Hong Kong Kindergarten Numbers Fall for Fifth Year as Tsuen Wan and Wong Tai Sin Intake Shrinks

Smaller Classes Put More Kindergartens Under Pressure

Hong Kong's latest Kindergarten Profile lists about 930 schools, down from about 970 in the previous edition and roughly 1,050 in 2021, as a shrinking population of young children puts more preschools under financial pressure. The number listed has fallen for five consecutive years.

The strain is especially widespread in Tsuen Wan and Wong Tai Sin. Among kindergartens participating in the government's Kindergarten Education Scheme, 86.2% of those examined in Tsuen Wan had fewer children in Kindergarten One, or K1, than in Kindergarten Two, or K2. The proportion in Wong Tai Sin was 73.7%.

The comparison uses enrolment recorded in September 2025. K1 is the first year of kindergarten, while K2 is the second. Comparing the two groups shows whether the newest intake is smaller than the older group moving through the same school.

A review of 134 participating kindergartens across Tsuen Wan, Wong Tai Sin, Eastern district and Islands district found smaller incoming classes across much of the sector. In Tsuen Wan, 25 of the 29 schools examined had fewer K1 than K2 pupils. At one school, the difference reached 42 children.

For families, the figures describe a changing map of preschool provision. Some neighbourhoods have fewer young children to fill existing classrooms, while schools must continue paying teachers, rent and other operating expenses. Government support tied to pupil numbers makes a smaller intake a financial problem as well as an educational one.

Where the Decline Is Steepest

Figures in a Legislative Council document show that the kindergarten pupil population fell in every Hong Kong district during the preceding school year. Four districts recorded declines exceeding 10%, led by Tsuen Wan.

Tsuen Wan lost 235 pupils, bringing its total to 1,267, a decline of 15.6%. Wong Tai Sin recorded a fall of 15.2%, followed by Eastern district at 12.3% and Islands district at 11.4%. Sai Kung had the smallest decrease, losing nine pupils to reach 2,114, down 0.4%.

The school level figures show how widely the pressure is spread within those districts. Alongside Tsuen Wan and Wong Tai Sin, 62.8% of the participating kindergartens examined in Eastern district had smaller K1 than K2 classes. In Islands district, the proportion was 66.7%.

These percentages count schools, while the district population figures count children. Together, they show both the scale of the population decline and how many schools face a smaller incoming class. Tsuen Wan stands out on both measures.

A Pattern Extending Beyond Four Districts

Kwai Tsing and Kwun Tong had already shown similar pressure in an earlier examination of enrolment accompanying the 2025/26 Kindergarten Profile. That review covered 186 schools participating in the Kindergarten Education Scheme across four districts with substantial declines in their young pupil populations.

In Kwai Tsing, 81.5% of the kindergartens examined recorded lower K1 enrolment. The corresponding proportion in Kwun Tong was 76.1%. The earlier findings and the latest figures place several established urban districts under sustained admissions pressure.

A principal in Kwai Tsing attributed some of the difficulty to the location of new housing. New estates were concentrated in other districts, the principal said, drawing population away from older neighbourhoods and increasing competition for the children who remained.

Hong Kong therefore faces two connected problems: fewer young children across the city and an uneven distribution of families between neighbourhoods. A school in an ageing district can struggle to recruit even when another area needs preschool places.

How the School Network Has Contracted

The Kindergarten Profile has recorded a steady reduction in the number of schools listed. The latest total of about 930 is roughly 120 below the approximately 1,050 listed in 2021, a decrease of about 11%. These are approximate counts published in successive editions.

The chronology shows how the contraction has developed:

• 2021: The Kindergarten Profile listed about 1,050 kindergartens.
• October 14, 2024: The newly released edition listed about 990, approximately 20 fewer than the preceding edition.
• 2025/26 edition: About 970 kindergartens were listed.
• Latest edition: About 930 were listed, with school enrolment information from September 2025.

Government budget estimates also recorded a contraction, showing kindergarten numbers falling from 1,009 to 980 and 29 closures before the 2024/25 school year. Eight of those schools participated in the subsidy scheme; the other 21 were private local kindergartens or schools offering a curriculum from outside Hong Kong.

The budget count of 980 and the profile count of about 970 appeared in different government publications. The budget series put the peak at 1,049 schools in 2019, followed by a net reduction of 69 over five years. The 29 closures represented the largest annual fall in that series since figures became available in 2013.

Why Fewer Births Reach Classrooms Years Later

Hong Kong recorded 32,500 births in 2022, a record low at the time. Children can enter K1 from the age of two years and eight months, so that small birth cohort began reaching kindergarten entry age in 2025.

The decline had already been building. Births in 2020 fell 19% from the preceding year, followed by a further 14% fall in 2021. Each smaller group then moved towards preschool age, reducing the pool of potential applicants several years after the births were recorded.

Births increased to about 33,200 in 2023. Another 33,500 were recorded during the first 11 months of 2024. Schools still had to accommodate the smaller cohorts already approaching admission age, while births in 2022 and 2023 were about 40% below levels before the social unrest and pandemic.

Budget estimates projected kindergarten enrolment falling from 125,400 in 2024/25 to 115,100 in September 2025. That would mean 10,300 fewer pupils, a decline of about 8%. The same estimates projected decreases of about 1% in primary and secondary enrolment, placing the sharper immediate pressure on preschools.

