RIYADH — Around 82.33 percent of children aged between 24 and 59 months were on track in terms of health, learning, and psychosocial well-being. This was revealed in the Early Childhood Development and Child Well-Being Statistics Bulletin for 2024, published on Monday by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT).

According to the bulletin's findings, the percentage of children aged 36–59 months enrolled in an early childhood education program stood at 9.54 percent. Among them, 10.68 percent were boys compared to 8.35 percent girls. The results indicated that the rate of participation in organized learning, one year before the official age for primary education enrollment, stood at 64.03 percent. This rate saw an increase among Saudi girls aged five, reaching 65.58 percent compared to other categories.

The GASTAT bulletin emphasized that a positive and stimulating home environment for learning among children aged 36–59 months involves parents, guardians, or any adult family member engaging children in the following activities: reading or browsing picture books, storytelling, singing, taking children outside the home, playing with them, naming objects, counting, and drawing. Some 82.9 percent of children aged 36–59 months were living in such a positive home environment, with girls achieving a rate of 83.4 percent compared to 82.42 percent for boys.

The results also showed that 33.4 percent of children under the age of five own one or two children’s books, while 90.58 percent of children aged 5–7 years use digital devices daily. Early childhood development is a multidimensional process that results in the gradual growth of a child’s motor, cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and self-regulation skills during the first few years of life, the bulletin pointed out.

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