85.3% of young children in Saudi Arabia developmentally on track, GASTAT reports

RIYADH — More than 85 percent of children aged 24 to 59 months in Saudi Arabia are developmentally on track in health, learning and psychosocial well-being, according to the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT). The authority’s Early Childhood Development and Child Well-Being Statistics 2026 report showed that 85.3 percent of children in this age group were developmentally on track, with the rate reaching 86.2 percent among girls and 84.4 percent among boys. The report also found that 89.6 percent of children aged 36 to 59 months lived in a positive and learning-stimulating home environment, with the rate reaching 91 percent among girls and 88.3 percent among boys. Such environments involve engagement by parents or other adult household members in activities including reading, storytelling, singing, playing, counting, drawing and spending time outside the home. **media[2785779]** In education, 74.8 percent of five-year-old children participated in organized learning one year before the official age of entry into primary school, with participation reaching 77.1 percent among girls and 72.6 percent among boys. Meanwhile, 17.6 percent of children aged 36 to 59 months were enrolled in early childhood education programs during the 2025–2026 school year, including 18.6 percent of girls and 16.7 percent of boys. The report also highlighted children's access to books, showing that 56 percent of children under five had no children's books, while 32.3 percent owned one or two books and 11.7 percent had three or more. In terms of play, 72.9 percent of children under five had played with at least two types of toys or playthings during the previous three days, with the rate reaching 73.7 percent among girls and 72.1 percent among boys. According to GASTAT, the developmental and well-being estimates are based on caregiver-reported data from the Women and Child Health Survey 2026, while education enrollment figures were drawn from Ministry of Education administrative records for the 2025–2026 school year.