INDICATORSfor Monitoring the Millennium Development Goals · Indicators for Monitoring the Millennium Development Goals: Definitions, Rationale, Concepts and Sourcescontains basic

INDICATORS for Monitoring the Millennium Development Goals

Definitions

Rationale

Concepts

and Sources

United Nations

Indicators for Monitoring theMillennium Development Goals

Definitions Rationale Concepts and Sources

ST/ESA/STAT/SER.F/95

United Nations Development Group

Led by

United Nations Population Fund

United Nations Development Programme

Department of Economic and Social Affairs–Statistics Division

United Nations

New York

2003

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication donot imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the United Nationsconcerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities,or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The term “country” asused in the text of this report refers, as appropriate, to territories or areas. The des-ignations of “developed”. “developing” and “least developed” countries are intendedfor convenience and do not necessarily express a judgement about the stage reachedby a particular country or area in the development process. Reference to “dollars” ($)indicates United States dollars, unless otherwise stated.

ST/ESA/STAT/SER.F/95United Nations PublicationSales No. E.03.XVII. 18ISBN 92-1-161467-8Copyright © United Nations 2003All rights reserved

Graphic design and Desktop composition Andy Musilli

I n d i c a t o r s f o r M o n i t o r i n g t h e M i l l e n n i u m D e v e l o p m e n t G o a l s

ii

N O T E

D e f i n i t i o n s , R a t i o n a l e , C o n c e p t s a n d S o u r c e s

iii

Building on the United Nations global conferences of the 1990s, the United NationsMillennium Declaration of 2000 marked a strong commitment to the right to devel-opment, to peace and security, to gender equality, to the eradication of the manydimensions of poverty and to sustainable human development. Embedded in thatDeclaration, which was adopted by 147 heads of State and 189 states, were whathave become known as the eight Millennium Development Goals, including 18 time-bound targets.

To monitor progress towards the goals and targets, the United Nations system,including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, as well as theDevelopment Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operationand Development, came together under the Office of the Secretary-General andagreed on 48 quantitative indicators. The indicators built upon an intergovernmen-tal process to identify relevant indicators in response to global conferences. TheSecretary-General presented the goals, targets and indicators to the GeneralAssembly in September 2001 in his report entitled “Road map towards the imple-mentation of the United Nations Millennium Declaration”.

The present handbook provides guidance on the definitions, rationale, concepts andsources of data for each of the indicators that are being used to monitor the goals andtargets. It expands on an earlier exercise to provide the metadata for the socio-eco-nomic indicators that make up the United Nations Common Country AssessmentIndicator Framework. The indicators for goals 1–7 are a subset of that framework.

Preparation of the handbook was directed by an inter-agency working group of theUnited Nations Development Group, including the World Bank, chaired by the UnitedNations Population Fund and co-chaired by the United Nations Statistics Division andthe United Nations Development Programme. On behalf of the United NationsDevelopment Group, I would like to thank all the agencies and individuals (see below)who contributed to this handbook, including the Department for InternationalDevelopment of the Government of the United Kingdom, which funded the servicesof a short-term consultant who contributed to the handbook.

I believe that this tangible example of interagency collaboration will prove useful tothe international community by strengthening national statistical capacity andimproving monitoring. And I sincerely hope that this will be sustained through futurerevisions in the same spirit.

Mark Malloch BrownChairmanUnited Nations Development Group

September 2003

F O R E W O R D

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C O N T E N T SForeword iiiAbbreviations viiAcknowledgements viii Introduction 1 Goals, targets and indicators 31. Proportion of population below $1 purchasing power parity (PPP) per day 51A. Poverty headcount ratio (percentage of population below the national poverty line) 72. Poverty gap ratio (incidence multiplied by depth of poverty) 93. Share of poorest quintile in national consumption 104. Prevalence of underweight children under 5 years of age 125. Proportion of population below minimum level of dietary energy consumption 146. Net enrolment ratio in primary education 167. Proportion of pupils starting grade 1 who reach grade 5 187A. Primary completion rate 208. Literacy rate of 15–24 year-olds 229. Ratio of girls to boys in primary, secondary and tertiary education 2410. Ratio of literate women to men, 15–24 years old 2611. Share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector 2712. Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments 2913. Under-five mortality rate 3014. Infant mortality rate 3215. Proportion of 1-year-old children immunized against measles 3416. Maternal mortality ratio 3617. Proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel 3918. HIV prevalence among pregnant women aged 15–24 years 4019. Condom use rate of the contraceptive prevalence rate 4219A. Condom use at last high-risk sex 4419B. Percentage of population aged 15–24 years with comprehensive correct knowledge

of HIV/AIDS 4519C. Contraceptive prevalence rate 4620. Ratio of school attendance of orphans to school attendance of non-orphans

aged 10–14 years 4821. Prevalence and death rates associated with malaria 4922. Proportion of population in malaria-risk areas using effective malaria

prevention and treatment measures 5123. Prevalence and death rates associated with tuberculosis 5324. Proportion of tuberculosis cases detected and cured under DOTS 5425. Proportion of land area covered by forest 5626. Ratio of area protected to maintain biological diversity to surface area 5827. Energy use (kilogram oil equivalent) per $1 gross domestic product (PPP) 5928. Carbon dioxide emissions per capita and consumption of ozone-depleting

chlorofluorocarbons (ODP tons) 6129. Proportion of the population using solid fuels 6330. Proportion of population with sustainable access to an improved water

source, urban and rural 6431. Proportion of population with access to improved sanitation, urban and rural 66


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32. Proportion of households with access to secure tenure 6833. Net ODA, total and to the least developed countries, as a percentage of OECD/DAC donors’ gross

national income. 7034. Proportion of total bilateral, sector-allocable ODA of OECD/DAC donors to basic social

services (basic education, primary health care, nutrition, safe water and sanitation) 7135. Proportion of bilateral ODA of OECD/DAC donors that is untied 7236. ODA received in landlocked countries as a proportion of their gross national incomes 7337. ODA received in small island developing States as a proportion of their gross national incomes 7538. Proportion of total developed country imports (by value and excluding arms) from

developing countries and from the least developed countries, admitted free of duty 7639. Average tariffs imposed by developed countries on agricultural products and

clothing from developing countries 7840. Agricultural support estimate for OECD countries as a percentage of their gross domestic

product 7941. Proportion of ODA provided to help build trade capacity 8142. Total number of countries that have reached their HIPC decision points

and number that have reached their HIPC completion points (cumulative) 8243. Debt relief committed under HIPC Initiative 8444. Debt service as a percentage of exports of goods and services 8545. Unemployment rate of young people aged 15–24 years, each sex and total 8646. Proportion of population with access to affordable essential drugs on a

sustainable basis 8847. Telephone lines and cellular subscribers per 100 population 8948. Personal computers in use per 100 population 90

Internet users per 100 population 91Annex 1. Additional socio-economic common country assessment indicators 93CCA 19. Proportion of children under age 15 who are working 93CCA 30. Employment to population of working age ratio 94CCA 31. Unemployment rate 95CCA 32. Informal sector employment as a percentage of employment 96CCA 41. Number of persons per room, or average floor area per person 97CCA 43. Number of intentional homicides per 100,000 inhabitants 98Annex 2. Household surveys and other national data sources 100Annex 3. Web sites (see also references in the metadata sheets) 105Annex 4. World summits and conferences 106


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Translated publications available in Arabic, Chinese, English,French, Russian and Spanish, at http://unstats.un.org.unsd/pubs/common country assessmentchlorofluorocarbonscost, insurance and freightCore Welfare Indicators Questionnaire in AfricaDevelopment Assistance Committee of the OECDDemographic and Health Surveyinternationally recommended tuberculosis control strategydiphtheria, pertussis and tetanus vaccineExpanded Programme on ImmunizationFood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nationsfree on boardgross domestic productgross national incomegross national producthousehold budget surveyHeavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiativeincome, consumption and expenditure surveyInternatonal Labour OrganizationInternational Monetary FundInter-Parliamentary UnionInternational Standard Classification of Education, 1997 versionInternational Standard Industrial Classification of All EconomicActivitiesInternational Telecommunication Union International Union for Conservation of Nature and NaturalResources–The World Conservation Unionkilogramleast developed countrieslabour force surveysLiving Standards Measurement StudyMultiple Indicator Cluster SurveyNational Center for Health Statisticsofficial development assistanceozone-depleting potentialOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Developmentpersonal computerspurchasing power paritytrade capacity-building databaseTrade Analysis and Information SystemUnited Nations Human Settlements ProgrammeJoint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDSUnited Nations Development ProgrammeUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

A, C, E, F, R, S

CCACFCSc.i.f. CWIQDACDHSDOTSDPTEPIFAOf.o.b. GDPGNIGNPHBSHIPCICESILOIMFIPUISCED 97ISIC

ITUIUCN

KgLDCsLFSLSMSMICSNCHSODAODPOECDPCsPPPTCBDBTRAINSUN-HABITATUNAIDSUNDPUNESCO

A B B R E V I A T I O N S


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MEMBERS AND CONTRIBUTORS TO THE UNITED NATIONSDEVELOPMENT GROUP WORKING GROUP ON INDICATORS

United Nations Population Fund

Richard Leete, ChairIqbal AlamKourtoum NacroMickie Schoch

Department of Economic and SocialAffairs Statistics Division

Stefan Schweinfest, Vice ChairRobert JohnstonGiselle KamanouFrancesca Perucci

United Nations Development ProgrammeDiana Alarcon, Vice ChairJan VandemoorteleHaishan Fu

United Nations Development Group OfficeGerton van den AkkerAlain NickelsHeidi SwindellsTom Griffin (consultant)

Executive Office of the Secretary-GeneralMadhushree Dasgupta

United Nations Office on Drugs and CrimeAndrea Treso

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

Goro Onojima

Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDSPeter Ghys

United Nations Children’s FundGareth JonesTessa Wardlaw

United Nations Development Fund for Women

Suzette Mitchell

United Nations Environment ProgrammeStuart ChapeMarion CheatleVolodymyr DemkineEugene FosnightPhillip FoxGerald Mutisya

United Nations Human Settlements ProgrammeLaura Licchi

World Food ProgrammePatricia Kennedy

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Jorge Mernies Toshiko Murata

International Labour OrganizationSophia Lawrence

International Telecommunication Union Esperanza Magpantay

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

Denise LievesleyJosé Pessoa

World BankNeil FantomMakiko HarrisonEric Swanson

World Health OrganizationChristopher MurrayCarla AbouZahr

World Trade OrganizationGuy Karsenty

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

James Grabert

Inter-Parliamentary UnionKareen Jabre

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and DevelopmentBrian HammondSimon Scott


1

Indicators for Monitoring the Millennium Development Goals: Definitions, Rationale,Concepts and Sources contains basic metadata on the agreed list of quantitativeindicators for monitoring progress towards the eight goals and 18 targets derivedfrom the United Nations Millennium Declaration (table). The list of indicators, devel-oped using several criteria, is not intended to be prescriptive but to take intoaccount the country setting and the views of various stakeholders in preparingcountry-level reports.

Five main criteria guided the selection of indicators. Indicators should:� Provide relevant and robust measures of progress towards the targets of the

Millennium Development Goals� Be clear and straightforward to interpret and provide a basis for international

comparison� Be broadly consistent with other global lists and avoid imposing an unnecessary

burden on country teams, Governments and other partners� Be based to the greatest extent possible on international standards, recommen-

dations and best practices� Be constructed from well-established data sources, be quantifiable and be con-

sistent to enable measurement over time

The present handbook is designed to provide United Nations country teams andnational and international stakeholders with guidance on the definitions, rationale,concepts and sources of the data for the indicators that are being used to monitorthe Millennium Development Goals. Just as the indicator list is dynamic and will nec-essarily evolve in response to changing national situations, so will the metadatachange over time as concepts, definitions and methodologies change.

A consultation process, generally involving the national statistical office or othernational authority, should be initiated in the selection and compilation of country-specific indicators. The consultation should take into account national developmentpriorities, the suggested list of indicators and the availability of data. The UnitedNations country team should work collaboratively to help build ownership and con-sensus on the selected indicators.

NATIONAL SOURCES

Country data should be used for compiling the indicators where such data are avail-able and of reasonable quality. The data source for each indicator and the quantita-tive value of the indicator should be decided by consensus among the key stake-holders, especially the national statistical system. The national statistical systemshould own the data and related indicators.

For any given indicator, a wide range of data sources may be available within thecountry, and each source should be critically reviewed. Existing data sources andreporting systems should be used where possible, particularly where line ministrieshave their own statistical systems. International data sources should be consulted

I N T R O D U C T I O N


2

for validation and in the absence of national sources.

METADATA SHEETS

For each indicator used to measure progress towards the targets and goals, thehandbook provides all or some of the following information:

� A simple operational definition � The goal and target it addresses� The rationale for use of the indicator� The method of computation� Sources of data� References, including relevant international Web sites� Periodicity of measurement� Gender and disaggregation issues� Limitations of the indicator� National and international agencies involved in the collection, compilation or

dissemination of the data

The intention is not to provide an exhaustive amount of information for each item,but to provide a reference point and guidance for country teams and national stake-holders. The amount of information varies by indicator and tends to reflect theextent of national and international debate on its relevance. Limited information isavailable for some of the less well-established indicators. With further use of theindicators and greater recognition of the need for such data, fuller information isexpected to become available.

Monitoring of the Millennium Development Goals is taking place globally, throughannual reports of the United Nations Secretary-General to the General Assembly andthrough periodic country reporting. For global reporting, use is made of indicatorscompiled by international organizations. Internationally compiled indicators, basedon standard concepts, definitions and methodologies, more readily facilitate cross-country comparisons. For country reporting, use is generally made of indicators com-piled from national sources, generally by the national statistical system. The meta-data sheets for the indicators reflect national and international standards.

ANNEX 1 provides metadata for some additional indicators included in the commoncountry assessment indicator framework; the indicators for Millennium DevelopmentGoals 1–7 are a subset of that framework. ANNEX 2 supplies information on the house-hold surveys and national sources mentioned in the metadata for constructing theindicators. ANNEX 3 gives the World Wide Web addresses of the agencies involved. ANNEX

4 lists the major world summits and conferences that have helped to shape theMillennium Development Goals and indicators.

