This report presents the national findings of the Thrive by Five Index 2024, South Africa’s most comprehensive dataset on early childhood development. It provides a critical snapshot of how four-year-olds across the country are developing in three core domains: early learning, physical growth, and social-emotional functioning. The 2024 Index is the second in a planned series of cross-sectional, nationally and provincially representative studies conducted every three years.
The Thrive by Five Index 2024 was led by the Department of Basic Education and coordinated by DataDrive2030, with support from the FirstRand Foundation, the LEGO Foundation, This Day Foundation, and Yellowwoods.
