Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Italy
Italy: Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school was 91.2% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Italy, 2001–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Italy recorded 91.2% for share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in 2023.
That represents a change of up 0.9% on the previous year and down 2.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Italy peaked at 99.1% in 2001 and was at its lowest, 88.7%, in 2021.
That places Italy 38th out of 178 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 23 years of available data.
Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Italy, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 99.1% | — |
| 2002 | 99.1% | -0.0% |
| 2003 | 98.9% | -0.2% |
| 2004 | 96.8% | -2.1% |
| 2005 | 96.5% | -0.3% |
| 2006 | 96.3% | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 95.7% | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 95.1% | -0.6% |
| 2009 | 94.9% | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 93.9% | -1.0% |
| 2011 | 93.7% | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 94.1% | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 93.6% | -0.5% |
| 2014 | 93.0% | -0.6% |
| 2015 | 93.1% | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 93.0% | -0.1% |
| 2017 | 92.0% | -1.1% |
| 2018 | 91.9% | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 92.3% | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 92.2% | -0.1% |
| 2021 | 88.7% | -3.8% |
| 2022 | 90.4% | +1.9% |
| 2023 | 91.2% | +0.9% |
Italy compared with similar countries
- Italy's 91.2% is above the median for high income countries, which is 87.1%, 1.0× the median. (68 countries reporting)
- Italy's 91.2% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 87.9%, 1.0× the median. (49 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 96.9% | 94.9% | 99.1% | 9 |
| 2010s | 93.0% | 91.9% | 94.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 90.6% | 88.7% | 92.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Italy
More education data for Italy
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 423,797 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 6,592 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 667,641 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 620,157 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.61 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.63 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.167 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0445 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Italy?
- Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Italy was 91.2% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children enrolled in pre-primary school recorded in Italy?
- The highest recorded value was 99.1% in 2001.
- What is the lowest share of children enrolled in pre-primary school recorded in Italy?
- The lowest recorded value was 88.7% in 2021.
- How does Italy rank for share of children enrolled in pre-primary school?
- Italy ranks 38th out of 178 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of children enrolled in pre-primary school rising or falling in Italy?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Italy data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of children of pre-primary school age (typically 3–5 years old) who are enrolled in pre-primary education.