Kindergartens
Updated: 1 March 2023
Modified: 21 Mar 2023, 08:00:00
Next update: 1 March 2024
| 2022 | Difference from last year | Difference last 5 years | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of children in kindergarten | 268 730 | 265 | -12 892 |
| Percentage of children 1-5 years | 93.4 | 0.0 | 2.1 |
| Percentage of children 1-2 years | 87.7 | 0.7 | 5.2 |
| Percentage of children 3-5 years | 97.2 | -0.2 | 0.1 |
| Number of kindergartens | 5 420 | -105 | -456 |
| Percentage of public kindergartens | 48 | 1 | 2 |
| Employees | 95 706 | 505 | 1 166 |
| Percentage of directors and educational leaders with pre-school teacher education | 92.0 | 0.0 | 1.1 |
| 21 March 2023. One kindergarten has been added in Oslo. |
Selected tables and charts from this statistics
- Number of kindergartens, employees and children, by county.Download table as ...Number of kindergartens, employees and children, by county.
Kindergartens Public kindergartens Private kindergartens Employees, total Children in kindergartens Percentage of children age 1-5 year in kindergarden 2020 5 620 2 656 2 964 95 909 272 264 92.8 2021 5 525 2 624 2 901 95 201 268 465 93.4 2022 5 420 2 618 2 802 95 706 268 730 93.4 2022 Viken 1 198 465 733 22 412 64 219 92.4 Oslo 678 305 373 11 938 35 417 92.0 Innlandet 348 196 152 5 769 15 626 94.1 Vestfold og Telemark 374 188 186 6 917 19 431 93.6 Agder 337 121 216 5 676 15 179 91.7 Rogaland 435 227 208 9 582 26 961 92.6 Vestland 638 326 312 11 777 33 256 95.2 Møre og Romsdal 264 140 124 4 859 13 374 94.9 Trøndelag - Trööndelage 538 285 253 8 605 23 444 95.7 Nordland - Nordlánnda 305 166 139 3 973 10 790 94.5 Troms og Finnmark - Romsa ja Finnmárku 303 197 106 4 167 10 945 93.9 Svalbard 2 2 0 31 88 . 21 March 2023. One kindergarten has been added in Oslo. Explanation of symbolsDownload table as ... - Children in kindergartens by age.Download table as ...Children in kindergartens by age.
Total 0 years 1 year 2 years 3 years 4 years 5 years 6 years 2014 286 414 2 145 41 145 56 709 59 840 62 422 63 746 407 2015 283 608 2 201 41 895 55 363 59 775 61 036 62 972 366 2016 282 649 2 366 43 015 55 910 58 306 60 999 61 708 345 2017 281 622 2 245 43 300 56 177 58 558 59 482 61 530 330 2018 278 578 2 196 42 150 56 264 58 436 59 303 59 836 393 2019 275 804 2 295 41 921 54 153 58 411 59 078 59 580 366 2020 272 264 2 285 42 319 52 810 56 004 59 066 59 390 390 2021 268 465 2 608 42 457 52 590 54 508 56 623 59 309 370 2022 268 730 2 392 46 506 51 893 54 666 55 561 57 367 345 21 March 2023. One kindergarten has been added in Oslo. Explanation of symbolsDownload table as ... - Children in kindergartens by hours of attendance per week and different age groupsDownload table as ...Children in kindergartens by hours of attendance per week and different age groups
Total 0-8 hours per week 9-16 hours per week 17-24 hours per week 25-32 hours per week 33-40 hours per week 41 hours and over per week Percentage in different age groups All age groups 268 730 6 65 368 2 000 3 902 262 389 0 year 2 392 1 1 12 43 31 2 304 4.6 1 year 46 506 1 9 118 560 741 45 077 81.0 2 year 51 893 0 14 80 440 786 50 573 94.7 3 year 54 666 1 14 59 378 730 53 484 96.8 4 year 55 561 1 17 54 312 810 54 367 97.2 5 year 57 367 2 10 45 267 799 56 244 97.4 6 year 345 0 0 0 0 5 340 0-5 years 268 385 6 65 368 2 000 3 897 262 049 79.7 1-5 years 265 993 5 64 356 1 957 3 866 259 745 93.4 1-2 years 98 399 1 23 198 1 000 1 527 95 650 87.7 3-5 years 167 594 4 41 158 957 2 339 164 095 97.2 21 March 2023. One kindergarten has been added in Oslo. Explanation of symbolsDownload table as ... - Persons employed and man-years by employment position in kindergartens.Download table as ...Persons employed and man-years by employment position in kindergartens.
