Irish children were the highest percentage of children achieving a good level of development (58.2 per cent), followed by mixed white and Asian children (57.6 per cent) and Indian pupils (56.4 per cent).
Children from Gypsy, Roma or Traveller backgrounds had the lowest scores.
Just over a third of children eligible for free school meals achieved a good level of development, compared with 55 per cent of other children.
Girls are still doing better than boys in 11 out of the 13 assessment areas. In the seven scales of personal, social and emotional development and communication, language and literacy, 25 per cent of boys were in the lowest achieving 20 per cent of pupils, compared with 15 per cent of girls.
Children's minister Dawn Primarolo said the results showed that 23,000 more five-year-olds achieved a good level of development than in 2008 and that there were 'real improvements, particularly among children in the most deprived areas, who are improving at a faster rate than all others.'
But she said the Government would continue to target children who were 'struggling' with personalised support and early intervention.
The National Childminding Association said more needed to be done to encourage take-up of formal childcare among minority ethnic groups and low-income families, to improve children's development before they start school.
They suggested a stronger emphasis on developing a more diverse childcare sector, with a greater proportion of men and childminders from minority ethnic groups.
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