Indicator 4.2.a, b All-day care provision for children

4.2.a, b All-day care provision for children

These indicators represent the proportion of children in all-day childcare as of the reference date 1 March – relative to all children in the same age group as of 31 December of the previous year. All-day childcare is defined as care contractually agreed for more than seven hours per day. The actual duration of care utilised may differ from the contractual agreement. Care periods of up to seven hours per day – which can also support better work-family reconciliation – are not included. For this topic, care arrangements for children aged six and above are also relevant; additional data on this is provided, for example, by surveys conducted by the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (Kultusministerkonferenz, see final section).

Both children in day-care centres and those in publicly funded childminding are included, provided they do not simultaneously attend a day-care centre or all-day school. The care of school-age children is not considered. Indicator 4.2.a refers to children aged 0 to 2 years, and Indicator 4.2.b to children aged 3 to 5 years.

The data for these indicators is drawn from the annual statistics of the Federal Statistical Office on children and staff in child day-care centres and publicly funded childminding.

In 2024, 20.0% of children under the age of three (nursery age) and 47.0% of children aged three to five (pre-school age) had a contractually agreed all-day childcare arrangement in a day-care centre or through childminding. This means that since 2006 (6.5%), the proportion of children under three in all-day care has more than tripled, and for those aged three to five (22.1%), more than doubled. Since around 2015 (18.1% and 43.9%, respectively), the rate of increase has slowed considerably. For children aged three to five, the proportions have even declined slightly since 2020.

In absolute terms, the number of children under six receiving all-day care in child day-care centres or through childminding amounted to 1.61 million in 2024. Additionally, around 1.48 million children under six had a contractually agreed part-time care arrangement of up to seven hours per day.

In 2023, 29% of children under six cared for in child day-care centres or in publicly funded childminding had a migration background – that is, at least one parent was of foreign origin. The care rate in this group was 50%, compared to 72% for children without a migration background.

A clear divide remains between the former West Germany and the new federal states in terms of all-day childcare provision. Among children aged 0 to 2, care rates in the new Länder ranged from 39.2% (Brandenburg) to 53.9% (Thüringen), while in the former West German states they ranged from 10.9% (Bayern) to 28.7% (Saarland). A similar pattern is evident for children aged 3 to 5: in the new Länder, rates ranged from 64.8% (Brandenburg) to 91.9% (Thüringen), whereas in the former West German states they ranged from 23.3% (Baden-Württemberg) to 63.8% (Saarland).

Childcare for school-age children is also significantly shaped by after-school care centres (Horte) and all-day schools. In 2024, 15,889 children aged 5 to 13 were in all-day care at after-school centres, and 534,491 in part-time care (excluding lesson time). In the 2023/2024 school year, the proportion of pupils attending all-day education at general education schools was 48.9%, across all school types – including pupils older than 13. At primary schools, 50.0% of children received all-day care in the same school year.

Compared to 2006, the number of pupils in all-day schooling rose significantly in 2024 – from just under 1.5 million to 3.8 million at general education schools overall, and from 0.4 million to 1.5 million at primary schools.