ECEC place guarantee

ECEC for children under 3 years old

There is no legal guarantee to a place in early childhood education and care (ECEC) for children under the age of three. Although attendance is not mandatory, the provision for children under 3 years old has increased considerably in recent years, particularly in terms of crèches. 

In 2023, average crèches network coverage for children up to three years old was 55.2% in mainland Portugal [Gabinete de Estratégia e Planeamento (GEP)/Ministry of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security (MTSSS - Carta Social 2023)]. However, the coverage is uneven throughout the country. The supply levels of districts such as Lisboa and Porto do not meet the needs of the resident population. The average attendance rate in 2023 was 48.1% of all children under the age of 3. 

Source: Gabinete de Estratégia e Planeamento (GEP-MTSSS), Social Charter. Notes: (1) The coverage rates for 2021 have been revised following the revision of the 2021 Resident Population Estimates (INE), based on the final results of the 2021 Census. (2) The coverage rates for 2022 have been revised following the revision of the 2022 Resident Population Estimates, published by INE on 18 June 2024.

Under the "Happy Creche" programme, which was promoted by the Ministry of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security (MTSSS), children born on or after 1 September, 2021 are guaranteed free attendance and childminding, including food, hygiene, learning, play and motor skills activities, registration, insurance and extended hours. This measure was gradually rolled out and, since 2024, all children up to the age of 3 who enter the first year of nursery school or go on to the 2nd and 3rd year are entitled to free early childhood education and care attendance, regardless of the type of provider (Law No. 2/2022 3 September 2022). Law No. 2/2022, 3 January, Ministerial Order No. 198/2022, 27 July, Ordinance No. 304/2022, 22 December, Ordinance No. 305/2022, 22 December, Ordinance No. 426/2023, 11 December). 

ECEC for children aged 3 years and over

Pre-primary education is designed for children from the age of three. The Portuguese authorities guarantee access to pre-primary school for children from the age of three, for the last two years of ECEC (ISCED 020). That said,  in some urban areas, demand often outstrips supply, leaving few places available. The legal entitlement to ECEC was extended to the age of three by Legislative Order No 6/2018, 12 April, in its updated wording and republication: "attending pre-school education is optional and designed primarily for those children between three years old and the age pupils start the 1st cycle of basic education". 

According to Law No. 5/97, 10 February, it is the state's responsibility to contribute to making pre-school education widespread. In 2025, Law No 22/2025, 4 March enshrined the universality of pre-school education for all children, from the year they reach the age of 3. This universality implies that the state has a duty to provide a pre-school education network that allows all the children entitled to it can enrol and attend free of charge.

Currently, Portugal is making major efforts to provide enough places for the last three years of ECEC in all areas of the country, guaranteeing universal pre-primary education in line with the law. In 2023/2024, pre-primary attendance rates in Portugal were the following:

• 83.8% at three years old
• 96.9% at four years old
• 99.8% at five years old.

[Source: Educação em Números - Portugal 2025, DGEEC - Directorate-General for Education and Science Statistics (2025).]

ECEC affordability

ECEC for children under 3 years old

Within the right to free attendance for all children up to the age of 3, regardless of the type of provider (Ministerial Order No. 426/2023, 11 December), families can choose which crèche their child will attend. If there are no places available in a private non-profit facility, they may choose a crèche in the private-for-profit sector, provided it is a member of the ‘Creche Feliz’ Programme. Free childcare applies for the duration of the child’s attendance at the crèche or in the care of a childminder and includes all activities and services, meals, the registration process and insurance, as well as attendance during extended hours and weekly extensions (Ordinance No. 305/2022, 22 December).

ECEC provision for children under the age of three is mainly provided by private non-profit organisations, such as Private Social Solidarity Institutions (IPSS) or legally equivalent institutions, through cooperation agreements with the Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Social Solidarity (MTSSS), and by private for-profit organisations with an operating licence approved by that Ministry. In 2023, there were 2 587 registered nurseries in mainland Portugal, 76.2% of which were owned by private non-profit organisations (GEP-MTSSS, Social Charter 2023). The amount of the monthly fees is not regulated, but there is a fixed state subsidy per child. Under the free attendance scheme (Programa Creche Feliz), the state subsidy per child paid to providers was €473 in 2024, updated to €515,90 in 2025. 

Source: Gabinete de Estratégia e Planeamento (GEP-MTSSS), Social Charter 2023. 

ECEC for children aged 3 years and over

The public and private not-for-profit pre-primary schools that children attend from age three are free of charge for 25 hours a week. Parents’ and guardians’ contributions to the cost of family support services (which includes lunch and extra hours after the teaching component) in pre-primary settings is regulated by Joint Order No. 300/97, 4 September. Subsidies are established annually via specific legislation and families’ contributions are calculated according to income.

To ensure that the daily five-hour teaching component (i.e., 25 hours a week) ministered by pre-primary teachers is free, there has been a strategy of consolidating partnerships via cooperation protocols between the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (MECI), the Ministry of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security (MTSSS), the Private Institution of Social Solidarity Union (UIPSS),  Portuguese Charities Union (UMP) and the Portuguese Mutual Societies Union. As such, children who attend both the public network and the private publicly funded ECEC (IPSS) are entitled to education and access to out of hours provision and family support, providing meals and an extended timetable beyond the five daily teaching hours (Article 16, Pre-Primary Education Framework Law, Article 12 of Law No. 5/97, 10 February).

Once financial support is established, agreements can be signed between the state and institutions, in the case of the private not-for-profit network, and between these and the local authorities, in the case of the public network. In most cases, the transport of children (family home) is paid for by the local authorities. The costs families incur with ECEC fees for children of all ages are tax deductible.

On the private for-profit network (private and cooperative institutions) families pay a monthly fee, although they may receive financial help, depending on family support contracts and their income. In some for-profit private institutions, families pay a monthly fee without any financial help from the State (i.e. these are fully independent institutions).

IIn the 2023/2024 school year, from a total of 269 616 children enrolled in pre-primary education, 147 136 (54.6%) were attending the public network; 122 418 (45.4%) children were enrolled in private, pre-primary, for-profit schools. These percentages are identical to those registered in previous school years.

This means that although most children in pre-primary education are enrolled in public network, the private network, particularly government-dependent private network formed by the IPSS, assume a relevant weight in the provision for this level of education. 

Pre-school education – Children enrolled, by age, network and nature of educational institution – Portugal (2023/2024)

Source: Estatísticas da Educação 2023/2024, DGEEC - Directorate-General for Education and Science Statistics (2025).

Children enrolled in pre-school education, according to the nature of the establishment, by NUTS II – Portugal (2023/2024)

Source: Estatísticas da Educação 2023/2024, DGEEC - Directorate-General for Education and Science Statistics (2025). Legend: Ensino público - public education; Ensino privado dependente do Estado - State-dependent private education; Ensino privado independente - independent private education.

Children enrolled in pre-school education, by type of establishment and age - Portugal (2023/2024)

Source: Estatísticas da Educação 2023/2024, DGEEC - Directorate-General for Education and Science Statistics (2025). Legend: Ensino público - public education; Ensino privado dependente do Estado - State-dependent private education; Ensino privado independente - independent private education.

For more detailed information regarding the distribution of children in state-dependent private kindergartens and independent private kindergartens, see Pupil Profile: Perfil do Aluno: Continente 2023/2024, DGEEC - Direção-Geral de Estatísticas da Educação e Ciência (2025).