UNESCO Indicator for Early Childhood Development
In the landscape of global education and development, SDG Indicator 4.2.1 serves as the primary compass for measuring how well the world is nurturing its youngest citizens. Managed by UNICEF in collaboration with UNESCO, this indicator tracks the proportion of children aged 24 to 59 months who are "developmentally on track."
What is Indicator 4.2.1?
Officially titled "Proportion of children aged 24–59 months who are developmentally on track in health, learning and psychosocial well-being, by sex," it is a critical component of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education).
The rationale is simple but profound: the first five years of life are a window of intense brain development. A child who is "on track" during these years is significantly more likely to succeed in primary school and beyond.
The Three Core Domains
To determine if a child is on track, UNESCO and UNICEF look at three interconnected dimensions:
| Domain | Key Concepts Measured |
| Health | Gross and fine motor development (e.g., picking up small objects) and basic self-care. |
| Learning | Language skills, early literacy, basic numeracy (recognizing numbers 1-10), and executive functioning. |
| Psychosocial Well-being | Emotional and social skills, the ability to get along with others, and the absence of aggressive externalizing behaviors. |
Measurement: The ECDI2030
Since 2020, the gold standard for measuring this indicator is the Early Childhood Development Index 2030 (ECDI2030).
Format: A 20-item instrument used in population-based surveys (like MICS).
Method: Mothers or primary caregivers answer questions about their child's daily behaviors and acquired skills.
Threshold: A child is considered "on track" if they achieve a minimum number of milestones specific to their exact age.
Note on the Proxy Indicator: Historically, data was reported for children aged 36–59 months based on four domains: literacy-numeracy, physical, social-emotional, and learning. You may still see this "proxy" data in older reports as countries transition to the newer 2030 methodology.
Current Global Status (2025-2026)
Recent data from the 2025/6 Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report and updated SDG databases highlight a mixed reality:
Progress: Approximately 75% of children globally now participate in organized learning one year before primary school, which supports these developmental milestones.
The Wealth Gap: Children in the wealthiest households are significantly more likely to be on track than those in the poorest. In some sub-Saharan African countries, fewer than 1% of children have access to three or more books at home, a key driver for the "Learning" domain.
Regional Leaders: Countries like Saudi Arabia recently reported that 82.3% of their children are developmentally on track, illustrating the impact of targeted national investments in early childhood care and education (ECCE).
Why It Matters
Indicator 4.2.1 is more than a statistic; it is an equity measure. It tells us if a country’s social and health systems are reaching the most vulnerable. When a child falls behind in these early years due to poor nutrition, lack of stimulation, or toxic stress, the "developmental gap" becomes much harder and more expensive to close once they enter the formal school system.
The SDG 4.2.1 Global KPI for Early Childhood Development
In the context of international development, a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a quantifiable measure used to evaluate the success of an organization or government in reaching a specific target.
For UNESCO and UNICEF, the "Developmentally on Track" indicator is the primary KPI for early childhood success. Below is the technical breakdown of how this KPI is structured, measured, and benchmarked.
KPI Profile: SDG 4.2.1
Official Name: Proportion of children aged 24–59 months who are developmentally on track in health, learning, and psychosocial well-being.
Primary Goal: To ensure all children are "ready for primary education" by 2030.
Custodian Agency: UNICEF (with data shared and reported via the UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
1. The Measurement Framework (ECDI2030)
The KPI is calculated using the Early Childhood Development Index 2030, a 20-item questionnaire. For a child to be counted as "On Track," they must meet specific age-appropriate milestones across three domains:
| KPI Domain | Performance Criteria (Milestones) |
| Health | Ability to perform fine motor tasks (e.g., picking up a small stone) and gross motor movements; absence of chronic illness that prevents play. |
| Learning | Literacy: Identify 10+ letters; read 4+ simple words. Numeracy: Recognize numbers 1–10. Executive Function: Follow simple directions independently. |
| Psychosocial | Social: Gets along with peers. Emotional: Absence of aggressive behavior (kicking/biting) and ability to focus/not be easily distracted. |
2. Calculation Formula
The indicator is expressed as a percentage:
3. Benchmarks & Target Thresholds
While targets vary by country, the global "Healthy" benchmark is typically set by comparing national data against the top-performing quintile.
On-Track Threshold: Children aged 24–29 months must achieve at least 7 milestones; older cohorts (up to 59 months) have progressively higher requirements (e.g., 15 milestones for the 48–59 month group).
Global Target: 100% of children should be developmentally on track by 2030.
4. Supporting "Lead" Indicators
UNESCO also tracks "lead" indicators—metrics that predict whether the main KPI (Indicator 4.2.1) will be met:
Participation Rate: Percentage of children enrolled in organized learning one year before official primary entry (Current Global KPI: 75%).