2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 All positions Employees 95 706 95 201 95 909 96 744 96 098 Man-years 78 115 77 447 77 700 78 055 77 101 Directors Employees 5 743 5 851 5 980 6 054 6 198 Man-years 4 648 4 704 4 739 4 786 4 783 Educational leaders Employees 31 387 31 323 31 538 31 694 31 249 Man-years 29 277 29 179 29 370 29 476 28 971 Bilingual assistants Employees 779 927 1 035 1 200 1 347 Man-years 267 286 317 358 399 Other primary functions Employees 40 225 39 829 40 325 40 873 40 675 Man-years 35 230 34 748 35 023 35 368 35 165 Other educational personnel Employees 9 260 8 922 8 487 8 315 7 698 Man-years 5 658 5 443 5 119 4 945 4 565 Office staff Employees 1 152 1 166 1 213 1 244 1 453 Man-years 367 379 399 411 459 Other paid help Employees 7 180 7 189 7 334 7 364 7 478 Man-years 2 684 2 708 2 735 2 711 2 760 21 March 2023. One kindergarten has been added in Oslo. Explanation of symbolsDownload table as ... - Persons employed in kindergartens, by employment position and sexDownload table as ...Persons employed in kindergartens, by employment position and sex
2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 Total number of persons employed 95 706 95 201 95 909 96 744 96 098 Females 83 899 83 524 84 388 85 230 84 773 Males 11 807 11 677 11 521 11 514 11 325 Directors 5 743 5 851 5 980 6 054 6 198 Females 5 161 5 283 5 418 5 539 5 674 Males 582 568 562 515 524 Educational leaders 31 387 31 323 31 538 31 694 31 249 Females 28 194 28 154 28 461 28 736 28 477 Males 3 193 3 169 3 077 2 958 2 772 Other primary functions 40 225 39 829 40 325 40 873 40 675 Females 36 088 35 801 36 306 36 743 36 632 Males 4 137 4 028 4 019 4 130 4 043 Bilingual assistants 779 927 1 035 1 200 1 347 Females 728 861 943 1 095 1 241 Males 51 66 92 105 106 Other educational personal 9 260 8 922 8 487 8 315 7 698 Females 8 578 8 286 7 947 7 765 7 200 Males 682 636 540 550 498 Office staff 1 152 1 166 1 213 1 244 1 453 Females 951 964 1 000 1 026 1 206 Males 201 202 213 218 247 Other paid help 7 180 7 189 7 334 7 364 7 478 Females 4 219 4 180 4 315 4 326 4 343 Males 2 961 3 009 3 019 3 038 3 135 21 March 2023. One kindergarten has been added in Oslo. Explanation of symbolsDownload table as ... - Persons employed in kindergartens, by position and qualificationsDownload table as ...Persons employed in kindergartens, by position and qualifications
2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 Total number of persons employed 95 706 95 201 95 909 96 744 96 098 Directors 5 743 5 851 5 980 6 054 6 198 with pre-school teatcher education 5 186 5 255 5 378 5 478 5 639 with other college education that gives qualifications for working with children 527 553 562 431 438 with vocational training 4 4 6 12 11 Educational leaders 31 387 31 323 31 538 31 694 31 249 with pre-school teatcher education 28 315 28 431 28 365 27 984 27 086 with other college education that gives qualifications for working with children 822 928 905 1 002 826 with vocational training 896 647 736 973 1 163 Other primary functions 40 225 39 829 40 325 40 873 40 675 with pre-school teatcher education 330 297 293 264 with other college education that gives qualifications for working with children 944 852 874 848 other college education 1 079 1 101 1 151 1 163 skilled worker training 18 654 18 646 18 216 17 576 other background 19 218 18 933 19 791 21 022 Bilingual assistants 779 927 1 035 1 200 1 347 with pre-school teatcher education 178 207 203 255 307 with other college education that gives qualifications for working with children 11 8 6 9 10 with vocational training 108 120 135 119 113 Other educational personal 9 260 8 922 8 487 8 315 7 698 with pre-school teatcher education 2 402 2 431 2 271 2 373 2 255 with other college education that gives qualifications for working with children 140 135 138 140 118 with vocational training 1 469 1 453 1 360 1 248 1 061 Office staff 1 152 1 166 1 213 1 244 1 453 Other paid help 7 180 7 189 7 334 7 364 7 478 21 March 2023. One kindergarten has been added in Oslo. Explanation of symbolsDownload table as ...
