New data from UNESCO’s 2026 Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report reveals that the Dominican Republic has made extraordinary strides in expanding access to early childhood education over the past decade. As of 2024, just one year before the official age for primary school enrollment, 93% of eligible children in the country now access pre-primary education – a sharp increase from the 86% coverage rate recorded back in 2015. This seven-percentage-point jump marks one of the most meaningful expansions of early learning access in the Latin American and Caribbean region in recent years. Beyond pre-primary progress, the report also documents notable gains in upper secondary school completion, placing the Dominican Republic ahead of many neighboring nations in this key education metric.
What stands out as one of the most groundbreaking achievements for the country is its success in erasing socioeconomic disparities in pre-primary education access. Between 2000 and 2024, the Dominican Republic became one of only a handful of nations across the region to fully close the participation gap separating children from the poorest and wealthiest households in the year leading up to primary school. When compared regionally, the Dominican Republic’s 93% pre-primary coverage rate puts it on par with Brazil, and just one percentage point behind Argentina, which holds a 94% coverage rate. It also outperforms a long list of regional peers, including El Salvador (85%), Guatemala (84%), Panama (77%), Paraguay (75%) and Honduras (59%). The GEM 2026 report characterizes the 2015–2024 decade as a period of unprecedented transformation for the Dominican education system, with major advances recorded across three core pillars: broader school access, higher completion rates, and improved educational equity.
Even with these notable wins, the report does not shy away from highlighting ongoing challenges that require urgent attention. Learning outcomes in reading and mathematics at the primary education level remain a persistent weak spot for the country, and improving these results is critical for the Dominican Republic to meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4). SDG 4 sets a global target of delivering inclusive, equitable, quality education for all learners by 2030. For its part, the Dominican government has already framed early childhood education and improved learning outcomes as top national priorities. Officials have committed to sustained investment in the country’s education system, with the goal of guaranteeing that all children gain access to stronger educational opportunities from the very start of their academic careers.