Early childhood care and education attendance in Central Asia

Drawing on a set of recent nationally-representative surveys, this study examines Early Childhood Care and Education attendance in Central Asia. Between 12% and 22% of children attended ECCE, while the number of attendance hours was irregular and varied greatly. Having a mother with lower education and being from a poorer household reduced the likelihood of attendance in all countries. Living in a rural area reduced the likelihood of attendance in all countries except Kazakhstan. Other factors associated with lower likelihood of attendance varied across countries and included having an additional child under 5 in the household, an increase in child age, and residing in a non-Russian speaking household. In terms of frequency of attendance, living in capital cities was associated with an increase in attendance frequency in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, while residing in a wealthier household was associated with an increase in frequency in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Measures to improve ECCE attendance are discussed.