More Than 4,800 Children Await a Place in Macedonia’s Public Kindergartens

In October 2025, a total of 4,894 children were on waiting lists to enroll in Macedonia’s public kindergartens. Meanwhile, to achieve the national target of 65 percent coverage by 2032, the country needs around 19,000 new places. More than 79,000 children aged 0 to 6 remain outside preschool education.

UNICEF data show that the shortage is not merely a matter of overcrowded kindergartens in Skopje and major urban centers. In other parts of the country, particularly in small municipalities and rural areas, preschool services are so limited that large waiting lists do not even form.

The analysis clarifies that the figure of more than 79,000 children does not represent the number waiting for a kindergarten place. It refers to children aged 0 to 6 who are not enrolled in preschool education at all. Around 19,000 additional places are needed to reach the targeted coverage level of 65 percent by 2032.

According to statistics for 2024, there were 127,441 children aged 0 to 6 living in Macedonia, while 40,530 were enrolled in preschool institutions. This leaves current coverage significantly below the target set for the next six years.

The expansion of public capacity is progressing slowly. From 2020 to 2025, public kindergartens added an average of around 833 places per year. If this pace continues, UNICEF projections estimate that creating the required 19,000 places will take more than two decades.

Building and expanding public infrastructure would require more than €100 million. For this reason, alongside new investments, authorities are also considering adapting existing facilities, involving private kindergartens, and providing co-financing for certain families.

The distribution of children on waiting lists varies from one municipality to another. Data from October 2025 rank Bitola first, with 1,046 children waiting for a place.

However, the number of applicants on waiting lists does not fully reflect the problem. In some small and rural municipalities, preschool services are not sufficiently developed to generate long waiting lists.

UNICEF notes that coverage is below 10 percent in some municipalities, while in certain rural areas not a single child is enrolled in preschool education.

As a result, the country faces two different situations: in urban areas, parents may wait months or years for a place, while in smaller municipalities preschool services are almost entirely absent.

To increase capacity without waiting for new kindergartens to be built, the Ministry of Social Policy, Demography and Youth has launched a public call that will remain open until September 30, 2026. Through it, municipalities can apply for grants to renovate, adapt and equip schools or other unused municipal spaces, with the aim of converting them into preschool facilities.