Early childhood education is mandatory in the country from the age of 4; new indicator shows that 16% of municipalities have a vacancy deficit
Although enrollment in early childhood education units from the age of 4 is mandatory in the country, there are still children out of school. In 16% of municipalities, that is, 876 Brazilian cities, at least 1 in 10 children aged 4 and 5 do not attend daycare centers or preschools.
Inequalities are even greater when taking into account where these municipalities are located. In the North Region, 29%, which corresponds to 130 municipalities, have less than 90% of children enrolled in early childhood education.
The lowest percentage is in the South of the country, with 11% of municipalities with less than 90% of children aged 4 to 5 out of school.
In the Central-West Region there are 21% of the municipalities, or 99; in the Northeast it is 17% (304) and, in the Southeast, 13% (213). The data refers to 2025.
The information comes from the new school attendance indicator at the municipal level, prepared by Iede (Interdisciplinarity and Evidence in the Educational Debate) in a partnership with the Bracell, Itaú, VélezReyes+, Van Leer and IDB (Inter-American Development Bank) foundations. The announcement was made this Wednesday (April 29, 2026).
ENROLLMENTS IN DAY CARE CARE
Brazil’s goal is established by law, in the PNE (National Education Plan), in addition to serving at least 50% of these children among indigenous, quilombola and rural populations.
According to the new proposed indicator, the majority of Brazilian municipalities, 81%, or 4,485, register rates below 60% of children in this age group in early childhood education units. The North Region also has the highest percentage – 94% of municipalities with rates below 60%, or 424 cities.
In other regions, the rates are: 90% in the Central-West; 83% in the Southeast; 81% in the Northeast and 66% in the South, with less than 60% of children up to 3 years old attending daycare centers.
CHILDHOOD EDUCATION IN THE CAPITALS
Among the Brazilian capitals, those that have already managed to universalize care for children aged 4 and 5 in early childhood education units, that is, they serve 100% of these children are Vitória, Curitiba, São Paulo and Belo Horizonte.
Those with the lowest attendance rates are Maceió, with 64.8%; Macapá, with 71.4% and João Pessoa, with 73.4%.
The capitals with the highest percentages of care for babies and children up to 3 years of age are São Paulo, with 72.9% enrolled in early childhood education units, Vitória, with 66.7%, and Belo Horizonte, with 63%. All met above the 60% target established in the PNE for this stage over the next 10 years.
The worst attendance rates are in Macapá, with 9.1% of children attended; Manaus, with 12.8% and Porto Velho, with 16.9%.
INFORMATION FOR MUNICIPALITIES
The new indicator is not official, but according to the organizations responsible for preparing it, it mainly provides more accurate municipal information than is currently available, which can help municipalities guarantee school access.
It is precisely the municipalities, according to the Constitution, that are mainly responsible for offering early childhood education.
Knowing how many children are out of school is important so that an active search can be carried out, finding them and ensuring that they have access to this right, says the executive director of Iede, Ernesto Martins Faria.
“As we are talking about early childhood education, which is the responsibility of the municipalities, we need to give an answer, so that they can see the scenario and actively search for children who should be in school and are not. So, they need data. Even if there may be some inaccuracy, they need guidance. Especially in the scenario in which many Brazilian municipalities have attendance rates much lower than desired”, adds.
Currently, according to Faria, the databases available to monitor attendance at this stage of education have restrictions. The Demographic Census covers all municipalities, but is only carried out every 10 years. Continuous Pnad (Continuous National Household Sample Survey) produces annual data, but limited to the national, state, metropolitan region and capital levels.
The new indicator uses data from the School Census and population projections from IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), released by Datasus, to estimate annual coverage in daycare centers and preschools in all Brazilian municipalities. He also seeks greater precision regarding the age of children.
Officially, IBGE data released in December 2025, referring to 2024, shows that 39.7% of children aged 0 to 3 were enrolled in schools, and 93.5% of those aged 4 to 5.
Having more accurate data at the municipal level shows that school coverage may be even more critical in some locations, which need attention.
“There is still something very relevant to look at in relation to care. Especially for 4 and 5 [anos]which is mandatory. It was a huge step forward for us to aim for this universalization, but there are still very important advances to be made, which is understanding that many municipalities face this access challenge”, says the director.
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
When contacted, the MEC (Ministry of Education) reported that the official indicators used by the department are “safe, precise and consistent” both to monitor compliance with PNE goals and to guide public policy decision-making. The ministry added that cross-checks and analyzes are possible due to the availability of public databases, such as Datasus.
In relation to early childhood education, the MEC says it comes “intensifying actions to support municipalities, directly responsible for early childhood education, in expanding quality access to this stage of education”.
The ministry cites as one of the main instruments the National Commitment for Quality and Equity in Early Childhood Education, which brings together more than 2,500 federated entities.
The MEC also highlights the New PAC (Growth Acceleration Program), which since the beginning of the current administration, has delivered 886 early childhood education units, with an investment of R$1.4 billion.
The New PAC, according to the MEC, will also guarantee 1,684 new daycare centers and early childhood education schools, benefiting 1,438 municipalities, with a total investment of R$7.5 billion. Of this total, 821 units are in progress.
Another priority is the resumption and completion of halted and unfinished works. Of the 1,318 early childhood education units that expressed interest in resuming construction, 904 were approved and 278 were completed. In total, these units have the potential to generate more than 323 thousand new vacancies in 2 shifts, or around 161 thousand full-time vacancies.
“These data demonstrate a change in priority in management, with the expansion of recent investments to provide municipalities with more conditions to open vacancies, guaranteeing full service and acting proactively to overcome the gaps that still exist in Brazilian early childhood education”, states.
This text was originally published by on April 29, 2026. The content is free for republication, the source is cited, and has been adapted to the standard of Poder360.
