This report reviews the status of early childhood education (ECE) programs in UNICEF's Middle East and North Africa region. The report compiles information about ECE programs in 18 countries based on a questionnaire sent to UNICEF country offices and other sources. The introduction sets out the economic and social rationales for investing in early childhood education. Chapter 1 reviews the existing regional literature on early childhood education. Chapter 2, the bulk of the report, presents profiles of early childhood education in 18 Middle Eastern and North African countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. The profiles typically provide, for each country, basic data on ECE programs and information on the background of ECE, costs, curricula, the current status of ECE, and constraints on ECE. Chapter 3 summarizes the main findings of the survey, including historical background and data on institutions, staff, curricula, buildings, and program quality; and reports cost estimates of existing ECE interventions. Chapter 4 identifies 12 issues needing priority attention and recommends actions to address the most crucial issues identified in the report. Chapter 5 identifies 16 input, process, and output indicators that could be used by educational planners and policymakers for monitoring and evaluating ECE services regionally. English- and Arabic-language versions of the questionnaire are appended. Contains 52 references. (TM)