G O A L S A N D T A R G E T SF R O M T H E M I L L E N N I U M D E C L A R A T I O N

I N D I C A T O R S F O R M O N I T O R I N G P R O G R E S S

G O A L 1 : E R A D I C AT E E X T R E M E P O V E RT Y A N D H U N G E R

TARGET 1: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is

less than one dollar a day

TARGET 2: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from

hunger

G O A L 2 : A C H I E V E U N I V E R S A L P R I M A RY E D U C AT I O N

TARGET 3: Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able

to complete a full course of primary schooling

G O A L 3 : P R O M OT E G E N D E R E Q U A L I T Y A N D E M P O W E R W O M E N

TARGET 4 : Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably

by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015

G O A L 4 : R E D U C E C H I L D M O RTA L I T Y

TARGET 5 : Reduce by two thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate

G O A L 5 : I M P R O V E M AT E R N A L H E A LT H

TARGET 6 : Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal

mortality ratio

G O A L 6 : C O M B AT H I V / A I D S , M A L A R I A A N D OT H E R D I S E AS E S

TARGET 7 : Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS

TARGET 8 : Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and

other major diseases

G O A L 7 : E N S U R E E N V I R O N M E N TA L S U STA I N A B I L I T Y

TARGET 9 : Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies

and programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources

TARGET 10 : Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe

drinking water and basic sanitation

TARGET 11 : By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least

100 million slum dwellers

1. Proportion of population below $1 (PPP) per daya

1A. Poverty headcount ratio (percentage of population below the national poverty

line)

2. Poverty gap ratio [incidence x depth of poverty]

3. Share of poorest quintile in national consumption

4. Prevalence of underweight children under 5 years of age

5. Proportion of population below minimum level of dietary energy consumption

6. Net enrolment ratio in primary education

7. Proportion of pupils starting grade 1 who reach grade 5b

8. Literacy rate of 15–24 year-olds

9. Ratio of girls to boys in primary, secondary and tertiary education

10. Ratio of literate women to men, 15–24 years old

11. Share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector

12. Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament

13. Under-five mortality rate

14. Infant mortality rate

15. Proportion of 1 year-old children immunized against measles

16. Maternal mortality ratio

17. Proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel

18. HIV prevalence among pregnant women aged 15–24 years

19. Condom use rate of the contraceptive prevalence ratec

19A. Condom use at last high-risk sex

19B. Percentage of population aged 15-24 years with comprehensive correct knowl-

edge of HIV/AIDSd

19C. Contraceptive prevalence rate

20. Ratio of school attendance of orphans to school attendance of non-orphans

aged 10–14years

21. Prevalence and death rates associated with malaria

22. Proportion of population in malaria-risk areas using effective malaria prevention

and treatment measurese

23. Prevalence and death rates associated with tuberculosis

24. Proportion of tuberculosis cases detected and cured under DOTS

25. Proportion of land area covered by forest

26. Ratio of area protected to maintain biological diversity to surface area

27. Energy use (kg oil equivalent) per $1 GDP (PPP)

28. Carbon dioxide emissions per capita and consumption of ozone-depleting CFCs

(ODP tons)

29. Proportion of population using solid fuels

30. Proportion of population with sustainable access to an improved water

source, urban and rural

31. Proportion of population with access to improved sanitation, urban and rural

32. Proportion of households with access to secure tenure


3

Goals, targets and indicators

4

G O A L 8 : D E V E LO P A G LO B A L PA RT N E R S H I P F O R D E V E LO P M E N T

TARGET 12 : Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trad-

ing and financial system

Includes a commitment to good governance, development and poverty

reduction – both nationally and internationally

TARGET 13 : Address the special needs of the least developed countries

Includes: tariff and quota free access for the least developed countries’

exports; enhanced programme of debt relief for heavily indebted poor

countries (HIPC) and cancellation of official bilateral debt; and more gen-

erous ODA for countries committed to poverty reduction

TARGET 14 : Address the special needs of landlocked countries and small island devel-

oping States (through the Programme of Action for the Sustainable

Development of Small Island Developing States and the outcome of the

twenty-second special session of the General Assembly)

TARGET 15 : Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries

through national and international measures in order to make debt sus-

tainable in the long term

TARGET 16 : In cooperation with developing countries, develop and implement strate-

gies for decent and productive work for youth

TARGET 17 : In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to afford-

able essential drugs in developing countries

TARGET 18 : In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits

of new technologies, especially information and communications

Some of the indicators listed below are monitored separately for the least developedcountries (LDCs), Africa, landlocked countries and small island developing States.

Official development assistance

33. Net ODA, total and to the least developed countries, as a percentage of OECD/DAC

donors’ gross national income

34. Proportion of total bilateral, sector-allocable ODA of OECD/DAC donors to basic

social services (basic education, primary health care, nutrition, safe water and

sanitation)

35. Proportion of bilateral official development assistance of OECD/DAC donors that is

untied

36. ODA received in landlocked countries as a proportion of their gross national

incomes

37. ODA received in small island developing States as proportion of their gross nation-

al incomes

Market access

38. Proportion of total developed country imports (by value and excluding arms) from

developing countries and and from the least developed countries, admitted free of

duty

39. Average tariffs imposed by developed countries on agricultural products and tex-

tiles and clothing from developing countries

40. Agricultural support estimate for OECD countries as a percentage of their gross

domestic product

41. Proportion of ODA provided to help build trade capacity

Debt sustainability

42. Total number of countries that have reached their HIPC decision points and num-

ber that have reached their HIPC completion points (cumulative)

43. Debt relief committed under HIPC Initiative

44. Debt service as a percentage of exports of goods and services

45. Unemployment rate of young people aged 15-24 years, each sex and totalf

46. Proportion of population with access to affordable essential drugs on a sustainable

basis

47. Telephone lines and cellular subscribers per 100 population

48A. Personal computers in use per 100 population and Internet users per 100 population

48B. Internet users per 100 population

THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS and targets come from the Millennium Declaration, signed by 189 countries,including 147 heads of State and Government, in September 2000 (http://www.un.org.millennium/declaration/ares552e.htm). The goals and targets are interrelated and should be seen as a whole. They represent a partnershipbetween the developed countries and the developing countries “to create an environment – at the national and globallevels alike – which is conducive to development and the elimination of poverty”.

a For monitoring country poverty trends, indicators based on nation-al poverty lines should be used, where available.

b An alternative indicator under development is “primary completionrate”.

c Among contraceptive methods, only condoms are effective in pre-venting HIV transmission. Since the condom use rate is only meas-ured among women in union, it is supplemented by an indicator oncondom use in high-risk situations (indicator 19a) and an indicatoron HIV/AIDS knowledge (indicator 19b). Indicator 19c (contracep-tive prevalence rate) is also useful in tracking progress in otherhealth, gender and poverty goals.

d This indicator is defined as the percentage of population aged 15-24 who correctly identify the two major ways of preventing thesexual transmission of HIV (using condoms and limiting sex to onefaithful, uninfected partner), who reject the two most commonlocal misconceptions about HIV transmission, and who know that a

healthy-looking person can transmit HIV. However, since there arecurrently not a sufficient number of surveys to be able to calculatethe indicator as defined above, UNICEF, in collaboration withUNAIDS and WHO, produced two proxy indicators that representtwo components of the actual indicator. They are the following: (a)percentage of women and men 15-24 who know that a person canprotect herself from HIV infection by “consistent use of condom”;(b) percentage of women and men 15-24 who know a healthy-looking person can transmit HIV.

e Prevention to be measured by the percentage of children under 5sleeping under insecticide-treated bednets; treatment to be meas-ured by percentage of children under 5 who are appropriatelytreated.

f An improved measure of the target for future years is under devel-opment by the International Labour Organization.


Note: Goals, targets and indicators effective 8 September 2003.

PROPORTION OF POPULATION BELOW $1 PURCHASING POWER

PARITY(PPP) PER DAY

DEFINITION

Proportion of population below $1 per day isthe percentage of the population living on lessthan $1.08 a day at 1993 international prices.The one dollar a day poverty line is comparedto consumption or income per person andincludes consumption from own productionand income in kind. This poverty line hasfixed purchasing power across countries orareas and is often called an “absolute povertyline” or measure of extreme poverty.

GOAL AND TARGET ADDRESSED

Goal 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

Target 1. Halve, between 1990 and 2015, theproportion of people whose income is lessthan one dollar a day

RATIONALE

The indicator allows for comparing and aggre-gating progress across countries in reducing thenumber of people living under extreme povertyand for monitoring trends at the global level.

METHOD OF COMPUTATION

The World Bank regularly estimates povertybased on the one dollar a day poverty line.Estimates are based on incomes or consump-tion levels derived from household surveys.Whenever possible, consumption is preferredto income for measuring poverty. When con-sumption data are not available, income isused.

Consumption, which includes consumptionfor own production, or income per person, andits distribution are estimated from householdsurveys. Household consumption or income isdivided by the number of people in the house-hold to establish the income per person.

The distribution of consumption or income isestimated using empirical Lorenz (distribu-

tion) curves weighted by household size. In allcases measures of poverty to obtain Lorenzcurves are calculated from primary datasources rather than existing estimates.

Poverty in a country is estimated by convertingthe one dollar a day poverty line to local curren-cy using the latest purchasing power parity(PPP) exchange rates for consumption takenfrom World Bank estimates. Local consumerprice indices are then used to adjust the inter-national poverty line in local currency to pricesprevailing around the time of the surveys. Thisinternational poverty line is used to identify howmany people are below the one dollar a daythreshold.

The PPP-based international poverty line isrequired only to allow comparisons acrosscountries and to produce estimates of pover-ty at the aggregate level. Most countries alsoset their own poverty lines (SEE INDICATOR 1A).

DATA COLLECTION AND SOURCE

The indicator is produced by the World BankDevelopment Research Group based on dataobtained from government statistical officesand World Bank country departments. It is notnormally calculated by national agencies.

Data on household income, consumption andexpenditure, including income in kind, aregenerally collected through household budgetsurveys or other surveys covering income andexpenditure.

When available, household consumption dataare preferred to income data. National statis-tical offices, sometimes in conjunction withother national or international agencies, usu-ally undertake such surveys.

Only surveys that meet the following criteria areused: they are nationally representative, includea sufficiently comprehensive consumption orincome aggregate (including consumption orincome from own production), and they allow for


5

1

the construction of a correctly weighted distri-bution of consumption or income per person.

The most recent estimates of PPP for devel-oping countries are based on data collectedbetween 1993 and 1996, standardized to1993 international prices. Global price com-parisons are carried out by the InternationalComparison Programme of the World Bankand others. New estimates of PPPs areexpected in 2006.

PERIODICITY OF MEASUREMENT

Household budget or income surveys areundertaken at different intervals in differentcountries. In developing countries they typi-cally take place every three to five years.

PPP surveys are conducted at infrequentintervals. The last price survey through theInternational Comparison Programme wascompleted in 1996, and the next will begin in2003. It is, however, possible to extrapolatefrom PPP surveys, and the World Bank con-version factors are calculated in this way.

GENDER ISSUES

Households headed by women tend to havelower incomes and are therefore more likelyto have incomes per person lower than onedollar. However, this relationship should becarefully studied to take into account nation-al circumstances and the definition of head ofhousehold adopted in data collection, which isnot necessarily related to being the chiefsource of economic support. Whether house-holds are headed by women or men, genderrelations affect intrahousehold resource allo-cation and use. It is not possible to estimatesex-disaggregated poverty rates from avail-able data.

DISAGGREGATION ISSUES

It is sometimes possible to disaggregate thisindicator by urban-rural location.

COMMENTS AND LIMITATIONS

The one dollar a day poverty measure is usedto assess and monitor poverty at the globallevel, but like other indicators it is not equallyrelevant in all regions because countries havedifferent definitions of poverty.Measurements of poverty in countries aregenerally based on national poverty lines.

PPP exchange rates are used because theytake into account the local prices of goodsand services that are not traded internation-ally. Although PPP rates were designed forcomparing aggregates from nationalaccounts, they may not fully reflect the com-parative cost of goods typically consumed bythe very poor.

There are also problems in comparing povertymeasures within countries, especially for urban-rural differences. The cost of living is typicallyhigher in urban than in rural areas, so the urbanmonetary poverty line should be higher than therural monetary poverty line. However, it is notalways clear that the difference between thetwo poverty lines found in practice properlyreflects the difference in the cost of living.

In considering whether to use income or con-sumption as a welfare indicator, income isgenerally more difficult to measure accurate-ly, and consumption accords better with theidea of the standard of living than income,which can vary over time even if the standardof living does not. Nevertheless, consumptiondata are not always available, and when theyare not there is little choice but to use income.

There is also a problem with comparabilityacross surveys: household survey question-naires can differ widely, and even similar sur-veys may not be strictly comparable becauseof differences in quality.

Even if surveys are entirely accurate, themeasure of poverty can miss some importantaspects of individual welfare. First, usinghousehold consumption ignores inequalities


6

within households. Second, the measure doesnot reflect people’s feeling about relativedeprivation or their concerns about uninsuredrisks to their income and health.

Comparisons across countries at different levelsof development may also pose a problem, owingto differences in the relative importance of con-sumption of non-market goods.

REFERENCES AND INTERNATIONAL DATACOMPARISONS

� CHEN, SHAOCHUA, and MARTIN RAVALLION

(2002). How Did the World’s Poorest Fare inthe 1990s?, Working Paper No. 2409, pp.1-5.Washington, D.C.: World Bank. Availablefrom http://www.worldbank.org/research/povmonitor/publications.htm.

� HESTON, ALAN, ROBERT SUMMERS and BETTINA

ATEN (2002). Penn World Tables 6.1. Internetsite http://datacentre2.chass.utoronto.ca/pwt .

� UNITED NATIONS (1992). Handbook of theInternational Comparison Programme.Series F, No. 62 (United Nations publica-tion, Sales No. E.92.XVII.12). Available fromhttp://unstats.un.org/unsd/pubs. (A, C, E,F, R, S)

� UNITED NATIONS (2003). Millennium IndicatorsDatabase. Statistics Division Internet sitehttp://millenniumindicators.un.org.

� UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

(2003 and annual). Human DevelopmentReport. New York: Oxford University Press.Available from http://hdr.undp.org.

� UNITED NATIONS, COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN

COMMUNITIES, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND,ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND

DEVELOPMENT AND WORLD BANK (1994).System of National Accounts 1993 (SNA1993), Series F, No. 2, Rev. 4 (United Nationspublication, Sales No. E.94.XVII.4), paras.9.45, 16.80-16.83. Available with updatesfrom http://unstats.un.org/unsd/sna1993.

