Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Kenya
Kenya: Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school was 57.7% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Kenya, 2001–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Kenya is 57.7%, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 10 years on record.
That represents a change of up 106.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Kenya peaked at 57.7% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 25.5%, in 2008.
That places Kenya 104th out of 178 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 10 years of available data.
Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Kenya, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 28.4% | — |
| 2002 | 28.1% | -1.0% |
| 2003 | 27.5% | -2.0% |
| 2004 | 27.2% | -1.2% |
| 2005 | 26.7% | -1.7% |
| 2006 | 26.2% | -1.8% |
| 2007 | 25.8% | -1.8% |
| 2008 | 25.5% | -0.9% |
| 2009 | 28.0% | +9.6% |
| 2023 | 57.7% | +106.2% |
Kenya compared with similar countries
- Kenya's 57.7% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 33.8%, 1.7× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Kenya's 57.7% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 25.4%, 2.3× the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 27.0% | 25.5% | 28.4% | 9 |
| 2020s | 57.7% | 57.7% | 57.7% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
More education data for Kenya
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 168,396 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 235,728 (2016)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 1.44 million (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 1.44 million (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 6.74 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 8.04 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.7181 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1453 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Kenya?
- Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Kenya was 57.7% 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 Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 57.7% in 2023.
- What is the lowest share of children enrolled in pre-primary school recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 25.5% in 2008.
- How does Kenya rank for share of children enrolled in pre-primary school?
- Kenya ranks 104th out of 178 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of children enrolled in pre-primary school rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is up 106.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Kenya 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 10 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of children of pre-primary school age (typically 3–5 years old) who are enrolled in pre-primary education.