Official entrance age to pre-primary education (Official UNESCO) in Switzerland
Switzerland: Official entrance age to pre-primary education (Official UNESCO) was 4 years in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
4 years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
14th
of 223 countries
All-time high
5 years
in 1970
All-time low
4 years
in 2015
Years of data
56
1970–2025
Official entrance age to pre-primary education in Switzerland, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
Switzerland recorded 4 years for official entrance age to pre-primary education in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 56 years on record.
The figure is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, official entrance age to pre-primary education in Switzerland peaked at 5 years in 1970 and was at its lowest, 4 years, in 2015.
Switzerland ranks 14th of 223 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 56 years of available data.
Official entrance age to pre-primary education (Official UNESCO) in Switzerland, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 5 years | — |
| 1971 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 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% |
Switzerland compared with similar countries
- Switzerland's 4 years is above the median for high income countries, which is 3 years, 1.3× the median. (80 countries reporting)
- Switzerland's 4 years is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 3 years, 1.3× the median. (53 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5 years | 5 years | 5 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 5 years | 5 years | 5 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 5 years | 5 years | 5 years | 10 |
| 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
- 14 Aruba 4 years compare
- 14 Benin 4 years compare
- 14 Bermuda 4 years compare
- 14 Bolivia 4 years compare
- 14 Brazil 4 years compare
- 14 Cameroon 4 years compare
- 14 Costa Rica 4 years compare
- 14 Djibouti 4 years compare
- 14 Egypt 4 years compare
- 14 El Salvador 4 years compare
- 14 Equatorial Guinea 4 years compare
- 14 Eritrea 4 years compare
- 14 Ethiopia 4 years compare
- 14 Falkland Islands 4 years compare
- 14 Ghana 4 years compare
- 14 Greece 4 years compare
- 14 Guatemala 4 years compare
- 14 Guinea 4 years compare
- 14 Guyana 4 years compare
- 14 Iraq 4 years compare
- 14 Jordan 4 years compare
- 14 Kuwait 4 years compare
- 14 Libya 4 years compare
- 14 Malaysia 4 years compare
- 14 Maldives 4 years compare
- 14 Mali 4 years compare
- 14 Morocco 4 years compare
- 14 Nauru 4 years compare
- 14 Niger 4 years compare
- 14 Niue 4 years compare
- 14 Oman 4 years compare
- 14 Palestine 4 years compare
- 14 Panama 4 years compare
- 14 Saint Helena 4 years compare
- 14 Seychelles 4 years compare
- 14 Sudan 4 years compare
- 14 Suriname 4 years compare
- 14 Tonga 4 years compare
- 14 Turks and Caicos Islands 4 years compare
- 14 United Arab Emirates 4 years compare
- 14 Vanuatu 4 years compare
- 14 Western Sahara 4 years compare
- 14 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 pre-primary education in Switzerland?
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education in Switzerland was 4 years in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest official entrance age to pre-primary education recorded in Switzerland?
- The highest recorded value was 5 years in 1970.
- What is the lowest official entrance age to pre-primary education recorded in Switzerland?
- The lowest recorded value was 4 years in 2015.
- How does Switzerland rank for official entrance age to pre-primary education?
- Switzerland ranks 14th out of 223 countries with data for 2025.
- Is official entrance age to pre-primary 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 (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Official entrance age to 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
Official entry age at which children are expected to start pre-primary education according to national legislation or policies.