  urlLink EDUCATION INDICATORS: An International Perspective : "In 1992, the enrollment of 5- to 29-year-olds in formal education in the United States was in the mid-range of enrollment in the G-7 countries54 students enrolled per 100 5- to 29-year-olds. In all of the G-7 countries except Italy, approximately 6067 percent of enrollment was in primary and lower secondary education (Indicator 1). Early childhood education. Approximately 29 percent of 3-year-olds in the United States were enrolled in early childhood education in 1992. Corresponding rates for 3-year-olds in the G-7 countries ranged from 23 percent in Japan to 99 percent in France (Indicator 2).
Structural differences in early childhood education systems help to explain these differences. For instance, in the United States, children begin early childhood education as early as age 3, although it is not until age 5 that the vast majority of children are enrolled. In many other countries, children typically begin early childhood education at different ages (e.g., age 2 in France and Belgium, age 4 in the Netherlands, and age 5 in Switzerland). " 
