Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Portugal
Portugal: Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school was 94.2% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Portugal, 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 Portugal is 94.2%, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 23 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.0% on the previous year and up 7.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Portugal peaked at 94.2% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 72.5%, in 2001.
Portugal ranks 29th of 178 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Portugal, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 72.5% | — |
| 2002 | 72.8% | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 74.6% | +2.5% |
| 2004 | 74.4% | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 75.8% | +1.9% |
| 2006 | 76.6% | +1.1% |
| 2007 | 78.8% | +2.9% |
| 2008 | 80.4% | +2.0% |
| 2009 | 83.8% | +4.2% |
| 2010 | 85.6% | +2.2% |
| 2011 | 88.3% | +3.2% |
| 2012 | 88.5% | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 87.6% | -1.0% |
| 2014 | 86.9% | -0.9% |
| 2015 | 87.6% | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 87.9% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 90.7% | +3.1% |
| 2018 | 90.5% | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 92.7% | +2.5% |
| 2020 | 93.6% | +1.0% |
| 2021 | 91.3% | -2.4% |
| 2022 | 93.3% | +2.1% |
| 2023 | 94.2% | +1.0% |
Portugal compared with similar countries
- Portugal's 94.2% is above the median for high income countries, which is 87.1%, 1.1× the median. (68 countries reporting)
- Portugal's 94.2% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 87.9%, 1.1× the median. (49 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 76.6% | 72.5% | 83.8% | 9 |
| 2010s | 88.6% | 85.6% | 92.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 93.1% | 91.3% | 94.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Portugal
More education data for Portugal
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 82,664 (2018)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 11,380 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 136,282 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 128,743 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 741,752 (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 598,661 (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.89 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0566 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Portugal?
- Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Portugal was 94.2% 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 Portugal?
- The highest recorded value was 94.2% in 2023.
- What is the lowest share of children enrolled in pre-primary school recorded in Portugal?
- The lowest recorded value was 72.5% in 2001.
- How does Portugal rank for share of children enrolled in pre-primary school?
- Portugal ranks 29th out of 178 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of children enrolled in pre-primary school rising or falling in Portugal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Portugal 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.