Childcare in the UK - Statistics & Facts

There were approximately 3.58 million children younger than five years old in the United Kingdom in 2022, which was around 5.3 percent of the population in that year. Among regions of the UK, London had both the highest population of young children in the population at 525,424, and also the highest proportion at 5.9 percent. During the same year there were slightly more males aged 0-4 than females, while the most common single year of age were four-year-old's, of which there were 743,637.

Childcare costs and availability

The cost of childcare in the United Kingdom varies quite significantly depending on the type of care and by the age of the child being looked after. As of 2024, the average weekly cost of 25 hours of nursery care in Great Britain amounted to 157.68 British pounds a week for under twos, 151.72 pounds for two-year-old's, and in England around 63.54 pounds a week for three to four-year olds. Full-time care, measured as being 50 hours a week was naturally more expensive, ranging from 302.10 pounds a week for under twos in Great Britain, to 120.93 pounds for three to four-year old's in England. Childcare in Inner London was a lot more expensive than the rest of the country, with a part-time nursey place for under twos having a weekly cost of just over 218 pounds a week, compared with 125 pounds in Scotland.

Education providers and workforce

In 2023, there were approximately 63,207 registered early years childcare providers in England, providing approximately 1.27 million childcare places. There has been a steady decline in the number of early years education providers in England, with approximately 25,900 fewer providers in 2023 that there were in 2015 when there were over 89,000. The most common type of childcare or education providers were childminders, with around 27,877 of them in 2023, compared with 26,884 non-domestic childcare providers. In terms of workforce, there were around 643,900 people working in childcare professions in the UK in 2023. The most common type of profession was teaching assistants, at 260,900.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by D. Clark, Apr 19, 2024

Key insights

Population of young children (0-4) in the UK 2021
3.58m
Number of childcare providers in England 2023
63,207
Average weekly cost of a full-time nursery place for under twos in Great Britain 2023
285.31 GBP
Get more insights

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Number of nursery schools in the United Kingdom from 2010/11 to 2022/23

Education Level & Skills

Number of nursery schools in the UK 2010-2023

Number of pupils attending nursery schools in the United Kingdom from 2015/16 to 2022/23 (in 1,000s)

Educational Institutions & Market

Number of pupils attending nursery in the UK 2015-2023

Average cost of full-time (50 hours a week) childcare at nurseries in Great Britain in 2024, by region (in GBP)

Educational Institutions & Market

Weekly cost of full-time childcare at nurseries in Great Britain 2024, by region

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