Home Environment: Percentage of children under 5 with at least 3 books at home (A critical driver for the "Learning" domain).
Teacher Qualification: Percentage of pre-primary teachers with minimum organized training (Current Low-Income Country KPI: 57%).
Global Leaders in Early Childhood Development
Determining which countries lead the world in SDG Indicator 4.2.1 depends on the specific measurement tool used. While high-income countries often have the most resources, many emerging economies are currently setting the global benchmark for rapid improvement and high "on-track" percentages.
Top Performers by Region (2025–2026 Data)
Based on recent UNICEF and UNESCO Global Education Monitoring (GEM) updates, the following countries report the highest proportions of children aged 24–59 months who are developmentally on track:
| Category | Top Performing Countries | "On-Track" Percentage | Key Success Factor |
| Middle East | Saudi Arabia | 82.3% | Major investment via Vision 2030 in early childhood centers. |
| Central Asia | Turkmenistan | >90% | High universal pre-primary enrollment rates. |
| Europe (Balkans) | Serbia & Bosnia | >90% | Strong community-based health and learning networks. |
| South America | Argentina | 86.2% | Robust national frameworks for "Learning" and "Psychosocial" care. |
| Global Quality | Iceland & Germany | Elite Tier | Top-ranked for holistic well-being and childcare accessibility. |
What Makes a "Leading" Country?
Countries that lead this KPI do not just focus on health; they excel in the "Learning" and "Psychosocial" domains by implementing three specific strategies:
Universal Pre-Primary Education: Leading countries have shifted from "optional" preschool to guaranteed access. For example, the global average for participation is 75%, but leaders often exceed 95%.
The "Home Environment" Factor: A major predictor for the learning domain is the presence of books. In leading countries, over 80% of children have 3+ books at home, compared to less than 1% in the lowest-performing regions.
Integrated Health & Education: Countries like Lithuania (which saw a massive rank increase in 2025) integrate pediatric health checks with developmental screenings to catch delays before a child turns three.
The 2026 Improvement Leaders
Success isn't just about the highest score; it's also about the rate of progress.
Lithuania: Recognized in 2025 for the most substantial improvement in child rights and development rankings globally.
Morocco & Côte d’Ivoire: Highlighted by UNESCO in late 2025 for significant strides in "foundational learning" and pre-primary attendance in the African region.
The Fastest Improving Countries in Early Childhood Development
While long-term leaders often maintain high scores, the "Fastest Improving" category highlights countries that have successfully accelerated their results through rapid policy shifts and targeted investment. According to the 2025 KidsRights Index and UNESCO 2025 Spotlight Reports, a few nations have made historic leaps in the "developmentally on track" indicator.
The #1 Global Improver: Lithuania
In 2025, Lithuania was officially recognized as the country with the most substantial improvement in child rights and development rankings globally.
The Leap: Lithuania climbed an unprecedented 92 ranks in a single year.
The Strategy: The country implemented a 2023–2030 strategic plan focused on closing the "equity gap" between urban and rural children. By integrating health visitor reviews with early learning assessments for children aged 2 to 2.5 years, they ensured that developmental delays were caught and corrected before primary school entry.
Regional Leaders in Growth (2025–2026)
Beyond the top global rank, several countries are being hailed by UNESCO for "extraordinary acceleration" in preparing children for school:
| Country | Key Improvement Metric | Driver of Success |
| Morocco | Preschool enrollment jumped from 45% to 80% (and up to 91% in rural areas). | National "Generalization of Preschool" program (2018–2028). |
| Peru | Historically cut malnutrition (a health domain barrier) by 50%. | Targeted conditional cash transfers and nutrition services. |
| Saudi Arabia | Rapidly reached 82.3% on-track status. | Massive "Vision 2030" investment in early childhood centers. |
| Senegal | Aiming to reach 2.5 million children via multisectoral projects. | Integrating community-based nutrition with early stimulation. |
Why "Speed" Matters in This KPI
The 2025/6 UNESCO GEM Report emphasizes that for low- and middle-income countries, speed is a matter of urgency. If a country does not improve its "developmentally on track" score quickly, it risks a "lost generation" where children enter school without the foundational literacy or emotional regulation needed to learn.
Key "Game Changer" Factors for Fast Improvement:
Teacher Training: Morocco, for example, created 9,500 new teacher jobs in rural areas specifically for pre-primary education.
Parental Engagement: Leading improvers like Senegal use community-based "parenting education" to teach caregivers how to stimulate brain development at home.
Compulsory Pre-Primary: Currently, only 28% of countries have made pre-primary education compulsory. Countries that have recently made this shift (like those in Latin America) are seeing the fastest rises in their SDG 4.2.1 scores.
