Across 60 countries, about 3 in 4 young children are on track socially and emotionally
UNICEF's Early Childhood Development Index asks mothers and caregivers a short set of questions about children aged 3 and 4 in four areas. Here is the median share of children on track in each area across 60 countries, with the lowest and highest country.
Children aged 3–4 on track in each domain: median of 60 countries, with the lowest and highest country. Source: UNICEF Data, Early Childhood Development (ECD) dataflow — Early Childhood Development Index, children aged 36–59 months · CC BY 3.0 IGO, UNICEF. Chart: Raising Stoics — free to embed with credit.
What the data shows
- In the median country, 76.5% of children aged 3–4 are on track in the social-emotional domain — behind physical development (97.4%) and learning (93%).
- Countries vary widely: from 42% to 97% of children on track socially and emotionally.
- Early literacy and numeracy is by far the lowest (27.5%), but at 3–4 that mostly reflects whether children have met letters and numbers yet.
What it means for parents
The social-emotional questions are about everyday things: getting along with other children, not hitting or biting, and not being easily distracted. They're exactly the skills that improve with practice at home — through games with rules, turn-taking and a pause before reacting.
Show the data as a table
| Domain | Value | Lowest–highest country |
|---|---|---|
| Physical | 97.4% | 90.2–100% |
| Learning | 93% | 62.1–100% |
| Social-emotional | 76.5% | 41.9–96.9% |
| Literacy and numeracy | 27.5% | 1.2–89.9% |
Source and method
Source: UNICEF Data, Early Childhood Development (ECD) dataflow — Early Childhood Development Index, children aged 36–59 months. License: CC BY 3.0 IGO, UNICEF.
Median and range across the 60 countries with domain-level Early Childhood Development Index data in UNICEF's database, children aged 36–59 months, national totals. Surveys are from 2010 to 2021 (UNICEF MICS and DHS), mostly in low- and middle-income countries; the US and UK are not included. The index is the older ECDI, not ECDI2030.
Fair Play and Stepping In (lessons 15 and 16) practice getting along, turn-taking and helping — the everyday social-emotional skills in this index.