UK childcare bills have fallen faster than almost anywhere in the OECD
As the Conservatives propose extending free childcare to high earners, OECD data shows the UK has already gone from one of the most expensive places for working parents to the OECD average in four years.
The numbers behind this chart
| Row | Value (percentage points) |
|---|---|
| Canada | -14 |
| United Kingdom | -10 |
| Ireland | -9 |
| Australia | -6 |
| Norway | -4 |
| OECD average | -2 |
| Estonia | -1 |
| Finland | -1 |
| France | -1 |
| Germany | -1 |
| Japan | -1 |
| Korea | -1 |
| Poland | -1 |
| Spain | -1 |
| Slovakia | +1 |
| Czechia | +2 |
| Latvia | +3 |
The finding
A UK couple both on the average wage with two toddlers in full-time care would have spent 16% of net household income in 2022. By 2026 that falls to 6% of net household income, a drop of 10 percentage points.
Among the OECD countries in this dataset, the UK’s fall is ranked second in size. Only Canada saw a bigger fall, with costs there dropping by 14 percentage points over the same period.
How it compares
On this measure, UK childcare costs in 2026 match the OECD average of 6% of net household income. The OECD average itself fell from 8% of net household income between 2022 and 2026, a smaller change than in the UK, Canada or Ireland, where costs fell by 9 percentage points.
Some countries remain much more expensive. In 2026, the US couple in the same situation still spends 20% of net household income. Yet in 2022 the UK government put 0.458% of GDP into early childhood education and care, below the OECD average of 0.721% of GDP in 2021, the latest year that average covers. All of the costliest countries for childcare in 2022 spent less than that OECD average on early childhood care: 5 countries in total, including the US on 0.288% of GDP and Ireland on 0.276% of GDP.
What this does not show
These are modelled costs for one hypothetical family type, not survey data on what parents actually pay. The scenario assumes two parents on average earnings with two young children in full-time centre-based care, and results will differ for other incomes, ages, hours and family set-ups. The 2026 figures are based on policy rules rather than outturn data, and the public spending numbers mostly pre-date recent reforms, so they show the starting point rather than today’s position.