� WORLD BANK (2001). Poverty Reduction andthe World Bank: Progress in Operationaliz-ing the World Development Report2000/01. Washington, D.C. Available from

http://www.worldbank.org/poverty/library/progr/2000-01/execsum.htm.

� WORLD BANK (2003 and annual). WorldDevelopment Indicators. Print and CD-ROM.Table 2.6. Washington, D.C. Available inpart from http://www.worldbank.org/data.

� WORLD BANK (2003). Data and Statistics.Internet site http://www.worldbank.org/data . Washington, D.C.

� WORLD BANK (2003). Poverty ReductionStrategy Sourcebook, vol. 1, Core tech-niques: Poverty Measurement and Analysis.Washington, D.C. Available from http://www. worldbank.org/poverty/strategies/sourcons.htm .

AGENCY

World Bank

POVERTY HEADCOUNT RATIO (PER-CENTAGE OF POPULATION BELOWTHE NATIONAL POVERTY LINE)

DEFINITION

The poverty headcount ratio is the proportionof the national population whose incomes arebelow the official threshold (or thresholds) setby the national Government. National povertylines are usually set for households of variouscompositions to allow for different familysizes. Where there are no official povertylines, they may be defined as the level ofincome required to have only sufficient foodor food plus other necessities for survival.


Goal 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hungerTarget 1. Halve, between 1990 and 2015, theproportion of people whose income is lessthan one dollar a day

RATIONALE

The indicator allows for monitoring the pro-portion of the national population that is con-sidered poor by a national standard. Mostpoverty analysis work for countries is based

1-A


7

on national poverty lines. National povertylines tend to increase in purchasing powerwith the average level of income of a country.


Household income (or consumption) and itsdistribution are estimated from householdsurveys (SEE INDICATOR 1). The incomes of varioushousehold types, by composition, may thenbe compared with the poverty lines for thosetypes of household. If the poverty lines areexpressed in terms of income per adult equiv-alent or some similar measure, the incomes ofthe households must be measured on a simi-lar basis. Household income may be convert-ed to income per adult equivalent by usingthe modified equivalence scale of theOrganisation for Economic Co-operation andDevelopment (OECD)—in which the firsthousehold member over 16 equals 1, all othersover 16 equal 0.5, all under 16 equal 0.3 —orsome other equivalence scale. Householdincomes are then divided by the “equivalized”number of people in the household (two adultswould equal 1.5 according to the OECD scale)to establish income per person.

Once the number of households that arebelow the poverty line has been estimated,the number of people in those households isaggregated to estimate the percentage of thepopulation below the line.


Data on household income, consumption andexpenditure, including income in kind, aregenerally collected through household budgetsurveys or other surveys covering income andexpenditure.

National statistical offices, sometimes in con-junction with other national or internationalagencies, usually undertake such surveys.


Household budget or income surveys areundertaken at different intervals in differentcountries. In developing countries they typi-

cally take place every three to five years.GENDER ISSUES

Households headed by women tend to havelower incomes and are therefore more likelyto have incomes per person below the pover-ty line. However, this relationship should becarefully studied to take into account nation-al circumstances and the definition of head ofhousehold adopted in data collection, which isnot necessarily related to being the chiefsource of economic support. Whether house-holds are headed by women or men, genderrelations affect intrahousehold resource allo-cation and use.


Disaggregation of the poverty headcountindex is normally limited by the size of thehousehold survey. It is common, however, forindices to be produced for urban and ruralareas and for some subnational levels as thesample allows. Estimates at low levels of dis-aggregation may be made using “povertymapping” techniques, which use the lowerlevels of disaggregation available from popu-lation censuses, particularly where the timingof the population census and household sur-vey is relatively close. Wherever householdsurveys provide income or consumption datadisaggregated by sex of household heads,these data should be used.


The advantage of this indicator is that it isspecific to the country in which the data arecollected and where the poverty line is estab-lished. While the one dollar a day poverty linehelps in making international comparisons,national poverty lines are used to make moreaccurate estimates of poverty consistent withthe characteristics and level of developmentof each country. The disadvantage is thatthere is no universally agreed poverty line,even in principle, and international compar-isons are not feasible.

There are also problems in comparing povertymeasures within countries, especially for


8

urban and rural differences. The cost of livingis typically higher in urban than in rural areas,so the urban monetary poverty line should behigher than the rural monetary poverty line.But it is not always clear that the differencebetween the two poverty lines found in prac-tice properly reflects the difference in thecost of living.


� CANBERRA GROUP ON HOUSEHOLD INCOME

STATISTICS (2001). Expert Group onHousehold Income Statistics: Final Reportand Recommendations. Ottawa. Availablefrom http://www.lisproject.org/links/canbaccess.htm.

� SWEDEN, STATISTICS SWEDEN (1996). EngenderingStatistics: A Tool for Change. Stockholm.



(2003 and annual). Human DevelopmentReport. New York, Oxford University Press.Available from http://hdr.undp.org.

� WORLD BANK (2003 and annual). WorldDevelopment Indicators. Print and CD-ROM.Notes to table 2.6. Washington, D.C.Available in part from http://www.worldbank.org/data.

� WORLD BANK (2003). Poverty ReductionStrategy Sourcebook, vol. 1, Core Techniques:Poverty Measurement and Analysis.Washington, D.C. Available fromhttp://www.worldbank.org/poverty/strategies/sourcons.htm.

AGENCIES

National statistical officesWorld Bank

POVERTY GAP RATIO (INCIDENCEMULTIPLIED BY DEPTH OF POVER-TY)

DEFINITION

Poverty gap ratio is the mean distance sepa-rating the population from the poverty line(with the non-poor being given a distance ofzero), expressed as a percentage of thepoverty line.

GOALAND TARGET ADDRESSED


RATIONALE

The indicator measures the “poverty deficit”of the entire population, where the povertydeficit is the per capita amount of resourcesthat would be needed to bring all poor peopleabove the poverty line through perfectly tar-geted cash transfers.


The poverty gap ratio is the sum of theincome gap ratios for the population belowthe poverty line, divided by the total popula-tion, which can be expressed as follows:

where z is the poverty line, Yi is the income ofindividual i, q is the number of poor people andn is the size of the population. The povertygap can also be expressed (and thus calculated)as the product of the average income gapratio of poor people and the headcount ratio,that is,

where

where

z

yzI q−

=nq

H =

HIPG *=

∑=

−=

q

i

i

z

yz

nPG

1

1

2


9

,where

All the formulas are calculated based on dataon individuals (yi as individual income or con-sumption). If household-level data are used,the formulas have to be adjusted by theweight wi, which is the household size timessampling expansion factor for every house-hold i.


When based on the $1 a day poverty line, thisindicator is calculated by the World Bank.When based on national poverty lines, theindicator is commonly calculated by nationalagencies.

The data required are the same as those forindicator 1.


Household budget or income surveys areundertaken at different intervals in differentcountries. In developing countries, they typi-cally take place every three to five years.

GENDER ISSUES

Households headed by women may be con-centrated in the bottom fifth. However, thisrelationship should be carefully studied totake into account national circumstances andthe definition of head of household adoptedin data collection, which is not necessarilyrelated to being the chief source of economicsupport. Whether households are headed bywomen or men, gender relations affect intra-household resource allocation and use.


The comments under indicators 1 and 1A alsoapply here.

This measure can also be used for non-mone-tary indicators, provided that the measure of

the distance is meaningful. For example, thepoverty gap in education could be the numberof years of education missing to reach thedefined threshold.


� CHEN, SHAOCHUA, and MARTIN RAVALLION (2002).How Did the World’s Poorest Fare in the1990s? Working Paper No. 2409, pp.1-5.World Bank, Washington, D.C. Availablefrom http://www.worldbank.org/research/povmonitor/publications.htm .

� UNITED NATIONS (2003). Millennium IndicatorsDatabase. Statistics Division Internet sitehttp://millenniumindicators.un.org .

� WORLD BANK (2003 and annual). WorldDevelopment Indicators. Print and CD-ROM.Washington, D.C. Available in part fromhttp://www.worldbank.org/data .

� WORLD BANK (2003). Poverty ReductionStrategy Sourcebook, vol. 1, Core Techniques:Poverty Measurement and Analysis.Washington, D.C. Available fromhttp://www.worldbank.org/poverty/strategies/sourcons.htm.

AGENCIES


SHARE OF POOREST QUINTILE INNATIONAL CONSUMPTION

DEFINITION

Share of the poorest quintile in national con-sumption is the income that accrues to thepoorest fifth of the population.



3

∑=

=q

iiq

yq

y1

1


10

RATIONALE

The indicator provides information about thedistribution of consumption or income of thepoorest fifth of the population. Because theconsumption of the poorest fifth is expressedas a percentage of total household consump-tion (or income), this indicator is a “relativeinequality” measure. Therefore, while theabsolute consumption of the poorest fifthmay increase, its share of total consumptionmay remain the same (if the total goes up bythe same proportion), decline (if the totalgoes up by a larger proportion) or increase (ifthe total goes up by a smaller proportion).


Household income and its distribution areestimated from household surveys. Householdincome is adjusted for household size to pro-vide a more consistent measure of per capitaincome for consumption. Household income isdivided by the number of people in the house-hold to establish income per person. The pop-ulation is then ranked by income. The incomeof the bottom fifth is expressed as a percent-age of aggregate household income. The cal-culations are made in local currency, withoutadjustment for price changes or exchangerates or for spatial differences in cost of livingwithin countries, because the data needed forsuch calculations are generally unavailable.


For international purposes, this indicator iscalculated by the World Bank, but it may alsobe calculated by national agencies. TheDevelopment Research Group of the WorldBank Group produces the indicator based onprimary household survey data obtained fromgovernment statistical agencies and WorldBank country departments.

Data on household income or consumptioncome from household surveys. Since underly-ing household surveys differ across countriesin methods and type of data collected, the

World Bank tries to produce comparable datafor international comparisons and for analysisat the aggregated level (regional or global).Survey data provide either per capita incomeor consumption. Whenever possible, con-sumption data are used rather than incomedata. Where the original household surveydata are not available, shares are estimatedfrom the best available grouped data.


Household budget or income surveys areundertaken at different intervals in differentcountries. In developing countries, they typi-cally take place every three to five years.

GENDER ISSUES

Households headed by women may be con-centrated in the bottom fifth. However, thisrelationship should be carefully studied totake into account national circumstances andthe definition of head of household adoptedin data collection, which is not necessarilyrelated to the chief source of economic sup-port. Whether households are headed bywomen or men, gender relations affect intra-household resource allocation and use.

INTERNATIONAL DATA COMPARISONS

Since the underlying household surveys differin method and type of data collected, the dis-tribution indicators are not easily comparableacross countries. These problems are dimin-ishing as survey methods improve andbecome more standardized, but achievingstrict comparability is still impossible (see“COMMENTS AND LIMITATIONS” for INDICATOR 1).


Two sources of non-comparability should benoted. First, the surveys can differ in manyrespects, including whether they use incomeor consumption as the indicator of living stan-dards. The distribution of income is typicallymore unequal than the distribution of con-sumption. In addition, the definitions ofincome usually differ among surveys. Con-


11

sumption is normally a better welfare indica-tor, particularly in developing countries (see“COMMENTS AND LIMITATIONS” for INDICATOR 1).

Second, households differ in size (number ofmembers), extent of income sharing amongmembers, age of members and consumptionneeds. Differences among countries in theserespects may bias comparisons of distribution.

The percentile chosen here is the bottom fifth(quintile). The proportionate share of nationalhousehold income of this group may go upwhile the proportionate share of some otherpercentile, such as the bottom tenth (decile),may go down, and vice versa.


� RAVALLION, MARTIN, and SHAOHUA CHEN (1996).What Can New Survey Data Tell Us aboutRecent Change in Distribution and Poverty?World Bank Economic Review. Washington,D.C. 11/2:357-82.

� UNITED NATIONS (2001). Indicators ofSustainable Development: Guidelines andMethodologies. Department of Economicand Social Affairs, Division for SustainableDevelopment. Sales No. E.01.II.A.6.Available from http:// www.un.org/esa/sustdev/natlinfo/indicators/isd.htm .



AGENCIES


PREVALENCE OF UNDERWEIGHT CHIL-DREN UNDER 5 YEARS OF AGE

DEFINITION

Prevalence of (moderately or severely) under-weight children is the percentage of childrenunder five years old whose weight for age isless than minus two standard deviations fromthe median for the international referencepopulation ages 0–59 months. The interna-tional reference population was formulatedby the National Center for Health Statistics(NCHS) as a reference for the United Statesand later adopted by the World HealthOrganization (WHO) for international use(often referred to as the NCHS/WHO refer-ence population).


Goal 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hungerTarget 2. Halve, between 1990 and 2015, theproportion of people who suffer from hunger

RATIONALE

Child malnutrition, as reflected in bodyweight, is selected as an indicator for severalreasons. Child malnutrition is linked to poverty,low levels of education and poor access tohealth services. Malnourishment in children,even moderate, increases their risk of death,inhibits their cognitive development, andaffects health status later in life. Sufficientand good quality nutrition is the cornerstonefor development, health and survival of cur-rent and succeeding generations. Healthynutrition is particularly important for womenduring pregnancy and lactation so that theirchildren set off on sound developmentalpaths, both physically and mentally. Onlywhen optimal child growth is ensured for themajority of their people will Governments besuccessful in their efforts to accelerate eco-nomic development in a sustained way.

The under-five underweight prevalence is aninternationally recognized public health indi-cator for monitoring nutritional status and

4


12

health in populations. Child malnutrition isalso monitored more closely than adult mal-nutrition.


The weights of the under-five child populationin a country are compared with the weightsgiven in the NCHS/WHO table of child weightsfor each age group. The percentages of chil-dren in each age group whose weights aremore than 2 standard deviations less than themedian are then aggregated to form the totalpercentage of children under age 5 who areunderweight.


At the national level, data are generally avail-able from national household surveys, includ-ing Demographic and Health Surveys, MultipleIndicator Cluster Surveys and national nutri-tion surveys.

For international comparisons and global orregional monitoring, the United NationsChildren’s Fund (UNICEF) and WHO compileinternational data series and estimate region-al and global figures based on data fromnational surveys.


Household surveys are generally conductedevery three to five years.

GENDER ISSUES

The data from national household surveys gen-erally show no significant differences in under-weight prevalence between boys and girls.However, those trends should continue to bemonitored, particularly at the subnationallevel and within subgroups of the population.


