Growing Up in Kosovo: Equal Opportunities for Every Child

Every parent wants to see progress: their baby thriving in the first weeks of life, their child entering preschool, their teenager staying in school. Families across Kosovo share this hope. Unfortunately, a child's community, household income or address influence whether these hopes become a reality. This should not be the case. Every family deserves to see their babies thrive and become happy children and educated young adults.

The newly released Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) Beyond Data: Changing reality of Children in Kosovo – MICS in Kosovo 2025 | UNICEF Kosovo Program shows communities are progressing. Led by the Agency of Statistics with UN support, its findings tell us where lives are improving and where children still lack the care and opportunities they need.

There is good news. Participation in early childhood education among children aged three and
four increased from 15 per cent in 2020 to 36 per cent in 2025. Neonatal mortality, which
measures deaths in the first month of life, declined from 11 to 8 deaths per 1,000 live births
over the same period. The share of first-grade pupils who had attended early childhood education in the previous year rose from 88 per cent in 2020 to 92 per cent in 2025.

However, overall improvements have not been shared equally among Kosovo's communities and gaps appear early. Only around seven percent of children from Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities aged three and four attend early childhood education. Among Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian children. Similarly, the share of first-grade pupils children from Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities who had attended early childhood education in the previous year increased decreased from 54 73 per cent in 2020 to 62 per cent in 2025. Full immunization among children aged 24–35 months is 76 per cent across Kosovo, compared with 44 per cent among children from Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian children communities.

The promise to "leave no one behind" requires us to understand why these gaps persist, even when overall results are improving. Are services within reach of the families who need them? What prevents children from attending? The MICS results provide additional evidence for deciding how institutions and partners can best allocate funds, so that services reach the children who need them most.

The role of the United Nations is to work alongside Kosovo institutions, supporting their efforts to turn these findings into funded policies and services, particularly for the most marginalized children. The next steps should be practical: expand accessible preschool services, reach children missing vaccinations and address barriers to staying in school. Each priority needs a budget, a responsible institution and measurable targets. Families and communities must have a say in how services are designed.

Finally, the new MICS results provide more than 30 indicators that can help Kosovo's institutions monitor progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, including on 
on children's rights and social inclusion. MICS also contributes internationally comparable
evidence and experience in collecting reliable data, supporting efforts to align the statistical system with EU and Eurostat standards

Children who miss early learning or essential health services can face disadvantages that follow them into school, employment and adult life. Investing in the health and education of all children helps to build the skills and capabilities on which Kosovo's future prosperity depends. And which every parent and child deserves.

(Author is UN Development Coordinator to Kosovo)