WORLD Policy Analysis Center

Is pre-primary education tuition-free?

Extensive research has shown that early childhood experiences have a significant impact on cognitive development and subsequent learning outcomes.

Guaranteeing tuition-free education can eliminate a financial barrier to schooling that disproportionally impact girls, poor children, children with disabilities, and other marginalized groups.

Tuition refers to fees charged for access to public education. It does not include fees that may be levied on other specific educational materials, such as textbooks or uniforms. In countries with tuition-free guarantees to public education, tuition may be charged in private schools operating in parallel.

No tuition-free guarantee means that there is no explicit guarantee to tuition-free pre-primary education in the country’s constitution, legislation, or non-legislative policy commitments.

Subject to progressive realization means that the country does not commit to tuition-free pre-primary education, but has committed to take steps to gradually implement tuition-free pre-primary education over time.

Policy guarantee to tuition-free refers to guarantees to tuition-free pre-primary education included in policy documents or non-legislative government commitments. While this can be a valuable policy-making approach, non-legislative guarantees to tuition-free can be more impermanent and reversable than those enshrined in legislation or constitutions.

Legislative or constitutional guarantee to tuition-free means that a guarantee to tuition-free pre-primary school is enshrined in the country’s legislation or constitution

Countries

Albania - Not tuition-free

Antigua and Barbuda - Not tuition-free

Bahamas - Not tuition-free

Bahrain - Not tuition-free

Bangladesh - Not tuition-free

Belize - Not tuition-free

Botswana - Not tuition-free

Burkina Faso - Not tuition-free

Burundi - Not tuition-free

Cambodia - Not tuition-free

Cameroon - Not tuition-free

Canada - Not tuition-free

Cabo Verde - Not tuition-free

China - Not tuition-free

Comoros - Not tuition-free

Democratic Republic of the Congo - Not tuition-free

Republic of the Congo - Not tuition-free

Cote d'Ivoire - Not tuition-free

Dominica - Not tuition-free

Egypt - Not tuition-free

Eritrea - Not tuition-free

Estonia - Not tuition-free

Germany - Not tuition-free

Grenada - Not tuition-free

Guinea-Bissau - Not tuition-free

Haiti - Not tuition-free

Iceland - Not tuition-free

India - Not tuition-free

Indonesia - Not tuition-free

Iran - Not tuition-free

Jordan - Not tuition-free

Kiribati - Not tuition-free

Kyrgyzstan - Not tuition-free

Laos - Not tuition-free

Lesotho - Not tuition-free

Liberia - Not tuition-free

Libya - Not tuition-free

North Macedonia - Not tuition-free

Madagascar - Not tuition-free

Malawi - Not tuition-free

Malaysia - Not tuition-free

Mauritius - Not tuition-free

Micronesia, Federated States of - Not tuition-free

Montenegro - Not tuition-free

Morocco - Not tuition-free

Mozambique - Not tuition-free

Niger - Not tuition-free

Norway - Not tuition-free

Oman - Not tuition-free

Pakistan - Not tuition-free

Palau - Not tuition-free

Papua New Guinea - Not tuition-free

Rwanda - Not tuition-free

Samoa - Not tuition-free

Saudi Arabia - Not tuition-free

Senegal - Not tuition-free

Sierra Leone - Not tuition-free

Singapore - Not tuition-free

Slovenia - Not tuition-free

Solomon Islands - Not tuition-free

Somalia - Not tuition-free

South Africa - Not tuition-free

South Sudan - Not tuition-free

Sri Lanka - Not tuition-free

St. Lucia - Not tuition-free

Sudan - Not tuition-free

Eswatini - Not tuition-free

Syria - Not tuition-free

Tajikistan - Not tuition-free

Timor-Leste - Not tuition-free

Tonga - Not tuition-free

Tunisia - Not tuition-free

Tuvalu - Not tuition-free

Uganda - Not tuition-free

United States of America - Not tuition-free

Vanuatu - Not tuition-free

Angola - Subject to progressive realization

Vietnam - Subject to progressive realization

Yemen - Subject to progressive realization

Andorra - Policy guarantee

Australia - Policy guarantee

Bhutan - Policy guarantee

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Policy guarantee

Brunei - Policy guarantee

Czech Republic - Policy guarantee

Ethiopia - Policy guarantee

Fiji - Policy guarantee

Guyana - Policy guarantee

Ireland - Policy guarantee

Kuwait - Policy guarantee

Marshall Islands - Policy guarantee

Monaco - Policy guarantee

The Netherlands - Policy guarantee

New Zealand - Policy guarantee

Nigeria - Policy guarantee

Panama - Policy guarantee

Qatar - Policy guarantee

Seychelles - Policy guarantee

St. Kitts and Nevis - Policy guarantee

Tanzania - Policy guarantee

Togo - Policy guarantee

United Kingdom - Policy guarantee

Uzbekistan - Policy guarantee

Zambia - Policy guarantee

Afghanistan - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Algeria - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Argentina - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Armenia - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Austria - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Azerbaijan - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Barbados - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Belarus - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Belgium - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Benin - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Bolivia - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Brazil - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Bulgaria - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Chad - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Chile - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Colombia - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Costa Rica - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Croatia - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Cuba - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Cyprus - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Denmark - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Djibouti - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Dominican Republic - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Ecuador - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

El Salvador - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Equatorial Guinea - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Finland - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

France - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Georgia - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Ghana - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Greece - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Guatemala - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Honduras - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Hungary - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Iraq - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Israel - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Italy - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Jamaica - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Japan - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Kazakhstan - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Kenya - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Democratic People's Republic of Korea - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Republic of Korea - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Latvia - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Lebanon - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Liechtenstein - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Lithuania - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Luxembourg - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Maldives - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Malta - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Mauritania - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Mexico - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Moldova - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Mongolia - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Myanmar - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Namibia - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Nauru - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Nepal - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Nicaragua - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Paraguay - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Peru - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

The Philippines - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Poland - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Portugal - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Romania - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Russian Federation - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

San Marino - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Sao Tome and Principe - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Serbia - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Slovakia - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Spain - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

St. Vincent and the Grenadines - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Suriname - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Sweden - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Thailand - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Trinidad and Tobago - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Türkiye - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Turkmenistan - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Ukraine - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

United Arab Emirates - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Uruguay - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Venezuela - Legislative or constitutional guarantee

Zimbabwe - Legislative or constitutional guarantee