Data

Gross enrolment in pre-primary education

What you should know about this indicator

  • Not all students enrol in school at the same age. The gross enrolment ratio includes students enrolled in a certain level of education, regardless of whether they are within the expected age range for that level. It includes students who are younger or older than expected due to late entry, early entry, or grade repetition.
  • It captures the total number of students enrolled at a specific education level, expressed as a percentage of the population in the official age group for that level. For example, if the official age group for upper secondary school is 15 to 17-year olds, the gross enrolment ratio compares total enrolment at that level (of any age) to the population of 15- to 17-year-olds.
  • Values can be greater than 100% if students repeat grades or start a particular level of schooling late. In the example above, some 18- or 19 year olds might be included in the total if they started upper secondary school late.
  • Similarly, a value of 100% does not necessarily mean all children within a particular age group are enrolled in school; some children could be out-of-school, but gross enrolment rates are boosted by older students being included.
  • The data comes from administrative records, such as school enrolment reports, and from population estimates, usually provided by the United Nations or national sources.

Gross enrollment ratio is the ratio of total enrollment, regardless of age, to the population of the age group that officially corresponds to the level of education shown. Preprimary education refers to programs at the initial stage of organized instruction, designed primarily to introduce very young children to a school-type environment and to provide a bridge between home and school.

Limitations and exceptions: Enrollment indicators are based on annual school surveys, but do not necessarily reflect actual attendance or dropout rates during the year. Also, the length of education differs across countries and can influence enrollment rates, although the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) tries to minimize the difference. For example, a shorter duration for primary education tends to increase the rate; a longer one to decrease it (in part because older children are more at risk of dropping out). Moreover, age at enrollment may be inaccurately estimated or misstated, especially in communities where registration of births is not strictly enforced.

Statistical concept and methodology: Gross enrollment ratio for pre-primary school is calculated by dividing the number of students enrolled in pre-primary education regardless of age by the population of the age group which officially corresponds to pre-primary education, and multiplying by 100.

Data on education are collected by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics from official responses to its annual education survey. All the data are mapped to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) to ensure the comparability of education programs at the international level. The current version was formally adopted by UNESCO Member States in 2011. Population data are drawn from the United Nations Population Division. Using a single source for population data standardizes definitions, estimations, and interpolation methods, ensuring a consistent methodology across countries and minimizing potential enumeration problems in national censuses.

The reference years reflect the school year for which the data are presented. In some countries the school year spans two calendar years (for example, from September 2010 to June 2011); in these cases the reference year refers to the year in which the school year ended (2011 in the example).

Gross enrolment in pre-primary education
Number of children of any age group who are enrolled in , expressed as a percentage of the total population of the official pre-primary school age.
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), via World Bank (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Last updated
January 24, 2025
Next expected update
January 2026
Date range
1970–2022
Unit
%

Sources and processing

This data is based on the following sources

The World Development Indicators (WDI) is the primary World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially-recognized international sources. It presents the most current and accurate global development data available, and includes national, regional and global estimates.

Retrieved on
January 24, 2025
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). UIS.Stat Bulk Data Download Service. Accessed October 24, 2022. https://apiportal.uis.unesco.org/bdds. Indicator SE.PRE.ENRR (https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.PRE.ENRR). World Development Indicators - World Bank (2025). Accessed on 2025-01-24.

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Citations

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To cite this page overall, including any descriptions, FAQs or explanations of the data authored by Our World in Data, please use the following citation:

“Data Page: Gross enrolment in pre-primary education”. Our World in Data (2025). Data adapted from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), via World Bank. Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/gross-enrollment-ratio-in-pre-primary-education [online resource]
How to cite this data

In-line citationIf you have limited space (e.g. in data visualizations), you can use this abbreviated in-line citation:

UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), via World Bank (2025) – processed by Our World in Data

Full citation

UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), via World Bank (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. “Gross enrolment in pre-primary education” [dataset]. UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), via World Bank, “World Development Indicators” [original data]. Retrieved June 24, 2025 from https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/gross-enrollment-ratio-in-pre-primary-education