Indicators of malnutrition generally show dif-ferentials between rural and urban settings. Insome countries, child nutrition may varyacross geographical areas, socio-economicgroups or ethnic groups. However, showingand analysing data on specific ethnic groups

may be a sensitive issue in the country.Gender differences may also be more pro-nounced in some social and ethnic groups.


The weight-for-age indicator reflects bodymass relative to chronological age and is influ-enced by both the height of the child (heightfor age) and weight-for-height. Its compositenature makes interpretation complex. Forexample, weight for age fails to distinguishbetween short children of adequate bodyweight and tall, thin children.

Low height for age or stunting, defined as minustwo standard deviations from the medianheight for the age of the reference population,measures the cumulative deficient growthasociated with long-term factors, includingchronic insufficient daily protein intake.

Low weight for height, or wasting, defined asbelow minus 2 standard deviations from themedian weight for height of the reference pop-ulation, indicates in most cases a recent andsevere process of weight loss, often associat-ed with acute starvation or severe disease.

When possible, all three indicators should beanalysed and presented since they measure andreflect different aspects of child malnutrition.


� UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND (2003).Progress since the World Summit forChildren. New York. Available fromhttp://www.childinfo.org.

� UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND (annual).The State of the World’s Children. New York.

� UNITED NATIONS (2001). Indicators ofSustainable Development: Guidelines andMethodologies. Department of Economicand Social Affairs, Division for SustainableDevelopment. Sales No. E.01.II.A. Availablefrom http:// www.un.org/esa/sustdev/natlinfo/indicitors/isd.htm.

� UNITED NATIONS (2003). Millennium Indicators


13

Database. Statistics Division Internet sitehttp://millenniumindicators.un.org .


� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (1986). TheGrowth Chart: A Tool for Use in Infant andChild Health Care. Geneva.

� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (2002 andannual). World Health Report. Geneva.Available from http://www.who.int/whr/en.

� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (2003). GlobalDatabase on Child Growth and Malnutrition.Internet site http://www.who.int/nut-growthdb/. Geneva.

UNICEF and WHO produce international datasets based on survey data. In some countries,ages may have to be estimated.

AGENCIES

Ministries of healthUnited Nations Children’s FundWorld Health Organization

PROPORTION OF THE POPULATIONBELOW MINIMUM LEVEL OFDIETARY ENERGY CONSUMPTION

DEFINITION

Proportion of the population below the mini-mum level of dietary energy consumption isthe percentage of the population whose foodintake falls below the minimum level ofdietary energy requirements. This is alsoreferred to as the prevalence of under-nour-ishment, which is the percentage of the pop-ulation that is undernourished.


Goal 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hungerTarget 2. Halve, between 1990 and 2015, theproportion of people who suffer from hunger

RATIONALE

The indicator measures an important aspectof the food insecurity of a population.Sustainable development demands a concert-ed effort to reduce poverty, including findingsolutions to hunger and malnutrition.Alleviating hunger is a prerequisite for sus-tainable poverty reduction since undernour-ishment seriously affects labour productivityand earning capacity. Malnutrition can be theoutcome of a range of circumstances. In orderto work, poverty reduction strategies mustaddress food access, availability (physical andeconomic) and safety.


Estimation of the proportion of people withinsufficient food (undernourishment) involvesspecification of the distribution of dietaryenergy consumption, considering the totalfood availability (from national global statis-tics) and inequality in access to food (fromnational household surveys). The distributionis assumed to be unimodal and skewed. Thelog-normal function is used in estimating theproportion of the population below a mini-mum energy requirement level or cut-offpoint. The cut-off point is estimated as a pop-ulation per capita average value, based ondietary energy needed by different age andgender groups and the proportion of the pop-ulation represented by each age group.

The estimates are not normally available incountries. The Food and AgricultureOrganization of the United Nations (FAO) pre-pares the estimates at the national level. Theyare then aggregated to obtain regional andglobal estimates.


The main data sources are country statisticson local food production, trade, stocks andnon-food uses; food consumption data fromnational household surveys; country anthro-pometric data by sex and age and UnitedNations country population estimates, in totaland by sex and age.

5


14


Estimates for the most recent period and forselected benchmark periods (expressed asthree-year averages) are reported every year.

GENDER ISSUES

Intrahousehold access to food may show dis-parities by gender. Also, cultural patterns ofdistribution and nutritional taboos may affectwomen’s nutrition. Women’s higher require-ments for iron during pregnancy and breast-feeding may result in iron deficiency anemia,which affects the result of pregnancy andmay increase women’s susceptibility to dis-eases. Although food consumption data donot allow for disaggregation by sex, whenev-er household survey data are available by sex,efforts should be made to conduct a gender-based analysis.


In assessing food insecurity, it is important toconsider geographical areas that may be par-ticularly vulnerable (such as areas with a highprobability of major variations in productionor supply or areas subject to natural disas-ters) and the population groups whose accessto food is precarious or sporadic (due to struc-tural or economic vulnerability), such as eth-nic or social groups. However, showing andanalysing data on specific ethnic groups maybe a sensitive issue in the country. Gender dif-ferences may also be more pronounced insome social and ethnic groups.

Considering the need for disaggregated esti-mates, the FAO methodology has been expand-ed to measure the extent of food deprivation atsubnational levels, making appropriate use ofavailable household survey data. To supportcountries in preparing disaggregated esti-mates, FAO is conducting capacity-buildingactivities for national statistical offices.


The methods and data used by FAO haveimplications for the precise meaning and sig-

nificance of resulting estimates for assess-ment and policy-making. First, the estimatesare based on food acquired by (or availableto) the households rather than the actualfood intake of individual household members.Second, any inequity in intrahousehold accessto food is not taken into account. Third,changes in relative inequality of food distribu-tion through the assessed periods are notconsidered. However, FAO is monitoring anyevidence of significant changes over time thatwould require adjustment to the current esti-mation procedure.

Indicators should not be used in isolation.Monitoring of the hunger reduction targetaddresses two related problems: food depri-vation and child malnutrition. Analysis of fooddeprivation is based on estimates of theprevalence of undernourishment in the wholepopulation. Analysis of child malnutrition isbased on estimates of underweight prevalencein the child population. This is an indicator ofnutritional status of individual children (ade-quate weight for a given age), and the finaloutcome depends not only on food adequacybut also on other multiple factors such asinfections, environmental conditions and care.Therefore, the combined use of both indica-tors would enhance the understanding of thechanges in the food and nutrition situation.


� FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE

UNITED NATIONS (2002). FAO Methodologyfor Estimating the Prevalence ofUndernourishment. In Proceedings of theInternational Scientific Symposium onMeasurement and Assessment of FoodDeprivation and Undernutrition. Rome.


UNITED NATIONS (annual). The State of FoodInsecurity in the World. Rome. Availablefrom http://www.fao.org/sof/sofi/index_en.htm .

� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (1985). Energy


15

and Protein Requirements: Report of a JointFAO/WHO/UNU Expert Consultation. WorldHealth Organization Technical Report 724.Geneva.

AGENCY

Food and Agriculture Organization of theUnited Nations

NET ENROLMENT RATIO IN PRI-MARY EDUCATION

DEFINITION

Net primary enrolment ratio is the ratio of thenumber of children of official school age (asdefined by the national education system)who are enrolled in primary school to the totalpopulation of children of official school age.Primary education provides children withbasic reading, writing, and mathematics skillsalong with an elementary understanding ofsuch subjects as history, geography, naturalscience, social science, art and music


Goal 2. Achieve universal primary educationTarget 3. Ensure that, by 2015, children every-where, boys and girls alike, will be able tocomplete a full course of primary schooling

RATIONALE

The indicator is used to monitor progresstowards the goal of achieving universal pri-mary education, identified in both theMillennium Development Goals and theEducation for All initiative. It shows the pro-portion of children of primary school age whoare enrolled in primary school. Net enrolmentrefers only to children of official primaryschool age. (Gross enrolment includes childrenof any age.) Net enrolment rates below 100per cent provide a measure of the proportionof school age children who are not enrolled atthe primary level. This difference does notnecessarily indicate the percentage of stu-dents who are not enrolled, since some chil-

dren might be enrolled at other levels of edu-cation.


The indicator is calculated as the number ofenrolled students within the appropriate agecohort according to school records as report-ed to ministries of education, divided by thenumber of children of primary school age.


Data on school enrolment are usually record-ed by the country ministry of education orcompiled from surveys and censuses. Data onthe population in the official age group for theprimary level are available from national sta-tistical offices, based on population censusesand vital statistics registration. Nationallyreported values will be the same as interna-tionally reported values only if the samemethods and population estimates are used.

For international comparisons and estimatesof regional and global aggregates, theUNESCO Institute for Statistics regularly pro-duces data series on school enrolment basedon data reported by education ministries ornational statistical offices and United Nationspopulation estimates.

For countries for which administrative data arenot available, household survey data may beused to assess school attendance rather thanenrolment. Among international surveys, theMultiple Indicator Cluster Survey andDemographic and Health Surveys (and some-times Living Standards Measurement Surveysand the Core Welfare IndicatorsQuestionnaires in Africa) provide schoolattendance data.


Enrolment data are recorded regularly by min-istries of education and are available on a yearlybasis. Data derived from surveys and census-es, when administrative records on enrolmentby age and sex are not available, are less fre-

6


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quent. Net enrolment rates produced byUNESCO are available on an annual basis fortwo thirds of countries, but usually one yearafter the reference year. The United NationsPopulation Division estimates population byindividual years of age biannually, althoughestimates may be based on population cen-suses conducted every 10 years in mostcountries. Household survey data, such asthose from the Multiple Indicator ClusterSurvey and Demographic and Health Surveys,are available for many developing countries atregular intervals of three to five years.

GENDER ISSUES

In situations of limited resources, families makedifficult choices about sending their childrento school. They may perceive the value of ed-ucation differently for boys and girls. Girls aremore likely than boys to suffer from limitedaccess to education, especially in rural areas.Nevertheless, where basic education is widelyaccepted and overall enrolment is high, girlstend to equal or outnumber boys at primaryand secondary levels.


Rural and urban differences are particularlyimportant in the analysis of enrolment dataowing to significant differences in schoolfacilities, available resources, demand on chil-dren’s time for work and dropout patterns. Itis also important to consider disaggregationby geographical areas and social or ethnicgroups. However, showing and analysing dataon specific ethnic groups may be a sensitiveissue in the country. Gender differences mayalso be more pronounced in some social andethnic groups.


School enrolments may be overreported forvarious reasons. Survey data may not reflectactual rates of attendance or dropout duringthe school year. Administrators may reportexaggerated enrolments, especially if there isa financial incentive to do so. Children who

repeat years may mistakenly be included inthe net figures. Children’s ages may be inac-curately estimated or misstated. Census datamay be out of date or unreliable. There mayalso be insufficient data on school enrolmentby sex, but existing measurement problemsmake it difficult to assess the situation cor-rectly.

The indicator attempts to capture the educa-tion system’s coverage and efficiency, but itdoes not solve the problem completely. Somechildren fall outside the official school agebecause of late or early entry rather thanbecause of grade repetition.

Enrolment data compiled by UNESCO areadjusted to be consistent with theInternational Standard Classification ofEducation, 1997 (ICSCED) and are thereforecomparable across countries. National dataderived from administrative records are notnecessarily based on the same classificationover time and may not be comparable withdata for other countries, unless exactly thesame classification is used. Similarly, the con-cepts and terms in household surveys andcensuses do not necessarily remain constantover time.


� ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK. Gender Issues inBasic and Primary Education. In GenderChecklist:Education. Manila. Available fromhttp://www.adb.org/documents/Manuals/Gender_checklists/Education.

� UNITED NATIONS (1998). Principles andRecommendations for Population andHousing Censuses, Revision 1. Series M, No.67, Rev. 1, para. 2.156 Sales No.E.98.XVII.1. Available from http://unstats.un.org/unsd/pubs (A, E, F, S).


� UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND (2003).


17

Monitoring Methods. New York. Internet sitehttp:// unicef.org/reseval/methodr. html.UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND (annual).The State of the World’s Children. New York.UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

(2003 and annual). Human DevelopmentReport. New York: Oxford University Press.Available from http://hdr.undp.org .

� UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND

CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (1978). RevisedRecommendations Concerning the Inter-national Standardization of EducationalStatistics. Paris. See also UNESCO StatisticalYearbook, 1998, chap.2.


CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (1997). InternationalStandard Classification of Education, 1997(ISCED). Montreal. Available fromhttp://www.uis.unesco.org. Path: CoreTheme Education, Technical Guides.


UNESCO data since 1998 follow the 1997version of the International StandardClassification of Education, 1997 ISCED, whichenables international comparability betweencountries. The time series data before 1998are not consistent with data for 1998 and after.

AGENCIES

Ministries of educationUNESCO Institute for Statistics

PROPORTION OF PUPILS STARTINGGRADE 1 WHO REACH GRADE 5

DEFINITION

The proportion of pupils starting grade 1 whoreach grade 5, known as the survival rate tograde 5, is the percentage of a cohort ofpupils enrolled in grade 1 of the primary levelof education in a given school year who areexpected to reach grade 5.



RATIONALE

The indicator measures an education sys-tem’s success in retaining students from onegrade to the next as well as its internal effi-ciency. Various factors account for poor per-formance on this indicator, including low qual-ity of schooling, discouragement over poor per-formance and the direct and indirect costs ofschooling. Students’ progress to higher gradesmay also be limited by the availability ofteachers, classrooms and educational materials.


The indicator is typically estimated from dataon enrolment and repetition by grade for twoconsecutive years, in a procedure called thereconstructed cohort method. This methodmakes three assumptions: dropouts neverreturn to school; promotion, repetition anddropout rates remain constant over the entireperiod in which the cohort is enrolled inschool; and the same rates apply to all pupilsenrolled in a given grade, regardless ofwhether they previously repeated a grade.

The calculation is made by dividing the totalnumber of pupils belonging to a school cohortwho reach each successive grade of the spec-ified level of education by the number ofpupils in the school cohort (in this case stu-dents originally enrolled in grade 1 of primaryeducation) and multiplying the result by 100.

When estimated from household survey data,the proportion is estimated as the product ofthe proportions of transition for each gradeup to grade 5. The estimation follows themethod of the United Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

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The indicator proposed by the UNESCOInstitute for Statistics is based on grade-specif-ic enrolment data for two successive years for acountry and on grade repeater data.

Household survey data are obtained fromMultiple Indicator Cluster Surveys andDemographic and Health Surveys in a standardway and include information on current and lastyear school grade and level of attendance.


