Afghanistan vs Switzerland
Side-by-side comparison of how these places approach childhood.
Afghanistan
Since 2021, Afghan girls over 12 are banned from attending school.
The Taliban's return ended two decades of progress in girls' education, affecting 1.4 million secondary-school girls.
Switzerland
In Switzerland, children don't learn to read until age 7 โ yet rank among the world's best-educated.
Swiss kindergarten focuses on social skills, nature, and play. Formal literacy instruction begins in first grade at age 7 โ two to three years later than in the UK or US โ yet Swiss adults rank among the most literate globally.
Afghanistan
Since the Taliban takeover in August 2021, girls above grade 6 are banned from school and women from universities. Boys' education continues but with revised curriculum emphasizing religious studies. Before 2021, enrollment had risen from near-zero for girls to 3.5 million.
Switzerland
Education is cantonal โ 26 cantons have different systems. Children enter kindergarten at 4โ5, formal school at 6โ7. At age 12โ15, students are tracked. Only about 20% go directly to university; most enter the world-renowned apprenticeship system.
Planning a move from Afghanistan to Switzerland?
Get a personalised Family Integration Playbook โ your parenting style mapped to your destination's culture.
Get your playbook โ $99