Aim: To study the caries prevalence and caries experience of 5, 12 and 15-year-old children and evaluate how the disease pattern is related to their sociodemographic parameters. Methods: A stratified cluster sample of 1200, 800 and 700 of five, twelve and fifteen-year-old children were randomly selected according to WHO guidelines for surveys and examined for dental caries, according to the BASCD criteria and standards. d3mft, D3MFT and their components, as well as d3mfs, D3MFS, Care Index (CI) and SiC were recorded and related to the demographic data collected concerning age, gender, counties, urban/rural areas and parents’ educational status. Results: Dental caries varied considerably between the different districts, with a mean dmft/DMFT value for each age group being 1.77, 2.05 and 3.19 respectively, while 64%, 37% and 29% of them, were with no obvious dentinal caries. Children living in rural areas demonstrated significantly higher dmft/DMFT values and less dental restorative care (CI), whereas children with fathers of a higher educational level showed significantly lower dmft/DMFT values. The significant caries (SiC) index value for the three age groups was 5.01, 4.83 and 7.07 respectively. Conclusions: Despite the decrease in the prevalence of caries in children disparities remain. Children in rural areas and children with less educated parents had more caries and more untreated caries. All the above call for immediate intervention with comprehensive preventive programs and better geographic targeting of the dental services at a national level including targeted prevention of pit and fissure sealants on posterior permanent molars. Key words: caries prevalence, caries experience, national survey, adolescents