👩‍🍼 Childcare Cost ($/month) in Georgia

Childcare Costs in Georgia

Georgia now sits in the middle of the global childcare-cost ranking. The current measured value is 279.55 USD per month, producing a score of 50 after the indicator was recalculated so that the lowest-cost country receives 100 points. Behind this national value lies a fragmented system with substantial differences in quality and availability between the capital Tbilisi and rural regions.

Public Kindergartens: Affordable but Overstretched

The backbone of early childhood care consists of municipal kindergartens, known in Georgian as sabavshvo baghi. In Tbilisi, the approximately 160 municipal facilities have been either free or charging symbolic fees of 50–100 GEL per month (roughly 17–35 USD) since a Tbilisi City Hall decision in 2013. The subsidy comes from the city budget, which allocates approximately 80 million GEL annually for early childhood education. Kutaisi and Batumi operate comparable municipal programs, though with less capacity and sometimes lower-quality facilities.

The problem is demand: in central Tbilisi neighborhoods like Vake, Saburtalo, and Vera, waiting times for a municipal kindergarten place often range from 6 to 12 months. Parents need to register immediately after birth to have realistic chances. The educator-to-child ratio in public facilities stands at 1:15 to 1:20 — far removed from the OECD recommendation (1:4 for children under 3) and the ratios typical in countries like Canada or Australia, which generally range from 1:4 to 1:8 depending on age group and province.

Private Childcare: Better Quality, Higher Costs

Those seeking higher-quality care or multilingual programs turn to private facilities. In Tbilisi, monthly costs for private kindergartens range between 500 and 1,500 GEL (175–525 USD), depending on the neighborhood and pedagogical approach. Facilities offering English-language or multilingual programs — relevant for expat families — start at 800–1,000 GEL monthly. In Batumi, private kindergarten prices run lower at 300–700 GEL, while Kutaisi and Rustavi are cheaper still.

In the United States, average annual childcare costs exceed 10,000 USD per child, with major metro areas like New York City or San Francisco reaching 20,000–25,000 USD. In the United Kingdom, nursery fees average 1,000–1,500 GBP per month. Canada varies widely by province, with Ontario averaging 1,200–1,500 CAD monthly before subsidies. Australia's average stands at roughly 500–600 AUD per week for full-time center-based care. Even at the upper end of private childcare in Tbilisi, a family pays less than for average care in any of these countries.

Rural Regions: A Care Gap

Outside the cities, the situation looks fundamentally different. In rural communities across Kakheti, Samtskhe-Javakheti, or Racha-Lechkhumi, there is frequently no childcare facility within a 20-kilometer radius. Families depend on grandparents or informal neighborhood networks. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) provided a loan of 50 million USD between 2019 and 2023 for building over 40 new kindergarten buildings in Tbilisi, though rural regions benefit little from this. The National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement (NCEQE) has been working since 2022 on pilot projects for mobile care units in remote communities, so far with limited reach.

Quality and Oversight

The Georgian Ministry of Education, Science and Youth introduced national standards for early childhood education (Adreuli da Skolis curriculum) in 2017, but enforcement remains patchy. Private facilities must obtain licenses, yet systematic quality controls comparable to those in the US, UK, or Australian regulatory frameworks do not exist. UNICEF Georgia has supported a pilot project since 2020 to improve educator training in five regions. Salaries for educators in state kindergartens stand at 600–800 GEL monthly (210–280 USD) — making recruitment of qualified staff considerably difficult.

Practical Tips for Relocating Families

Families with young children should apply for a municipal kindergarten place through the Tbilisi City Hall portal early — ideally before arriving. Registration requires a Georgian personal number (pirad-noberi), obtained through the Public Service Hall. Those unable or unwilling to wait on the waitlist should budget 500–1,000 GEL monthly for a private facility. In Batumi, the placement situation is more relaxed, though the selection of international kindergartens is smaller.

The updated monthly value primarily reflects private full-day preschool and kindergarten costs rather than the cheapest municipal option. Actual expenses depend heavily on location and quality expectations. Tbilisi offers a broad spectrum; in the countryside, formal childcare is often entirely absent.

Sources

• Numbeo - private full-day preschool or kindergarten per child per month
• Geostat - education and preschool statistics for Georgia
• UNICEF Georgia - education and early childhood

This article was created on April 19, 2026