Where the data are available, they are pub-lished annually about two years after the ref-erence year. Household surveys, such asMultiple Indicator Cluster Surveys andDemographic and Health Surveys, are gener-ally conducted every three to five years.

GENDER ISSUES

Frequency and dropout patterns varybetween girls and boys. Reasons for leavingschool also differ for girls and boys and byage. Families’ demand on children’s time tohelp in household-based work is an importantfactor and is often greater for girls. Also impor-tant for girls are security, the proximity ofschool facilities and the availability of ade-quate sanitation and other services in schools.


Rural and urban differences are particularlyimportant in the analysis of education data,owing to significant differences in schoolfacilities, available resources, demand on chil-dren’s time for work, and dropout patterns. Itis also important to consider disaggregationby geographical area and social or ethnicgroups. However, showing and analysing dataon specific ethnic groups may be a sensitiveissue in the country. Gender differences mayalso be more pronounced in some social andethnic groups.


The method of computation has limits inmeasuring the degree to which schoolentrants survive through primary educationbecause flows caused by new entrants, re-entrants, grade skipping, migration or transfersduring the school year are not considered.

Wherever possible, the indicator should becomplemented by the grade 1 intake rate, be-cause together the indicators give a muchbetter sense of the proportion of children in thepopulation who complete primary education.


� UNITED NATIONS (1998). Principles andRecommendations for Population andHousing Censuses, Revision 1, Series M, No.67, Rev. 1, para. 2.156. Sales No.E.98.XVII.1. Available from http://unstats.un.org/unsd/pubs . (A, E, F, S)

� UNITED NATIONS (2001). Indicators ofSustainable Development: Guidelines andMethodologies. Department of Economicand Social Affairs, Division for SustainableDevelopment. Sales No. E.01.II.A.6.Available from http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/natlinfo/indicators/isd.htm .

� UNITED NATIONS (2003). Millennium IndicatorsDatabase. Statistics Division Internet sitehttp://millenniumindicators. un.org.

� UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND (2000).Monitoring Progress toward the Goals of theWorld Summit for Children: The End-Decade Multiple Indicator Survey Manual.New York. Available at http://www.unicef.org/reseval/methodr.html.



(2003 and annual). Human DevelopmentReport. New York: Oxford University Press.Available at http://hdr.undp.org .


CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (1978). RevisedRecommendations concerning theInternational Standardization of Educational


19

Statistics. Paris. Also contained in UNESCOStatistical Yearbook 1998, chap.2.


CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (1997). InternationalStandard Classification of Education, 1997(ISCED). Montreal. Available at http://www.uis.unesco.org. Select: Core Themes/Education/Technical Guides.


CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (2003). Education forAll: Year 2000 Assessment, TechnicalGuidelines. Paris. Available at http://www.unescobkk.org/infores/efa2000/tech.htm.


CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (2003). WorldEducation Indicators. Internet sitehttp://www.uis.unesco.org/en/stats/sta-tistics/indicators/indic0.htm. Montreal.

� WORLD BANK (2003 and annual). WorldDevelopment Indicators. Print and CD-ROM.Washington, D.C. Available in part fromhttp://www.worldbank.org/data.

Comparable survival rates are produced byUNESCO for about 40 per cent of countriesbased on data from national administrativerecords. The number of countries reportingdata for this indicator has increased over timein part because of recent inclusion of esti-mates obtained from household surveys suchas Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys andDemographic and Health Surveys.

AGENCIES


PRIMARY COMPLETION RATE

DEFINITION

Primary completion rate is the ratio of thetotal number of students successfully com-pleting (or graduating from) the last year ofprimary school in a given year to the totalnumber of children of official graduation agein the population.



RATIONALE

The indicator, which monitors education sys-tem coverage and student progression, isintended to measure human capital formationand school system quality and efficiency.

The indicator focuses on the share of childrenwho ever complete the cycle; it is not a meas-ure of “on-time” primary completion. Variousfactors may lead to poor performance on thisindicator, including low quality of schooling,discouragement over poor performance andthe direct and indirect costs of schooling.Students’ progress to higher grades may alsobe limited by the availability of teachers,classrooms and educational materials.


The numerator may include over-age childrenwho have repeated one or more grades of primary school but are now graduating suc-cessfully. For countries where the number ofprimary graduates is not reported, a proxyprimary completion rate is calculated as theratio of the total number of students in thefinal year of primary school, minus the num-ber of students who repeat the grade in a typical year, to the total number of children ofofficial graduation age in the population.

7-A


20


The indicator is compiled by staff in theEducation Group of the World Bank’s HumanDevelopment Network based on two basic datasources used to compute gross and net enrol-ment ratios: enrolment data from nationalministries of education and population datafrom the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. TheWorld Bank and the UNESCO Institute forStatistics are committed to monitoring thisindicator annually in the future.


Annual.

GENDER ISSUES

More understanding is needed on the pat-terns of completion by gender.


Rural and urban differences are particularlyimportant in the analysis of education dataowing to significant differences in schoolfacilities, available resources, demand on chil-dren’s time for work and dropout patterns. Itis also important to consider disaggregationby geographical area and social or ethnicgroups. However, showing and analysing dataon specific ethnic groups may be a sensitiveissue in the country. Gender differences mayalso be more pronounced in some social andethnic groups.


The indicator reflects the primary schoolcycle as nationally defined according to theInternational Standard Classification ofEducation, as is the case for gross and netenrolment ratios.

While the World Bank and the UNESCOInstitute for Statistics are committed to mon-itoring this indicator annually, systems forcollecting and standardizing the data from155 developing countries are not yet in place.As a result, the current database has manygaps, particularly for small countries, earlieryears and gender breakdowns, as well as

obvious anomalies and estimates that aresuspect. The current database is a mixture ofenrolment data and data based on differentsystems of graduation (examinations, diplo-mas, automatic promotion), limiting interna-tional comparability.

The indicator captures the final output of theprimary education system, so responses topolicy changes will register only with time.

The age-specific estimates are less reliablethan overall population estimates. This isparticularly an issue in countries with rela-tively rapid changes in population and its ageand sex distribution resulting from such caus-es as internal and international migration,civil unrest and displacement. When age-spe-cific population breakdowns are not available,the primary completion rate cannot be esti-mated.

Primary completion rates based on primaryenrolment have an upward bias, since they donot capture those who drop out during thefinal grade. This implies that once the data onactual graduates become available for acountry, the completion rate of the countrywould appear to decline.




� WORLD BANK (2003). Millennium DevelopmentGoals: Achieve universal primary education.Internet site http://www.developmentgoals.org/Education.htm. Washington, D.C.

AGENCIES

Ministries of educationUNESCO Institute for StatisticsWorld Bank


21

LITERACY RATE OF 15–24 YEAR-OLDS

DEFINITION

Literacy rate of 15–24 year-olds, or the youthliteracy rate, is the percentage of the popula-tion 15–24 years old who can both read andwrite with understanding a short simplestatement on everyday life. The definition ofliteracy sometimes extends to basic arith-metic and other life skills.



RATIONALE

The youth literacy rate reflects the outcomesof primary education over the previous 10years or so. As a measure of the effectivenessof the primary education system, it is oftenseen as a proxy measure of social progressand economic achievement. The literacy ratefor this analysis is simply the complement ofthe illiteracy rate. It is not a measure of thequality and adequacy of the literacy levelneeded for individuals to function in a society.Reasons for failing to achieve the literacystandard may include low quality of school-ing, difficulties in attending school or drop-ping out before reaching grade 5.


The usual method of computation is to dividethe number of people ages 15–24 who are lit-erate by the total population in the same agegroup and to multiply the total by 100. Sinceliteracy data are not always available for allcountries and all censuses, the UNESCOInstitute for Statistics uses modeling tech-niques to produce annual estimates based onliteracy information obtained from nationalcensuses and surveys.


Literacy data may be derived from populationcensuses, household surveys and literacy sur-veys, and total population is derived fromnational censuses or sample surveys. However,not all censuses or surveys include specificquestions for assessing literacy. In somecountries where literacy questions are notincluded, a person’s educational attainment(years of schooling completed) is used toassess literacy status. A common practice isto consider those with no schooling as illiter-ate and those who have attended grade 5 ofprimary school as literate.

Many household surveys, including the MultipleIndicator Cluster Surveys, Demographic andHealth Surveys, Core Welfare IndicatorsQuestionnaires in Africa and Living StandardsMeasurement Studies, collect literacy data,which can provide complementary data forcountries without a recent census. However,definitions are not necessarily standardized(see “COMMENTS AND LIMITATIONS”).

Most of the available data on literacy arebased on reported literacy rather than ontested literacy and in some cases are derivedfrom other proxy information.


Youth literacy rates may change more quicklythan adult literacy rates and therefore need tobe measured more often. Since populationcensuses normally occur only every 10 years,input from more frequently administeredlabour force and household surveys are usedfor annual estimates. Data are available forconsecutive five-year age cohorts starting at15–19 years old. Household surveys are gen-erally conducted every three to five years inmost developing countries.

GENDER ISSUES

Higher illiteracy rates for women are the resultof lower school enrolment and early drop-outs. Moreover, because women generally

8


22

have less access to information and trainingand literacy programmes, estimates based onenrolments may overestimate literacy for girls.


Rural and urban differences are particularlyimportant in the analysis of education databecause of significant differences in schoolfacilities, available resources, demand on chil-dren’s time for work and dropout patterns. Itis also important to consider disaggregationby geographical area and social or ethnicgroups. However, showing and analysing dataon specific ethnic groups may be a sensitiveissue in the country. Gender differences mayalso be more pronounced in some social andethnic groups.


Measurements of literacy can vary from sim-ply asking “Are you literate or not?” to testingto assess literacy skills. In some cases, literacyis measured crudely in population censuses,either through self-declaration or by assumingthat people with no schooling are illiterate.This causes difficulty for international com-parisons. Comparability over time, even forthe same survey, may also be a problembecause definitions of literacy used in thesurveys are not standardized. The latest revi-sion of Principles and Recommendations forPopulation and Housing Censuses advisescountries against adopting a proxy measure-ment based on educational attainment. It rec-ommends that literacy questions be adminis-tered as part of national censuses and house-hold surveys, or as part of a post-census sam-ple enumeration.

Shortcomings in the definition of literacy,measurement problems and infrequency ofcensuses and literacy surveys weaken thisindicator as a means of monitoring educationoutcomes related to the goal of achieving uni-versal primary education.


� UNITED NATIONS (1998). Principles andRecommendations for Population andHousing Censuses, Revision 1, Series M, No.67, Rev. 1. Sales No. E.98.XVII.1. Availablefrom http://unstats. un.org/unsd/pubs (A,E, F, S).

� UNITED NATIONS (2001). Indicators ofSustainable Development: Guidelines andMethodologies. Sales No. E.01.II.A.6.Available from http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/natlinfo/indicators/isd.htm.




(2003 and annual). Human DevelopmentReport. New York: Oxford University Press.Available at http://hdr.undp.org.


CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (1978). Revised Rec-ommendations concerning the InternationalStandardization of Educational Statistics.Paris. See also UNESCO StatisticalYearbook, 1998, chap. 2.


CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (2003). Education forAll: The Year 2000 Assessment: TechnicalGuidelines. Paris. Available fromhttp://www.unescobkk.org/infores/efa2000/tech.htm .


CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (2003). UNESCOInstitute for Statistics. Internet sitehttp://www.uis.unesco.org. Montreal.


The main international source of data is theUNESCO international data series of annualand projected estimates based on informa-tion from national population censuses and


23

labour force, household and other surveys.The estimates are available for approximately130 countries.

AGENCIES

Ministries of educationNational statistical officesUNESCO Institute for Statistics

RATIO OF GIRLS TO BOYS IN PRI-MARY, SECONDARY AND TERTIARYEDUCATION

DEFINITION

Ratio of girls to boys in primary, secondary andtertiary education is the ratio of the numberof female students enrolled at primary, sec-ondary and tertiary levels in public and pri-vate schools to the number of male students.


Goal 3. Promote gender equality and empowerwomenTarget 4. Eliminate gender disparity in primaryand secondary education preferably by 2005,and in all levels of education no later than 2015

RATIONALE

The indicator of equality of educational oppor-tunity, measured in terms of school enrolment,is a measure of both fairness and efficiency.Education is one of the most important aspectsof human development. Eliminating genderdisparity at all levels of education would helpto increase the status and capabilities ofwomen. Female education is also an impor-tant determinant of economic development.


The indicator is a ratio of the number of en-rolled girls to enrolled boys, regardless of ages.


Data on school enrolment are usually record-ed by the ministry of education or derivedfrom surveys and censuses. If administrative

data are not available, household survey datamay be used, although household surveysusually measure self-reported attendancerather than enrolment as reported by schools.Among international surveys, Multiple IndicatorCluster Surveys and Demographic and HealthSurveys (and sometimes also Living StandardsMeasurement Studies and Core WelfareIndicators Questionnaires in Africa) provideschool attendance data.

For international comparison and estimation ofregional and global aggregates, the UNESCOInstitute for Statistics data series on schoolenrolment can be used. The series is based ondata reported by education ministries ornational agencies for enrolment.

UNESCO produces ratios of girls to boys atcountry, regional and global levels for use inmonitoring the Millennium Development Goals.They are available at the Millennium Indicatorsweb site http://millenniumindicators.un.org.


Where official enrolment data are available,estimates from UNESCO are normally availableannually about one year after the referenceyear. Data from household surveys may beavailable for selected countries at variousintervals.

Official data on higher education are not asfrequently reported as data on primary andsecondary enrolment.

GENDER ISSUES

In situations of limited resources, familiesmake difficult choices about sending theirchildren to school. They may perceive thevalue of education differently for boys andgirls. Girls are more likely than boys to sufferfrom limited access to education, especially inrural areas. However, where basic education iswidely accepted and overall enrolment is high,girls tend to equal or outnumber boys at theprimary and secondary levels. The pattern is

9


24

similar in higher education, but with largerdifferences between the two genders.


Some 50 countries have no system of highereducation. Private education tends to beunderreported, but international coveragehas improved over the last four cycles of theUNESCO Institute for Statistics survey.Household survey data may include higherand private education, but may not be com-parable between surveys.

The indicator is an imperfect measure of theaccessibility of schooling for girls because itdoes not allow a determination of whetherimprovements in the ratio reflect increases ingirls’ school attendance (desirable) or decreasesin boys’ attendance (undesirable). It also doesnot show whether those enrolled in schoolcomplete the relevant education cycles.