Summary of Top Movers
Lithuania: Best overall rank improvement.
Morocco: Fastest enrollment growth for rural/disadvantaged groups.
Serbia/Bosnia: Maintaining elite-tier status (96%+) through stable, long-term community networks.
Case Studies: Projects Driving Rapid Improvement
The "Fastest Improving" countries didn't achieve their results by accident. Their success is driven by specific, multi-year projects that bridge the gap between health, nutrition, and early learning.
Below are the flagship initiatives that have redefined the SDG 4.2.1 trajectory in leading nations.
1. Morocco: The "Rural Revolution" (INDH Phase III)
Morocco is arguably the world’s most successful recent case of "leapfrogging" in early childhood. By focusing specifically on rural areas where access was historically as low as 33%, they reached 91% rural enrollment in 2024.
Project Name: National Initiative for Human Development (INDH) - Phase III.
The Model: They shifted from just building schools to a "community-integrated" model.
Key Innovation: They recruited and trained 9,500 new preschool educators, the majority of whom are women from the same rural communities.
The Result: Preschool enrollment nationwide soared from 45% to 80% in just six years, effectively closing the urban-rural and gender gaps simultaneously.
2. Uzbekistan: The "Aqlvoy" Mobile Kindergarten Project
Uzbekistan faced a major challenge: how to provide quality early learning to children in remote, mountainous, or underserved communities where building a physical school wasn't feasible.
The Solution: The Aqlvoy Bus Program, a fleet of mobile kindergartens equipped with learning materials, toys, and trained teachers.
Scale of Success: Combined with an "affordable half-day" kindergarten model, Uzbekistan increased its preschool coverage from 27% in 2019 to 75% by 2025.
Lead Agency: Supported by a $59.5 million World Bank investment (Promoting Early Childhood Development Project).
3. Lithuania: The "Inclusive Quality" Reform
Lithuania’s jump of 92 ranks in the global KidsRights Index was powered by a legal and financial overhaul of their Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) system.
The Strategy: Starting in September 2024, Lithuania guaranteed a place in ECEC for all 3-year-olds, with a legal entitlement for 2-year-olds coming into effect in September 2025.
Financial Commitment: In early 2025, the Ministry of Education allocated €3.3 million specifically to cover education, meals, and transport for children from vulnerable families.
Standardization: A new national preschool curriculum focused on social-emotional skills must be implemented by all centers by September 2025.
4. Senegal: The Multisectoral Nutrition-Education Link
Senegal is leading the way in Sub-Saharan Africa by recognizing that a child cannot be "developmentally on track" if they are physically stunted.
Project Focus: Integrating birth registration, nutrition, and early learning.
Key Achievement: Their multisectoral approach helped decrease child stunting from 21% to 18% while simultaneously increasing birth registrations (a prerequisite for school entry) from 43% to 73% by 2024.
Project Highlight: "Improving Classroom Instruction" projects that use instructional coaching for teachers to ensure that once a child is in school, they are actually learning.
Summary of Success Drivers
If you are looking for a "blueprint" for improvement, these projects all share three common traits:
Teacher Status: They don't just hire people; they align pre-primary salaries with primary teacher scales (as seen in Lithuania).
Mobile & Flexible Care: They reach the "unreachable" through buses or home-based visits (Uzbekistan).
Holistic Health: They treat nutrition and birth registration as part of the "Education" budget (Senegal & Morocco).
Conclusion: The Path to 2030
The UNESCO/UNICEF SDG Indicator 4.2.1 is more than a metric; it is a global promise to ensure that no child’s potential is determined by the circumstances of their birth. As we approach the final years of the 2030 Agenda, several key themes emerge:
The Power of Early Intervention: Science and economics converge on one fact—investing in the first 1,000 to 2,000 days of life is the most cost-effective way to build a nation’s human capital. The ROI for quality early childhood programs is estimated between $6 and $17 for every $1 invested.
A Shift from Access to Quality: While participation in pre-primary education has risen to 75% globally, the "developmentally on track" KPI reminds us that enrollment is not enough. True success is measured by holistic outcomes in health, learning, and psychosocial well-being.
Equity as the Final Frontier: The widening gap between the wealthiest and poorest households remains the greatest challenge. Future progress will depend on reaching the "unreachable" through the innovative, community-based projects seen in countries like Morocco and Uzbekistan.
The 2026 Turning Point: With the launch of the 2026 GEM Report "Countdown to 2030," the international community is shifting its focus toward high-frequency data and accountability. This report will serve as a final roadmap for countries to adjust their policies before the 2030 deadline.
Ultimately, the "Developmentally on Track" indicator tells us that the foundation of a stable, prosperous society is built in the nursery and the preschool classroom. By prioritizing these early years, governments are not just supporting individual children—they are securing their own national futures.