UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) indicator `ETOIP.02.PR` measures the percentage of pre-primary enrolment that is in private institutions, for both sexes combined. Pre-primary education is ISCED level 02. The denominator is total enrolment in pre-primary programmes and the numerator is enrolment in private institutions. The unit is percent. This is a provider-composition measure, not a participation rate and not a count of private schools.
The 2024 dataset contains 81 official country and territory observations. Bahrain records 100.00%, followed by New Zealand at 98.99%, Hong Kong SAR at 98.41%, Macao SAR at 96.35%, and Oman at 90.15%. Curaçao has an official value of 0.00%, while Belarus records 0.03%, the Republic of Moldova 0.84%, and Algeria 1.21%. The mean is 35.32% and the median 26.15%.
Table of Contents
Pre-primary is a specific part of early childhood education
Under ISCED 2011, early childhood education is level 0 and contains two categories. Early childhood educational development, ISCED 01, is designed for younger children, while pre-primary education, ISCED 02, is typically designed for children from about age three until the start of primary school. This indicator uses only the pre-primary category.
That distinction matters because a broader early-childhood indicator can include both categories. A country may rely heavily on private providers for pre-primary programmes but use a different provider structure for programmes serving younger children. The overall early-childhood private share can therefore differ from the pre-primary share reported here.
The indicator describes provider composition, not access
The denominator includes only children who are already enrolled in pre-primary education. A value of 60% means that roughly six in ten enrolled children are in private institutions. It does not tell us what percentage of all children of pre-primary age participate in education.
A country can have a high private share and still have limited overall participation, or a low private share and broad access through public provision. Participation rates and private-provider shares answer different questions and should not be used interchangeably.
Bahrain and New Zealand are at the upper end
Bahrain has the maximum published value of 100.00%. New Zealand records 98.99%, Hong Kong SAR 98.41%, Macao SAR 96.35%, Oman 90.15%, Qatar 84.42%, Mauritius 83.25%, Jamaica 79.52%, Burkina Faso 79.44%, and Lebanon 78.66%.
Twelve of the 81 observations are at 75% or higher. These values indicate a very large private-provider role within observed pre-primary enrolment. They do not by themselves indicate higher tuition, higher quality, or higher participation, because financing and institutional arrangements differ across countries.
| Country or territory | 2024 private-institution share |
|---|---|
| Bahrain | 100.00% |
| New Zealand | 98.99% |
| China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region | 98.41% |
| China, Macao Special Administrative Region | 96.35% |
| Oman | 90.15% |
| Qatar | 84.42% |
| Mauritius | 83.25% |
| Jamaica | 79.52% |
| Burkina Faso | 79.44% |
| Lebanon | 78.66% |
Curaçao is an official zero
Curaçao records 0.00%, the minimum. Belarus is at 0.03%, the Republic of Moldova 0.84%, Algeria 1.21%, Ukraine 2.19%, Bulgaria 2.83%, Armenia 2.96%, Azerbaijan 3.50%, Switzerland 5.04%, and Andorra 5.40%.
Twelve observations are below 10%. A low private share means private institutions account for only a small part of reported pre-primary enrolment. It can be consistent with a large public-provider role, but it is not proof of universal access or strong public-school quality.
| Country or territory | 2024 private-institution share |
|---|---|
| Curaçao | 0.00% |
| Belarus | 0.03% |
| Republic of Moldova | 0.84% |
| Algeria | 1.21% |
| Ukraine | 2.19% |
| Bulgaria | 2.83% |
| Armenia | 2.96% |
| Azerbaijan | 3.50% |
| Switzerland | 5.04% |
| Andorra | 5.40% |
The mean is well above the median
The mean is 35.32% and the median 26.15%. The first quartile is 13.84% and the third quartile 51.61%. The mean sits about nine percentage points above the median because a group of observations is concentrated near the upper end of the 0–100% scale.