Another limitation of the indicator is that theratio reflects the sex structure of the school-age population. When the sex ratio in theschool age population deviates significantlyfrom 1, the indicator will not adequately reflectthe actual differences between girls’ andboys’ enrolment. This happens in countrieswhere boys outnumber girls at younger ages.

A ratio based on net enrolment (indicator 6)or gross enrolment is a better measure forthis indicator as it takes into account the pop-ulation structure of the country.



� UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND (2000).Monitoring Progress towards the Goals ofthe World Summit for Children: The End-Decade Multiple Indicator Survey Manual.New York. Available at http://www.unicef.org/reseval/methodr.html.



(2003 and annual). Human DevelopmentReport. New York: Oxford University Press.Available at http://hdr.undp.org .


CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (1978). RevisedRecommendations concerning the Inter-national Standardization of EducationalStatistics. Paris. See also UNESCOStatistical Yearbook, 1998, chap. 2.




CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (2003). Education forAll: The Year 2000 Assessment, TechnicalGuidelines. Paris. Available at http://www.unescobkk.org/infores/efa2000/tech.htm.


CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (2003). WorldEducation Indicators. Internet site http://www.uis.unesco.org/en/stats/statistics/indicators/indic0.htm. Montreal.


AGENCIES



25

RATIO OF LITERATE WOMEN TOMEN, 15–24 YEARS OLD

DEFINITION

The ratio of literate women to men, 15–24years old (literacy gender parity index) is theratio of the female literacy rate to the maleliteracy rate for the age group 15–24.



RATIONALE

The indicator measures progress towardsgender equity in literacy and learning oppor-tunities for women in relation to those formen. It also measures a presumed outcome ofattending school and a key indicator ofempowerment of women in society. Literacyis a fundamental skill to empower women totake control of their lives, to engage directlywith authority and to gain access to the widerworld of learning.


The indicator is derived by dividing the litera-cy rate of women ages 15–24 by the literacyrate of men ages 15–24.


Literacy data may be derived from populationcensuses, household surveys and literacy sur-veys. However, not all censuses or surveysinclude specific questions for assessing literacy.In some countries where literacy questionsare not included, a person’s educationalattainment (years of schooling completed) isused to assess literacy status. A commonpractice is to consider those with no schoolingas illiterate and defining those who haveattended grade 5 of primary school as literate. Many household surveys, including the MultipleIndicator Cluster Surveys, Demographic and

Health Surveys, Core Welfare IndicatorsQuestionnaires in Africa and Living StandardsMeasurement Surveys, collect literacy data,which can provide complementary data forcountries without a recent census. However,definitions are not necessarily standardized(see “COMMENTS AND LIMITATIONS”).


Since population censuses normally occurevery 10 years, input from more frequentlyadministered labour force, household andother surveys are used for annual estimates.Household surveys are generally conductedevery three to five years in most developingcountries.

GENDER ISSUES

Higher illiteracy rates for women are theresult of lower school enrolment and earlydropouts. Moreover, since women generallyhave less access to information, training andliteracy programmes, estimates based onenrolments may overestimate literacy for girls.


Measurements of literacy can vary from simplyasking “Are you literate or not?” to testing toassess literacy skills. In some cases, literacy ismeasured crudely in population censuses,either through self-declaration or by assumingthat people with no schooling are illiterate. Thiscauses difficulty for international comparisons.Comparability over time, even for the samesurvey, may also be a problem because defini-tions of literacy used in the surveys are notstandardized. The latest revision of Principlesand Recommendations for Population andHousing Censuses advises countries againstadopting a proxy measurement based on edu-cational attainment. It recommends that litera-cy questions be administered as part of nation-al censuses and household surveys or as partof a post-census sample enumeration.

Shortcomings in the definition of literacy,measurement problems and infrequency of

10


26

censuses and literacy surveys weaken thisindicator as a means of monitoring educationoutcomes related to the goal of achieving uni-versal primary education.


� UNITED NATIONS (1998). Principles andRecommendations for Population andHousing Censuses, Revision 1, Series M, No.67, Rev. 1, Sales No. E.98.XVII.1. Availableat http://unstats. un.org/unsd/pubs. (A, E,F, S)




(2003 and annual). Human DevelopmentReport. New York, Oxford University Press.Available at http://hdr.undp.org.


CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (1978). RevisedRecommendations concerning the Inter-national Standardization of EducationalStatistics. Paris. See also UNESCO StatisticalYearbook, 1998, chap. 2.


CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (2003). Education forAll: The Year 2000 Assessment: TechnicalGuidelines. Paris. Available at http://www.unescobkk.org/infores/efa2000/tech.htm .


CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (2003). UNESCOInstitute for Statistics Internet sitehttp://www.uis.unesco.org. Montreal.


The main source of international data is theUnited Nations Educational, Scientific andCultural Organization’s international dataseries of annual and projected estimatesbased on information from national popula-

tion censuses and labour force, householdand other surveys. These estimates are avail-able for some 130 countries.

AGENCIES

Ministries of educationNational statistical officesUNESCO Institute for Statistics

SHARE OF WOMEN IN WAGE EMPLOY-MENT IN THE NON-AGRICULTURALSECTOR

DEFINITION

The share of women in wage employment inthe non-agricultural sector is the share offemale workers in the non-agricultural sectorexpressed as a percentage of total employ-ment in the sector.

The non-agricultural sector includes industryand services. Following the InternationalStandard Industrial Classification (ISIC) of AllEconomic Activities, industry includes miningand quarrying (including oil production), man-ufacturing, construction, electricity, gas andwater. Services includes wholesale and retailtrade; restaurants and hotels; transport, stor-age and communications; financing, insurance,real estate and business services; and com-munity, social and personal services.

Employment refers to people above a certainage who worked or held a job during a refer-ence period. Employment data include bothfull-time and part-time workers whose remu-neration is determined on the basis of hoursworked or number of items produced and isindependent of profits or expectation of profits.



11


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RATIONALE

The indicator measures the degree to whichlabour markets are open to women in industryand service sectors, which affects not onlyequal employment opportunity for womenbut also economic efficiency through flexibili-ty of the labour market and, therefore, theeconomy’s ability to adapt to change.

A significant global increase over the lastdecade in women’s share in paid employmentin the non-agricultural sector indicates thatworking women have become more integrat-ed into the monetary economy through par-ticipation in the formal and informal sectors.However, labour markets remain stronglysegregated. In many countries, productivework under conditions of freedom, equity andhuman dignity is in short supply, and this dis-proportionately affects women. Women aremuch more likely than men to work as con-tributing family workers, without their ownpay, and in the informal sector, although thereare large differentials between countries andat regional and national levels, often mirroringthe relative importance of agriculture.


The total number of women in paid employ-ment in the non-agricultural sector is dividedby the total number of people in paid employ-ment in that same sector.

DATA COLLECTION AND SOURCES:

Data are obtained from population censuses,labour force surveys, enterprise censuses andsurveys, administrative records of socialinsurance schemes and official estimatesbased on results from several of thesesources. Enterprise surveys and administra-tive records are likely to cover only large pri-vate and public sector employers, in particu-lar in developing countries. The other sourcesmay cover the whole relevant population.

PERIODICITY OF MEASUREMENT:

Results from population censuses are normallyavailable every 10 years, while estimates based

on other sources may be available annually orless frequently in some developing countries.

GENDER ISSUES

There are large differences between women andmen in non-agricultural employment, in particu-lar in developing countries. This is the result ofdifferences between rates of participation inemployment for women and men as well as thekind of employment in which they participate. Inmany regions, women are more likely than mento be engaged in informal sector activities andsubsistence or unpaid work in the household.

Wage employment in most of Africa and muchof Asia and the Pacific is a middle-class, urbanphenomenon. Outside of urban areas, mostemployment is agricultural, often for familysubsistence. However, where non-agriculturalemployment is available, it is more likely to goto male members of the household.

As economies develop, the share of women innon-agricultural wage employment becomesincreasingly important. A higher share in paidemployment could secure for them betterincome, economic security and well-being.However, this shift is not automatic, nor doesit account for differentials in working condi-tions between men and women. Other vari-ables need to be considered, such as level ofeducation, level of remuneration and wagedifferentials, and the extent to which womenand men benefit from labour legislation andsocial programmes. Men more often hold reg-ular and better remunerated jobs, whereaswomen are frequently in peripheral, insecure,less valued jobs, as home workers, casualworkers or part-time or temporary workers.


Although there are clear international stan-dards for the relevant concepts, countries may use different defini tions for employmentstatus, especially for part-time workers, stu-dents, members of the armed forces andhousehold or contributing family workers. Also,different sources of data may use different def-


28

initions and have different coverage, with limit-ed comparability across countries and overtime within the same country. The employmentshare of the agricultural sector is severelyunderreported. In addition, studies have shownthat employment activity questions on stan-dard censuses tend to grossly underestimatethe extent of female employment of any kind.


� ANKER, R., M.E. KHAN and R.B. GUPTA (1988).Women’s Participation in the Labour Force:A Methods Test in India for Improving ItsMeasurement. Women, Work andDevelopment 16. Geneva: InternationalLabour Office.

� INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE (1988). AssessingWomen’s Economic Contribution toDevelopment. Geneva.

� INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE (2002). Womenand Men in the Informal Economy: A statis-tical picture. Geneva. available from http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/gems/download/women.pdf.

� INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION (2000).Current International Recommendations onLabour Statistics, 2000 Edition. Geneva.

� INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION (2003).Laborsta—an International Labour Officedatabase on labour statistics operated bythe ILO Bureau of Statistics. Internet sitehttp://laborsta.ilo.org. Geneva.

� INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION (annual).Key Indicators of the Labour Market.Geneva. Available in part fromhttp://www.ilo. org/kilm.

� INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION (annual).Yearbook of Labour Statistics. Geneva.Available at http://laborsta.ilo.org .

� SWEDEN, STATISTICS SWEDEN (1996).Engendering Statistics: A Tool for Change.Stockholm.

� UNITED NATIONS (1990). InternationalStandard Industrial Classification of AllEconomic Activities (ISIC). Series M, No. 4,Rev. 3.1. available from http://unstats.un.org/unsd/cr/registry.

� UNITED NATIONS (1998). Principles andRecommendations for Population andHousing Censuses, Revision 1, Series M, No.67, Rev. 1. Sales No. E.98.XVII.1. Availablefrom http://unstats. un.org/unsd/pubs. (A,E, F, S)



International data are compiled by theInternational Labour Organization based ondata reported by countries. An increasingnumber of countries report economic activityaccording to the ISIC.

AGENCIES

Ministries of labourNational statistical officesInternational Labour Organization

PROPORTION OF SEATS HELD BYWOMEN IN NATIONAL PARLIAMENTS

DEFINITION

The proportion of seats held by women innational parliaments is the number of seatsheld by women expressed as a percentage ofall occupied seats.



RATIONALE

Women’s representation in parliaments is oneaspect of women’s opportunities in politicaland public life, and it is therefore linked towomen’s empowerment.

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29


The indicator is obtained by dividing the num-ber of parliamentary seats occupied by womenby the total number of seats occupied.National parliaments consist of one or twochambers. For international comparisons,generally only the single or lower house isconsidered in calculating the indicator.


At the national level, the data come from therecords of national parliaments. National par-liaments also report the total number of par-liamentary seats and the number occupied bywomen and men to the Inter-ParliamentaryUnion (IPU), which regularly compiles interna-tional data series and global and regionalaggregates.


The data are commonly available from nationalparliaments and updated after an election.National parliaments also transmit their datato the IPU at least once a year and when thenumbers change significantly, such as afteran election.

GENDER ISSUES

Women are underrepresented in all decision-making bodies and within political parties,particularly at the higher echelons. Womenstill face many practical obstacles to the fullexercise of their role in political life.


Parliaments vary considerably in their inde-pendence and authority, though they generallyengage in law-making, oversight ofGovernment and representation of the elec-torate. In terms of measuring women’s realpolitical decision-making, this indicator maynot be sufficient, because women still facemany obstacles in fully and efficiently carry-ing out their parliamentary mandate. Thus,being a member of parliament, especially indeveloping countries and emerging democra-cies, does not guarantee that a woman has

the resources, respect or constituency toexercise significant influence.


INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION (2003). Womenin National Parliaments. Internet sitehttp://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/world.htm.Geneva.UNITED NATIONS (2003). Millennium IndicatorsDatabase. Statistics Division Internet sitehttp://millenniumindicators.un.org.UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT FUND FOR WOMEN

(2000). Progress of the World’s Women. NewYork. available from http://www.unifem.undp.org/progressww/2000.UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

(2003 and annual). Human DevelopmentReport. New York: Oxford University Press.Available at http://hdr.undp.org.

The IPU regularly compiles international dataseries and global and regional aggregates.

AGENCIES

National parliamentsInter-Parliamentary Union

UNDER-FIVE MORTALITY RATE

DEFINITION

The under-five mortality rate is the probability(expressed as a rate per 1,000 live births) of achild born in a specified year dying beforereaching the age of five if subject to currentage-specific mortality rates.


Goal 4. Reduce child mortalityTarget 5. Reduce by two thirds, between 1990and 2015, the under-five mortality rate

RATIONALE

The indicator, which relates directly to thetarget, measures child survival. It also reflects

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the social, economic and environmental con-ditions in which children (and others in society)live, including their health care. Because dataon the incidences and prevalence of diseases(morbidity data) frequently are unavailable,mortality rates are often used to identify vul-nerable populations. The under-five mortalityrate captures more than 90 per cent of globalmortality among children under the age of 18.


Age-specific mortality rates are calculatedfrom data on births and deaths in vital statis-tics registries, censuses and household surveysin developing countries. Estimates based onhousehold survey data are obtained directly(using birth history, as in Demographic andHealth Surveys) or indirectly (Brass method,as in Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys). Thedata are then summed for children under five,and the results are expressed as a rate per1,000 live births.


At the national level, the best source of datais a complete vital statistics registration sys-tem—one covering at least 90 per cent ofvital events in the population. Such systemsare uncommon in developing countries, soestimates are also obtained from sample sur-veys or derived by applying direct and indirectestimation techniques to registration, censusor survey data. A wide variety of householdsurveys, including Multiple Indicator ClusterSurveys and Demographic and HealthSurveys, are used in developing countries.

Several international agencies produce coun-try estimates based on available national datafor purposes of international comparisonsand assessment of global and regional trends(see below, “International data compar-isons”).


