Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Kuwait
Kuwait: Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school was 30.6% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Kuwait, 1999–2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Kuwait recorded 30.6% for share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in 2021. That is the lowest value across all 21 years on record.
That represents a change of down 35.4% on the previous year and down 53.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Kuwait peaked at 72.3% in 2008 and was at its lowest, 30.6%, in 2021.
Kuwait ranks 142nd of 178 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 21 years of available data.
Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Kuwait, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 59.0% | — |
| 2000 | 61.6% | +4.3% |
| 2001 | 65.0% | +5.6% |
| 2002 | 66.4% | +2.1% |
| 2003 | 66.5% | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 65.9% | -0.8% |
| 2005 | 65.6% | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 67.0% | +2.1% |
| 2007 | 70.7% | +5.6% |
| 2008 | 72.3% | +2.2% |
| 2010 | 65.8% | -9.0% |
| 2011 | 65.9% | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 65.9% | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 62.3% | -5.4% |
| 2014 | 57.7% | -7.4% |
| 2016 | 54.1% | -6.3% |
| 2017 | 51.8% | -4.2% |
| 2018 | 50.3% | -2.8% |
| 2019 | 47.5% | -5.6% |
| 2020 | 47.4% | -0.4% |
| 2021 | 30.6% | -35.4% |
Kuwait compared with similar countries
- Kuwait's 30.6% is below the median for high income countries, which is 87.1%, 35% of the median. (68 countries reporting)
- Kuwait's 30.6% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 51.5%, 59% of the median. (18 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Kuwait changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | -35.4% | 47.4% | 30.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 59.0% | 59.0% | 59.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 66.8% | 61.6% | 72.3% | 9 |
| 2010s | 57.9% | 47.5% | 65.9% | 9 |
| 2020s | 39.0% | 30.6% | 47.4% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Kuwait
More education data for Kuwait
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 47,443 (2021)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 11 (2021)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 30,349 (2021)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 29,489 (2021)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 302,047 (2015)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 265,113 (2021)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -4.44 % change on previous year (2021)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2021)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0608 units per person (2021)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Kuwait?
- Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Kuwait was 30.6% in 2021, 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 Kuwait?
- The highest recorded value was 72.3% in 2008.
- What is the lowest share of children enrolled in pre-primary school recorded in Kuwait?
- The lowest recorded value was 30.6% in 2021.
- How does Kuwait rank for share of children enrolled in pre-primary school?
- Kuwait ranks 142nd out of 178 countries with data for 2021.
- Is share of children enrolled in pre-primary school rising or falling in Kuwait?
- Over the last ten years it is down 53.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Kuwait 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
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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.