The middle half of observations lies between approximately 13.84% and 51.61%. This wide interquartile range shows that there is no single dominant international model of public/private provision at the pre-primary level.
Five bands show how widely provider structures differ
There are 12 observations below 10%, 25 between 10% and under 25%, 22 between 25% and under 50%, 10 between 50% and under 75%, and 12 at 75% or higher.
The spread from 0% to 100% indicates substantial differences in the role of non-government providers. Under UIS definitions, private institutions are those not operated by a public authority, regardless of whether they receive financial support from government. Religious bodies, associations, communities, companies, or individuals can all operate private institutions.
A private share is not the same as household financing
Private operation does not automatically imply that families pay the full cost. Some private pre-primary institutions receive public subsidies, contracts, grants, or vouchers. Public institutions can also generate household expenses such as transportation or materials.
An affordability analysis would therefore need tuition, household spending, subsidies, and public-finance data. The current indicator tells us who operates the institution in which enrolled children are placed; it does not identify who ultimately pays.
Student share is different from the number of private institutions
A small number of large private centres can account for a large share of enrolment, while many small private centres can serve only a small portion of children. The percentage of children enrolled in private institutions is therefore not the same as the percentage of institutions that are privately operated.
Facility counts are useful for studying service networks and geographic coverage. Enrolment shares are more useful for showing how children are distributed across provider types. The two measures should be kept separate.
Zero is different from missing
The observed dataset contains 1 official zero value, Curaçao. That value is not the result of filling an absent record with zero. Other catalogue units with no 2024 observation remain missing and are not included in the 81-country denominator.
Confusing missing values with zeros would push the mean downward and create false claims that countries have no private pre-primary enrolment. Preserving the original source state is essential for rankings, averages, and maps.
The both-sexes series does not reveal gender differences
Indicator `ETOIP.02.PR` combines girls and boys. Separate female and male private-enrolment shares can differ, and a gender parity index can show whether the two shares are balanced. The combined percentage alone cannot identify a gender gap.
A country with a 50% both-sexes private share could still have different private shares for girls and boys. Gender analysis therefore requires sex-specific indicators rather than inference from the combined value.
A high private share is not a quality ranking
The indicator contains no direct information about staff qualifications, class size, curriculum quality, learning outcomes, child development, or school readiness. A higher private share should not be described as better or worse pre-primary education.
Institutional arrangements also differ greatly. Some private providers are tightly regulated and publicly financed; others are more independent. Similar percentages can therefore represent very different education systems.
What one year cannot show
The 2024 cross-section cannot show whether private provision is expanding or contracting. Bahrain may have had a 100% private share for many years, while another country may have changed rapidly in response to new public provision or demographic shifts.
A trend analysis should follow `ETOIP.02.PR` across multiple years. Combining the percentage with total pre-primary enrolment helps determine whether a rising private share reflects growth in private student numbers, contraction in public provision, or both.
Official source and interpretation
The official source is the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. This comparison uses 81 NATIONAL observations for 2024 from indicator `ETOIP.02.PR`, reported in percent for both sexes combined. Pre-primary education is ISCED 02 and is typically designed for children from about age three to the start of primary education. Official values are available through the UNESCO UIS Data API, while the level definitions are described in the UIS ISCED framework.
The key interpretive rule is to keep the measure narrow: it is the private-institution share within pre-primary enrolment. Early-childhood participation, school counts, household cost, quality, and gender gaps are separate questions requiring separate indicators.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is pre-primary education the same as all early childhood education?
No. ISCED 02 is the pre-primary category, generally from about age three to primary-school entry; younger early-childhood programmes are a separate category.
Does a high private share mean high pre-primary participation?
No. The denominator contains only children already enrolled in pre-primary education.
Is the 0% observation missing data filled with zero?
No. Curaçao’s 0.00% is an official observation, while unreported countries remain missing.
Can this indicator compare education quality?
No. It measures enrolment composition by provider type, not programme quality.
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