Vital statistics are typically available once ayear, but they are unreliable in most develop-

ing countries. Household surveys that includequestions on births and deaths are generallyconducted every three to five years.

GENDER ISSUES

Under-five mortality rates are higher for boysthan for girls in countries without significantparental gender preferences. Under-five mor-tality better captures the effect of gender dis-crimination than infant mortality, as nutritionand medical interventions are more importantin this age group, while biological differenceshave a higher impact during the first year oflife (see also indicator 14, infant mortalityrate). There may be gender-based biases inthe reporting of child deaths.


Under-five mortality generally shows largedisparities across geographical areas andbetween rural and urban areas. Under-fivemortality may also vary across socio-econom-ic groups. Children in some ethnic groupsmight also be at higher risk of malnutrition,poorer health and higher mortality. However,showing and analysing data on specific ethnicgroups may be a sensitive issue in the coun-try. Gender differences may also be more pro-nounced in some social and ethnic groups.


Data on under-five mortality is more com-plete and more timely than data on adult mor-tality. The under-five mortality rate is consid-ered to be a more robust estimate than theinfant mortality rate if the information isdrawn from household surveys.

In developing countries, household surveysare essential to the calculation of the indica-tor, but there are some limits to their quality.Survey data are subject to recall error; inaddition, surveys estimating under-fivedeaths require large samples because suchincidences are uncommon and representativehouseholds cannot ordinarily be identified forsampling. Moreover, the frequency of the sur-


31

vey is generally only every three to five years.Therefore, when using household surveys it isimportant to take sampling errors intoaccount. In addition, indirect estimates relyon estimated actuarial (“life”) tables that maybe inappropriate for the population con-cerned.

There are also gender-based biases in thereporting of child deaths.


UNITED NATIONS (2001). Indicators ofSustainable Development: Guidelines andMethodologies. Sales No. E.01.II.A.6.Available from http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/natlinfo/indicators/isd.htm .UNITED NATIONS (2001). Principles andRecommendations for a Vital StatisticsSystem, Revision 2. Series M, No. 19, Rev. 2.Sales No. 01.XVII.10. Available from http://unstats.un.org/unsd/pubs.UNITED NATIONS (2003 and biennial). WorldPopulation Prospects: The 2002 Revision,vol. 1. Comprehensive Tables (Sales No.E.03.XIII.6) and vol. 2, Sex and Age distribu-tion of the World Population (Sales No.E.03.XIII.7). Available from http://esa.un.org/unpp.UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND (2000).Monitoring Progress towards the Goals ofthe World Summit for Children: The End-Decade Multiple Indicator Survey Manual.New York. Available from http://www.unicef. org/reseval/methodr.html .UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND (annual).The State of the World’s Children. New York.UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

(2003 and annual). Human DevelopmentReport. New York: Oxford University Press.available from http://hdr.undp.org .WORLD BANK (2003 and annual). WorldDevelopment Indicators. Print and CD-ROM.Washington, D.C. Available in part fromhttp://www.worldbank.org/data .WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (1992).International Statistical Classification ofDiseases and Related Health Problems,

Tenth Revision (ICD-10), vol. 1. Geneva.WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (2003). WHOStatistical Information System (WHOSIS)—Evidence and Information for Health Policy.Internet site http://www3.who.int/whosis/menu.cfm. Geneva.

Mortality rates are among the most frequentlyused indicators to compare levels of socio-economic development across countries. TheUnited Nations Population Division, theUnited Nations Children’s Fund and the WorldHealth Organization regularly produce esti-mates of under-five mortality based on avail-able national data. The data series may differ,however, owing to differences in methodolo-gies used to estimate data and differences inreporting periods.

AGENCIES

Ministries of healthNational statistical officesUnited Nations Children’s FundWorld Health Organization

INFANT MORTALITY RATE

DEFINITION

The infant mortality rate is typically definedas the number of infants dying before reachingthe age of one year per 1,000 live births in agiven year.


Goal 4. Reduce child mortalityTarget 5. Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990and 2015, the under-five mortality rate

RATIONALE

Although the target relates specifically tounder-five mortality, infant mortality is rele-vant to the monitoring of the target since itrepresents an important component ofunder-five mortality.

Infant mortality rates measure child survival.They also reflect the social, economic and

14


32

environmental conditions in which children(and others in society) live, including theirhealth care. Since data on the incidence andprevalence of diseases (morbidity data) fre-quently are unavailable, mortality rates areoften used to identify vulnerable populations.


The indicator is the number of deaths ofinfants under one year of age in the indicatedyear per 1,000 live births in the same year.

For data from vital statistics registrations(when reliable), the number of live births anddeaths in the same year of children under oneyear old are estimated. The number of deathsis divided by the number of births and theresult is multiplied by 1,000.

For data from household surveys, infant mor-tality estimates are obtained directly (usingbirth history, as in Demographic and HealthSurveys) or indirectly (Brass method, as inMultiple Indicator Cluster Surveys). Whenestimated indirectly, the under-one mortalityestimates must be consistent with the under-five mortality estimates.


The best source of data is a complete vital sta-tistics registration system—one covering atleast 90 per cent of vital events in the popula-tion. Such systems are uncommon in developingcountries, so estimates are also obtained fromsample surveys or derived by applying directand indirect estimation techniques to registra-tion, census or survey data. A wide variety ofhousehold surveys, including Multiple IndicatorCluster Surveys and Demographic and HealthSurveys, are used in developing countries.


Vital statistics are typically available once ayear, but they are unreliable in most develop-ing countries. Household surveys that include questions on births and deaths are usuallyconducted every three to five years.

GENDER ISSUES

Girls have a survival advantage over boys dur-ing the first year of life, largely based on bio-logical differences. This is especially so duringthe first month of life when perinatal condi-tions are most likely to be the cause or a con-tributing cause of death. While infant mortal-ity is generally higher for boys than for girls, insome countries girls’ biological advantage isoutweighed by gender-based discrimination (see also INDICATOR 13, “Under-five mortalityrate”). However, under-five mortality bettercaptures the effect of gender discriminationthan infant mortality, as nutrition and medicalinterventions are more important after ageone.


Infant mortality generally shows large dispar-ities across geographical areas and betweenurban and rural areas. Infant mortality mayalso vary across socioeconomic groups, andthe indicator is often used as a general indi-cator of social distress in populations. Infantsin some ethnic groups might also be at higherrisk of malnutrition, poorer health and highermortality. However, showing and analysingdata on specific ethnic groups may be a sen-sitive issue in the country. Gender differencesmay also be more pronounced in some socialand ethnic groups.


The infant mortality rate is considered to be amore robust estimate than the under-fivemortality rate if the information is drawn fromvital statistics registration.

In developing countries, household surveysare essential to the calculation of the indica-tor, but there are some limits to their quality.Survey data are subject to recall error, andsurveys estimating infant deaths require largesamples because such incidences are uncom-mon and representative households cannotordinarily be identified for sampling.Moreover, the frequency of the surveys isgenerally only every three to five years.Therefore, when using household survey esti-


33

mates, it is important to take sampling errorsinto account.


UNITED NATIONS (1958). MultilingualDemographic Dictionary. Population Studies,No. 29. Sales No. E.58.XIII.4. UNITED NATIONS (1999). World PopulationProspects: The 1998 Revision, vol. III,Analytical Report. Sales No. E.99.XIII.10.UNITED NATIONS (2001). Principles andRecommendations for a Vital StatisticsSystem, Revision 2. Series M, No. 19, Rev. 2.Sales No. 01.XVII.10. Available from http://unstats.un. org/unsd/pubs.UNITED NATIONS (2003 and biennial). WorldPopulation Prospects: The 2002 Revision,vol. 1. Comprehensive Tables (Sales No.E.03.XIII.6) and vol. 2, Sex and Age distribu-tion of the World Population. (Sales No.E.03.XIII.7). Available from http://esa.un.org/unpp.UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND (annual). TheState of the World’s Children. New York. UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

(2003 and annual). Human Development Report. New York: Oxford University Press.available from http://hdr.undp.org .WORLD BANK (2003 and annual). WorldDevelopment Indicators. Print and CD-ROM.Washington, D.C. Available in part fromhttp://www.worldbank.org/data .WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (1992).International Statistical Classification ofDiseases and Related Health Problems, TenthRevision (ICD-10), vol.1. Geneva.WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (2003). WHOStatistical Information System (WHOSIS)—Evidence and Information for Health Policy.Internet site http://www3.who.int/whosis/menu.cfm . Geneva.

Mortality rates are among the most frequentlyused indicators to compare levels of socio-economic development across countries. TheUnited Nations Population Division, the

United Nations Children’s Fund and the WorldHealth Organization regularly produce esti-mates of infant and under-five mortalitybased on available national data. The dataseries may differ, however, owing to differ-ences in methodologies used to estimate dataand differences in reporting periods.

AGENCIES

Ministries of healthNational statistical officesUnited Nations Children’s FundWorld Health Organization

PROPORTION OF 1-YEAR-OLDCHILDREN IMMUNIZED AGAINSTMEASLES

DEFINITION

The proportion of 1-year-old children immu-nized against measles is the percentage ofchildren under one year of age who havereceived at least one dose of measles vaccine.


Goal 4. Reduce child mortalityTarget 5. Reduce by two thirds, between 1990and 2015, the under-five mortality rate

RATIONALE

The indicator provides a measure of the cov-erage and the quality of the child health-caresystem in the country. Immunization is anessential component for reducing under-fivemortality. Governments in developing coun-tries usually finance immunization againstmeasles and diphtheria, pertussis (whoopingcough) and tetanus (DPT) as part of the basichealth package. Among these vaccine-pre-ventable diseases of childhood, measles is theleading cause of child mortality. Health andother programmes targeted at those specificcauses are one practical means of reducingchild mortality.

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34


The indicator is estimated as the percentageof children ages 12–23 months who receivedat least one dose of measles vaccine eitherany time before the survey or before the ageof 12 months. Estimates of immunizationcoverage are generally based on two sourcesof empirical data: administrative data andcoverage surveys (see “Data collection andsources”). For estimates based on administra-tive data, immunization coverage is derivedby dividing the total number of vaccinationsby the number of children in the target popu-lation. For most vaccines, the target popula-tion is the national annual number of births ornumber of surviving infants (this may varydepending on a country’s policies and thespecific vaccine). Immunization coverage sur-veys are frequently used in connection withadministrative data.


The two sources available at the national levelare reports of vaccinations performed by serviceproviders (administrative data) and house-hold surveys containing information on chil-dren’s vaccination history (coverage surveys).The principle types of surveys used as sourcesof information on immunization coverage areExpanded Programme on Immunization (EPI)30 cluster surveys, Multiple Indicator ClusterSurveys and Demographic and Health Surveys.Routine data are compiled by national EPIprogramme managers.

The World Health Organization and the UnitedNations Children’s Fund compile country dataseries based on both types of data, gatheredthrough the WHO/UNICEF Joint ReportingForm on Vaccine-Preventable Diseases.


Administrative data are collected annually.Surveys are generally conducted every threeto five years.

GENDER ISSUES

Immunization programmes are generally freeof charge and should not discriminatebetween boys and girls. However, in somecountries of south-central Asia and northernAfrica, girls’ immunization rates are lowerthan boys’, probably due to cultural ratherthan economic reasons.


The first dose of measles vaccine is supposedto be administered to all children at the age ofnine months or shortly after. By 2000, mostcountries were providing a “second opportu-nity” for measles vaccination, either through atwo-dose routine schedule or through a com-bined routine schedule and supplementarycampaigns. Measles immunization coverageis expressed as the percentage of childrenwho have received at least one dose.

Vaccination coverage for measles needs to beabove 90 per cent to stop transmission of thevirus—not only because measles is so conta-gious, but also because up to 15 per cent ofchildren vaccinated at nine months fail todevelop immunity. Some countries in the LatinAmerica and Caribbean region, for example,administer the measles vaccine at 12–15months of age. This has to be taken intoaccount in calculations of coverage based onhousehold surveys.

In many developing countries, lack of preciseinformation on the size of the cohort of chil-dren under one year of age makes immuniza-tion coverage difficult to estimate.


� GUNN, S.W.A., KLUWER ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS

(1990). Multilingual Dictionary of DisasterMedicine and International Relief.Dordrecht, The Netherlands. English/Français/Español/Arabic.

� UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND (2003).Health. Internet site http://www.unicef.


35

org/health/index.html. New York.� UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND (2003).

Routine Immunization. Internet sitehttp://www.childinfo.org/eddb/immuni/index.htm. New York.


� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (1992).International Statistical Classification ofDiseases and Related Health Problems,Tenth Revision (ICD-10), vol. 1. Geneva.

� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (1999).Recommended Standards for Surveillanceof Selected Vaccine-Preventable Diseases.WHO/EPI/GEN/99012. Geneva.

� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (2003).Measles. Internet site http://www.who.int/health_topics/measles/en. Geneva.

� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (2003).Surveillance. Internet site http://www.who.int/vaccines-surveillance. Geneva.

WHO and UNICEF compile country data seriesbased on administrative data and householdsurveys, gathered through the WHO/UNICEFJoint Reporting Form on Vaccine-PreventableDiseases.

AGENCIES


MATERNAL MORTALITY RATIO

DEFINITION

The maternal mortality ratio is the number ofwomen who die from any cause related to oraggravated by pregnancy or its management(excluding accidental or incidental causes)during pregnancy and childbirth or within 42days of termination of pregnancy, irrespectiveof the duration and site of the pregnancy, per100,000 live births. The 10th revision of theInternational Classification of Diseases makesprovision for including late maternal deaths

occurring between six weeks and one yearafter childbirth.


Goal 5. Improve maternal healthTarget 6. Reduce by three quarters, between1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio

RATIONALE

The indicator, which is directly related to thetarget, monitors deaths related to pregnancy.Such deaths are affected by various factors,including general health status, education andservices during pregnancy and childbirth. It isimportant to monitor changes in health condi-tions related to sex and reproduction.


The maternal mortality ratio can be calculat-ed by dividing recorded (or estimated) mater-nal deaths by total recorded (or estimated)live births in the same period and multiplyingby 100,000. The indicator can be calculateddirectly from data collected through vital sta-tistics registrations, household surveys orhospital studies. However, those sources allhave data quality problems (see “Data collec-tion and sources”). Alternative methodsinclude a review of all deaths of women ofreproductive age (so-called Reproductive AgeMortality Surveys, or RAMOS), longitudinalstudies of pregnant women and repeatedhousehold studies. All these methods, howev-er, still rely on accurate reporting of deaths ofpregnant women and of the cause of death,something that is difficult to obtain.