More figures from this statistics
About the statistics
The purpose of the statistics is to provide information about the status of kindergartens and employees in kindergartens. Information reported by the kindergartens also forms background for state subsidies payments, as well as supervisions according to the Day Care Institutions Act and other regulations.
According to the Day Care Institutions Act, a kindergarten is defined as an approved educational establishment organized for children below the age of compulsory education. The Ministry of Education and Research determines regulations and guidelines for kindergartens, while municipalities issue the approvals.
A family day-care centre is a type of kindergarten that organizes its activities in a private home, based on the premise that a kindergarten teacher is employed as an educational supervisor. The kindergarten teacher should either be attached to an ordinary kindergarten or the municipal administration. The regulation on family day-care centres states that at least half of the children in a family day-care institution group must be other than the home's own children.
Open kindergartens do not have a set group of children. They are open to children accompanied by parents for playing and social gathering. The estimated number of children attending open kindergartens refers to the number of children who can visit the kindergarten at the same time. From 1999 and onwards, the number of children in open kindergartens is not included in the total number of children in kindergartens. Hence the number of children is not directly comparable before and after the change.
Man-year refers to a full-time employee (37.5 hours per week) for a year.
Children in kindergartens refers to the total number of children who have a place regardless of weekly attendance.
Age of children is given as of year-end.
Attendance refers to agreed attendance not actual attendance.
Coverage is the percentage of children in kindergarten relative to the total number of children in the corresponding cohorts.
Linguistic and cultural minorities are children with ethnic languages and cultural backgrounds other than Norwegian, Sami, Swedish, Danish or English.
Part-time attendance in kindergartens : Children with agreed attendance hours within the categories of 0-8 hours, 9-16 hours, 17-24 hours or 25-32 hours per week.
Full-time attendance in kindergartens : Children with agreed attendance hours within the categories of 33-40 hours or 41 hours or more per week.
Public kindergartens : Kindergartens owned by the municipal, county municipal or state authorities.
Private kindergartens : Privately owned kindergartens, including privately owned kindergartens receiving subsidies from the municipality.
Non-municipal kindergartens: County municipal, state or privately owned kindergartens.
Name: Kindergartens
Topic: Education
Division for Education and Culture Statistics
The statistics are published on national, county and municipal level.
Annual reports as of 15 December. Final figures are published in March. In addition, KOSTRA preliminary figures are published 15 March and final figures are published 15 June.
Some data are delivered to OECD, UNESCO and Eurostat.
All statistics about kindergartens at Statistics Norway is stored in a proper, standardized manner in consultation with the Data Inspectorate. Primary data and information on sample units are stored temporarily in the programming language SAS, and stored permanently as text-files.
Kindergarten statistics were first collected in 1963, and have been developed since then. The purpose of the statistics is to provide information about the status of kindergartens and employees in kindergartens. Information reported by the kindergartens also forms background for state subsidies payments, and supervisions according to the Day Care Institutions Act and other regulations.