When a Smaller Intake Threatens Survival

Nancy Lam Chui-ling, a kindergarten principal and vice-chairwoman of the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, warned during the 2024/25 school year that about 40 kindergartens could close by its end. The Education Bureau's assessment as of December 2024 identified 10 expected closures during or by the end of that school year and one application to register a kindergarten. A final total was not given.

Lam described schools receiving only a handful of applications for their next K1 intake. She said:

Some kindergartens that received four to five applications told me they will be eating into their reserves and closing down.

The Education Bureau said all Hong Kong kindergartens were privately operated and that registrations and closures could reflect factors including profitability and tenancy arrangements. Government subsidies support participating schools, but operators remain responsible for keeping them running.

The subsidy structure makes enrolment especially consequential. In 2024/25, annual grants per pupil were HK$39,200 for sessions lasting half a day, HK$50,960 for a whole day and HK$62,720 for longer whole day provision. Fewer pupils mean less grant income, while costs such as rent cannot necessarily fall at the same pace.

Projected government funding for preschool education in 2025/26 was HK$4.9 billion, down 7%. The budget estimates linked part of that reduction to falling pupil numbers.

Relocation and More Flexible Spending

Education Secretary Christine Choi Yuk-lin pointed to relocation as one response to the mismatch between school locations and demand. The government doubled the relocation grant to HK$3 million in 2022 to help kindergartens move to new premises.

Choi argued that funding alone could not fill classrooms in neighbourhoods with few children. Explaining her preference for moving schools towards demand, she said:

Even if I gave [the schools] three times the subsidies for a pupil, they can hardly admit pupils as there are no children in the ageing areas. So it is better for them to move to new places that have a demand for preschools.

Lam proposed a different form of financial help: allowing schools greater flexibility to use money held in accounts for different session types. She said accounts for sessions lasting half a day often had surpluses, while those for whole day provision faced deficits.

Relocation addresses where children live. Greater spending flexibility would address how an existing school uses its funds. For families using longer sessions, the financial health of that provision matters because it supports care across more of the working day.

Teachers Face an Uncertain Employment Market

Lam said falling enrolment was also discouraging people from entering preschool teaching. A smaller school network offers fewer potential employers, while shrinking classes can make existing posts less secure.

Speaking as a principal and union leader, she described the effect on recruitment:

No one wants to enter our field, which has no future. They prefer going into other sectors that can offer stable jobs and salary increases. The crux of the matter is the insufficient number of babies in Hong Kong.

Competition for pupils also varies between schools. Lam said some prominent independent or international preschools continued to attract many applications and maintained long waiting lists. She attributed part of their appeal to curriculum choices that parents associated with admission to popular private or subsidised schools.

Schools offering government subsidised kindergarten education follow the government's curriculum guide. Lam called for greater freedom in course design, while the wider enrolment figures show that schools are competing for a pool of children that has become substantially smaller.

What Families Can Check Beyond Tuition

The Kindergarten Profile gives parents information on approved tuition fees, principals, teacher and pupil numbers, staffing ratios, curricula and support within schools. Participating kindergartens must undergo quality reviews, and the profile records whether reviewed schools have met the required standard, with access to their latest assessment.

Additional charges can make a substantial difference to household costs. The edition released in October 2024 included figures for the preceding school year showing annual miscellaneous charges reaching HK$8,187 at a subsidised Baptist nursery in Sha Tin. Snack charges were HK$3,780, while books, exercise books and related materials cost between HK$2,294 and HK$3,383.

At Happy Creative Kindergarten in Kwun Tong, annual miscellaneous charges reached HK$7,582. Snacks cost between HK$1,800 and HK$2,800, and books and related materials cost HK$2,726. At Alice's English Kindergarten in Tuen Mun, the annual total was HK$6,837, including HK$2,274 for snacks and HK$3,602 for books and related materials.

Those historical figures show why tuition is only one part of the cost of attendance. Families comparing schools also have published information on staffing, support, quality reviews and extra charges to consider alongside the size of an incoming class.

New Arrivals Are Increasing Demand Elsewhere

Education programmes for older children recorded growth while kindergarten numbers declined. Enrolment in induction programmes for newly arrived pupils aged six to 18 rose from 1,040 in 2023/24 to 1,500 in 2024/25, an increase of about 42%. The Education Bureau expected another 1,500 participants in 2025/26.

The bureau attributed the increase to more newly arrived students enrolling during the first six months of 2024/25. These programmes serve children arriving from mainland China and other backgrounds and help them adjust to schooling in Hong Kong.

Summer bridging programmes intended to improve Chinese literacy among pupils who are not Chinese also grew. Participation rose from 1,363 to 1,630, about 20%, with a further increase of 3% projected. The bureau attributed the rise to broader coverage and participation by more schools.

Hong Kong's education system is consequently managing different demands at different ages. Kindergartens are adjusting to smaller birth cohorts, while programmes serving older newcomers have needed more places. For preschool operators, the immediate challenge remains matching classrooms, staff and spending to the children reaching admission age in their neighbourhoods.

Key Points

• The latest Kindergarten Profile lists about 930 schools, compared with about 1,050 in 2021, after five consecutive annual declines.
• In Tsuen Wan, 25 of 29 participating kindergartens examined had fewer K1 than K2 pupils in September 2025.
• Kindergarten pupil populations fell in every district, with Tsuen Wan recording the steepest decline at 15.6%.
• Budget estimates projected preschool enrolment falling from 125,400 to 115,100 in September 2025.
• Schools receive subsidies linked to pupil numbers, making smaller intakes a direct financial concern.
• Relocation grants, spending flexibility, staffing and additional family charges are central issues as the sector contracts.