Various investigations from around the world have shown that education before primary school is related with children’s success in school. In any case, few governments make tuition-free pre-primary education accessible for two or more years, as indicated by another investigation by the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health’s WORLD Policy Analysis Center.

“We know from previous research that early childhood education especially benefits children from low-income families,” said Alison Earle, a co-author of the study and a senior research analyst at the center. “We also know that one of the greatest barriers to enrollment in pre-primary education is the tuition. Making pre-primary education available at no cost is a critical element in efforts to reduce educational and economic inequalities.”

For the study, analysts surveyed information from 166 nations. They reported that 45 percent of the nations give at least one year of tuition-free pre-primary education, and only 27 percent of the nations offer two or more years. Just 19 percent give tuition-free pre-primary education and make it compulsory.