refreshed

Age at which students would enter early childhood education.