In 2021, 50.4 % of all children in the EU who were aged less than three years were cared for exclusively by their parents (see graph). This share varied considerably across the EU Member States, from a low of 13.8 % in the Netherlands, up to over 65 % in Lithuania (66.2 %), Bulgaria (68.4 %) and in Czechia (71.6 %), peaking at 76.8 % in Romania. Latvia was towards the higher end of the scale with a figure of 61.7 %.
In 2021, 36.2 % of children in the EU aged less than three years received at least one hour of formal childcare. In total, 21.1 % of all children of the same age group received formal childcare for 30 hours or more per week, compared to 15.1 % receiving less than 30 hours per week.
At national level, the share of children aged less than three years receiving at least one hour of formal childcare per week in 2021 peaked at 74.2 % in the Netherlands. This share accounted for more than 50% in Denmark (69.1 %), Luxembourg (62.0 %), France (57.1 %), Sweden (55.8 %), Spain (55.3 %), Belgium (51.7 %) and Portugal (50.4 %).
In 2021, the share of children aged between three years and the minimum compulsory school age receiving formal childcare was 83.4 % and equal to 36.2% for those aged less than three years. The highest value (94.8%) was recorded among children aged between the minimum compulsory school age and 12 years. (Table 1).
In 2021, Romania (51.8 %) was the only EU Member State to report that less than 60 % of children aged between three years and the minimum compulsory school age received some formal childcare. In contrast to this, more than 95.0 % of all children in this age group in Hungary, Sweden, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Luxembourg, received such care.
As formal childcare includes compulsory education, it is not surprising to find that at least 9 out of 10 children aged between the minimum compulsory school age and 12 years received some formal childcare in nearly all of the EU Member States in 2021. However, Slovakia (89.4 %, 2020 data), Austria (86.9 %), France (84.8 %), Romania (84.7 %), Czechia (78.7 %), Ireland (71.3 %) and Latvia (65.0 %) recorded rates below 90%.
