Coverage of childcare in the European Union

The ESPN Flash Reports are produced by the European Social Policy Network (ESPN) established in 2014 to provide the European Commission with independent information, analysis and expertise on social policies. The topics presented in the Flash Reports are identified by ESPN experts in the light of significant developments in their countries, or in some cases suggested by the Commission.

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Up to now the best source of comparative data on the proportion of preschool children participating in childcare has been published by the OECD. This Flash Report summarises an analysis of the EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), which provides a better and more up-to-date source of data. It enables comparison to be made between countries, taking account of full-time equivalent and head count enrolment. There are big differences between these in some EU countries.

Author: J. Bradshaw, C. Skinner and W. Van Lancker