Important users of the kindergarten statistics are the Ministry of Education and Research, municipal authorities, county governors, researchers and media.
No external users have access to the statistics and analyses before they are published and accessible simultaneously for all users on www.ssb.no at 08.00 am. Prior to this, a minimum of three months' advance notice is given in the Statistics Release Calendar. This is one of Statistics Norway’s key principles for ensuring that all users are treated equally.
The statistics are relevant to other statistics produced by Statistics Norway i.e. KOSTRA,national accounts, account statistics for private kindergartens, and others. Comparable statistics can be found at the website of the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training (UDIR)
The information is collected by the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training (UDIR) under the authority of the Day Care Institutions Act, section 48. Statistics Norway uses the reports to produce official statistics under the authority of the Statistics Act of 21 June 2019 No. 32 relating to official statistics and Statistics Norway § 10.
Not relevant.
The statistics include all approved kindergartens of any form of ownership; municipal, county, state and private owned kindergartens. Information about children in kindergarten, institutions, persons employed and man-years worked is some of the data that is collected.
Some of the information that is collected is age, attendance per week in ordinary kindergartens, family day-care centres and number of children attending open kindergartens. The statistics also include the number of children relative to the number of employees/man-years and the percentage of children in kindergarten relative to the total number of children in the corresponding cohorts.
Furthermore, data regarding the number of children that are given priority because of handicap, the number of children that are allocated extra resources and the number of children who receive training in their mother tongue is collected.
Employees and man-years are distributed by category of employment position, education and ownership. Employees are also distributed by gender.
The statistics are based on data that is compiled electronically through BASIL by the forms "Annual reports for kindergartens as of 15 December".
All approved kindergartens under the Day Care Institutions Act that receive subsidies are in the sample.
The web solution presently in use for the data collection is called BASIL (BArnehage-Statistikk-InnrapporteringsLøsning) and is owned by the Ministry of Education and Research. Username and password is sent to every kindergarten 1 December and the Annual reports for kindergartens are reported by 15 December, with a response deadline of four weeks.
The electronic forms have several checks active during the registration process. The information is also controlled and edited by the corresponding county governors and by Statistics Norway before data are aggregated and published. The controls are based on coherence between data and comparison to prior years.
Not relevant
The statistics are not published on institutional level.
The compulsory schooling in Norway was extended from 9 to 10 years in 1997, which meant that 6-year-olds were enrolled in primary schools instead of kindergartens. This shift means that some time series like percentage of children attending kindergartens will have a break .
The categories of levels of attendance hours were changed from 1999. This was done because of the introduction of cash benefits for parents with small children 1-3 years old that are not attending kindergarten full-time. The former five categories were substituted by six new categories. The definition of full-time attendance in kindergarten was changed from 32 week-hours and more to 33 week-hours and more.
Children in open kindergartens were reported separately from 1999. Earlier they were reported among children in other types of kindergartens. While the statistics prior to 1999 included children in open kindergartens, the shift that was made in 1999 has enabled Statistics Norway to separate between:
- The number of children in ordinary kindergartens (excluding children in open kindergartens, thus not directly comparable to earlier figures of total number of children in kindergartens)
- The number of children with an offer of admission in kindergartens (including children in open kindergartens, thus directly comparable to earlier figures of total number of children in kindergartens)
Due to changes in the collection of educational background that were introduced in 2016, the figures are not directly comparable with previous years.
Errors may occur during completion of the forms in the kindergartens or by the municipal authorities. Most errors are discovered and corrected by manual or automatic controls, some errors may still occur.
This is a fullscale collection, and the response rate is equal to 100 per cent.
Analyses, articles and publications
Booklets: Key figures 2019 / 7 January 2021Facts about education in Norway 2021The Facts about education publication includes most of the figures on education in Norway – from kindergarten to university.
Artikkel / 9 May 2019Norway spends the most on the little onesThe annual costs per child in kindergarten is greater in Norway than in the other Nordic countries. Finland spends the least, but the OECD average is far less.