Another problem is the need for large samplesizes, which raises costs. This can be over-come by using sisterhood methods. The indi-rect sisterhood method asks respondentsfour simple questions about how many oftheir sisters reached adulthood, how manyhave died and whether those who died werepregnant around the time of death. However,the reference period of the estimate is at least10–12 years before the survey. The direct sis-terhood method used in Demographic and

16


36

Health Surveys also asks respondents to provide the date of death, which permits thecalculation of more recent estimates, buteven then the reference period tends to cen-ter on 0–6 years before the survey.

Maternal deaths should be divided into twogroups. Direct obstetric deaths result fromobstetric complications of the pregnant state(pregnancy, labour and puerperium); from inter-ventions, omissions or incorrect treatment; orfrom a chain of events resulting from any ofthese. Indirect obstetric deaths result from pre-viously existing disease or disease that devel-oped during pregnancy and that was not direct-ly due to obstetric causes but was aggravatedby the physiologic effects of pregnancy.Published maternal mortality ratios shouldalways specify whether the numerator (numberof recorded maternal deaths) is the number ofrecorded direct obstetric deaths or the numberof recorded obstetric deaths (direct plus indi-rect). Maternal deaths from HIV/AIDS andobstetrical tetanus are included in the maternalmortality ratio.


Good vital statistics registration systems arerare in developing countries. Official data are usually obtained from health servicerecords, but few women in rural areas haveaccess to health services. So in developingcountries, it is more usual to use survey data.The most common sources of data are theDemographic and Health Surveys and similarhousehold surveys. Available data on levels ofmaternal mortality are generally significantlyunderestimated because of problems of mis-classification and underreporting of maternaldeaths. The World Health Organization, theUnited Nation’s Children’s Fund and the UnitedNations Population Fund have adjusted exist-ing data to take account of these problemsand have developed model-based estimatesfor countries with no reliable national data onmaternal mortality. It is those estimates thatare usually published in international tables.


Every 7–10 years.

GENDER ISSUES

The low social and economic status of girlsand women is a fundamental determinant ofmaternal mortality in many countries. Lowstatus limits the access of girls and women toeducation and good nutrition as well as to theeconomic resources needed to pay for healthcare or family planning services.


The indicator is generally of unknown reliability,as are many other cause-specific mortality indi-cators, owing to the difficulty in distinguishingdeaths that are genuinely related to pregnancyfrom deaths that are not. Even in industrializedcountries with comprehensive vital statisticsregistration systems, misclassification andunderreporting of maternal deaths can lead toserious underestimation. Because it is a relative-ly rare event, large sample sizes are needed ifhousehold surveys are used. Household surveyssuch as the Demographic and Health Surveyattempt to measure maternal mortality by ask-ing respondents about survivorship of sisters.While the sisterhood method reduces samplesize requirements, it produces estimates cover-ing some 6–12 years before the survey, whichrenders the data problematic for monitoringprogress or observing the impact of interven-tions. In addition, owing to the very large confi-dence limits around the estimates, they are notsuitable for assessing trends over time or formaking comparisons between countries. As aresult, it is recommended that process indica-tors, such as attendance by skilled health per-sonnel at delivery and use of emergency obstet-ric care facilities, be used to assess progresstowards the reduction in maternal mortality.

The maternal mortality ratio should not beconfused with the maternal mortality rate(whose denominator is the number of womenof reproductive age), which measures thelikelihood of both becoming pregnant and


37

dying during pregnancy or the puerperium(six weeks after delivery). The maternal mor-tality ratio (whose denominator is the numberof live birth), takes fertility levels (likelihood ofbecoming pregnant) into consideration.


� UNITED NATIONS (2003 and biennial). WorldPopulation Prospects: The 2002 Revision,vol. 1. Comprehensive Tables (Sales No.E.03.XIII.6) and vol. 2, Sex and Age distribu-tion of the World Population (Sales No.E.03.XIII.7). Available from http://esa.un.org/unpp.




(2003 and annual). Human DevelopmentReport. New York: Oxford University Press.Available from http://hdr.undp.org .

� UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND (1998).Issues in measuring and monitoring mater-nal mortality: implications for programmes.Technical and Policy Paper No.1. New York.

� UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND (annual).State of World Population. Available fromhttp://www.unfpa.org/swp/swpmain.htm .


� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (1991).Maternal Mortality: A Global Factbook.Geneva.


� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (1999).Reduction of Maternal Mortality: A JointWHO/UNFPA/UNICEF/World Bank State-ment. Geneva. Available from www.who.int/reproductive-health.

� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, and UNITED

NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND (1997). TheSisterhood Method for Estimating MaternalMortality: Guidance Notes for PotentialUsers. Geneva.

� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, UNITED NATIONS

CHILDREN’S FUND and UNITED NATIONS

POPULATION FUND (2001). Maternal Mortalityin 1995. Geneva.

The World Health Organization, the UnitedNation’s Children’s Fund and the UnitedNations Population Fund have adjusted exist-ing data to account for the problems and havedeveloped model-based estimates for coun-tries with no reliable national data on mater-nal mortality. It is those estimates that areusually published in international tables.

AGENCIES

Ministries of healthUnited Nations Children’s FundWorld Health OrganizationUnited Nations Population Fund

PROPORTION OF BIRTHS ATTENDEDBY SKILLED HEALTH PERSONNEL

DEFINITION

The proportion of births attended by skilledhealth personnel is the percentage of deliver-ies attended by personnel trained to give thenecessary supervision, care and advice towomen during pregnancy, labour and thepost-partum period; to conduct deliveries ontheir own; and to care for newborns.

Skilled health personnel include only thosewho are properly trained and who have appro-priate equipment and drugs. Traditional birthattendants, even if they have received a shorttraining course, are not to be included.


Goal 5. Improve maternal healthTarget 6. Reduce by three quarters, between

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38

1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio

RATIONALE

Measuring maternal mortality accurately isunusually difficult, except where there iscomprehensive registration of deaths andcauses of death. Several process indicatorshave been proposed for tracking progress byfocusing on professional care during pregnan-cy and childbirth, particularly for the manage-ment of complications. The most widely avail-able indicator is the proportion of women whodeliver with the assistance of a medicallytrained health-care provider.


The number of births attended by skilledhealth personnel (doctors, nurses or mid-wives) is expressed as a percentage of deliv-eries (or births if those are the only data avail-able) in the same period.

GENDER ISSUES

The low social status of women in developingcountries limits their access to economicresources and basic education and thus theirability to make decisions related to health andnutrition. Some women are denied access tocare when it is needed either because of cul-tural practices of seclusion or because deci-sion-making is the responsibility of otherfamily members. Lack of access to or use ofessential obstetric services is a crucial factorcontributing to high maternal mortality.


Household survey data on this indicator isgenerally available every three to five years.


The indicator is a measure of a health sys-tem’s ability to provide adequate care forpregnant women. Concerns have beenexpressed that the term skilled attendant may not adequately capture women’s access togood quality care, particularly when compli-cations arise. Standardization of the defini-

tion of skilled health personnel is sometimesdifficult because of differences in training ofhealth personnel in different countries.Although efforts have been made to stan-dardize the definitions of doctors, nurses andmidwives and auxiliary midwives used in mosthousehold surveys, it is probable that many“skilled attendants” would not meet the crite-ria for a “skilled attendant” as defined by theWorld Health Organization. Moreover, it isclear that skilled attendants’ ability to provideappropriate care in an emergency depends onthe environment in which they work.


Data are collected through household sur-veys, in particular Demographic and HealthSurveys and Multiple Indicator ClusterSurveys, as well as other national householdsurveys.


� UNITED NATIONS (2003). Millennium IndicatorsDatabase. Statistics Division Internet sitehttp://millenniumindicators. un.org.




� UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND (annual).State of World Population. Available fromhttp://www.unfpa.org/swp/swpmain.htm.


� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (2001).Reproductive Health Indicators for GlobalMonitoring: Report of the SecondInteragency Meeting, 2001. WHO/RHR/01.19. Geneva.

� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (2003). WHOStatistical Information System (WHOSIS)—Evidence and Information for Health Policy.


39

Internet site http://www3.who.int/whosis/menu.cfm. Geneva.

AGENCIES

Ministries of healthUnited Nations Children’s FundWorld Health OrganizationUnited Nations Population Fund

HIV PREVALENCE AMONG PREG-NANT WOMEN AGED 15-24 YEARS

DEFINITION

HIV prevalence among 15–24 year-old preg-nant women is the percentage of pregnantwomen ages 15–24 whose blood samplestest positive for HIV.


Goal 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and otherdiseasesTarget 7. Have halted by 2015 and begun toreverse the spread of HIV/AIDS

RATIONALE

HIV infection leads to AIDS. Without treatment,average survival from the time of infection isabout nine years. Access to treatment isuneven, and no vaccine is currently available.

About half of all new HIV cases are among peo-ple 24 years of age or younger. In generalizedepidemics (with prevalence consistently at morethan 1 per cent among pregnant women), theinfection rate for pregnant women is similar tothe overall rate for the adult population.Therefore, the indicator is a measure of thespread of the epidemic. In low-level and concen-trated epidemics, HIV prevalence is monitored ingroups with high-risk behaviour because preva-lence among pregnant women is low.


The number of pregnant women whose bloodsamples test positive for HIV expressed as a

percentage of all pregnant women in that agegroup whose blood is tested.


Data on HIV in pregnant women come fromtests on leftover blood samples taken forother reasons during pregnancy. The samplescome from selected antenatal clinics duringroutine sentinel surveillance, chosen to reflecturban, rural and other socio-geographic divi-sions in a country. HIV prevalence data ingroups with high-risk behaviour are collectedin serosurveys that are part of the surveil-lance system or in ad hoc prevalence surveys.

Only the results of unlinked, anonymousscreening of blood taken for other purposesshould be used in calculating this indicator ofHIV prevalence. Refusal and other forms ofparticipation bias are considerably reduced inunlinked, anonymous HIV testing comparedwith other forms of testing, such as in pro-grammes that offer counselling and voluntaryHIV testing for pregnant women to reducemother-to-child transmission.

The data are gathered by the World HealthOrganization and the Joint United NationsProgramme on HIV/AIDS.


The data are collated annually in many devel-oping countries.

GENDER ISSUES

Pregnant women are chosen for clinical sur-veillance, not because of gender issues, butbecause they offer a unique opportunity tomonitor HIV/AIDS.

Throughout the world, the unequal social statusof women places them at higher risk for con-tracting HIV. Women are at a disadvantage whenit comes to access to information about HIV pre-vention, the ability to negotiate safe sexualencounters and access to treatment forHIV/AIDS once infected. As a result of those

18


40

inequities and the dynamics of the epidemic, theproportion of women among people living withHIV/AIDS is rising in many regions.


Data from surveillance of pregnant women atantenatal care clinics are broken into urban pop-ulations and populations living outside majorurban areas. In many countries, data from ruralareas are rare. The indicator for pregnantwomen ages 15–24 should be reported as themedian for the capital city, for other urban areasand for rural areas.


The indicator gives a fairly good idea of relative-ly recent trends in HIV infection nationwide incountries where the epidemic is generalized. Inareas where most HIV infections are confined tosubpopulations with high-risk behaviours,trends should be assessed in those populations.

In most countries, serosurveillance sites havenot been selected as representative samplesof the country. Logistical, feasibility and costissues guide the selection of these sites. Inaddition, in many countries, the sites includedin the surveillance system have changed overtime, making interpretation of trends moredifficult.


� CAROLINA POPULATION CENTER (2003).National AIDS Programmes: A Guide toMonitoring and Evaluation. Chapel Hill.Available from http://www.cpc.unc.edu/measure/guide/guide.html .

� PAN AMERICAN HEALTH ORGANIZATION (2003).Fact Sheet: Gender and HIV/AIDS. Washington, D.C. Available fromhttp://www. paho.org/english/hdp/hdw/GenderandHIVFactSheetI.pdf.

� SCHWARTLÄNDER, BERNARD, and OTHERS

(1999). Country-specific estimates andmodels of HIV and AIDS: methods and limi-tations. AIDS, vol. 13, No. 17.

� UNAIDS (2002). Monitoring the Declarationof Commitment on HIV/AIDS: Guidelines onConstruction of Core Indicators. Geneva.Available from http://www.unaids.org/en/in+ focus/monitoringevaluation.

� UNAIDS (2003). Report on the GlobalHIV/AIDS Epidemic, 2002, biennial; AIDSEpidemic Update. Geneva.



� UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND, UNAIDSand WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (2002).Young People and HIV/AIDS: Opportunity inCrisis. New York.

� UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT FUND FOR

WOMEN (2000). Gender, HIV and HumanRights: A Training Manual. New York.Available from http://www.unifem.undp.org/ resources/hivtraining.

� UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT FUND FOR WOMEN

(2001). Turning the Tide: CEDAW and theGender Dimensions of the HIV/AIDS Pan-demic. New York. Available from http://www.unifem.undp.org/resources/turningtide.

� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (2002). SecondGeneration Surveillance for HIV. Geneva.Available from http://www.who.int/hiv/pub/surveillance/en.

� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (2002).Strategic Information. Geneva. Availablefrom http://www.who.int/hiv/pub/epdemiology/en.

AGENCIES

Ministries of healthJoint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDSWorld Health OrganizationUnited Nations Children’s FundUnited Nations Population Fund


41

CONDOM USE RATE OF THE CON-TRACEPTIVE PREVALENCE RATE

DEFINITION

Condom use rate of the contraceptive preva-lence rate is the number of women aged15–49 years in marital or consensual unionswho are practising contraception by usingcondoms as a proportion of all of women ofthe same age group in consensual unions whoare practising, or whose sexual partners arepractising, any form of contraception.



RATIONALE

The condom use rate is used to monitorprogress towards halting and reversing thespread of HIV/AIDS, as condoms are the onlycontraceptive method effective in reducingthe spread of HIV. Since the condom use rateis measured only among women in unions, theindicator needs to be supplemented by anindicator on condom use in high-risk situa-tions (see indicator 19a).


The number of women ages 15–49 in maritalor consensual unions who report that they areusing a condom to avoid pregnancy (regard-less of whether they are also using additionalmethods) is divided by the total number ofwomen ages 15–49 in unions who are practis-ing, or whose sexual partners are practising,contraception.

The indicator is not equivalent to condom useprevalence, which is the number of womenages 15–49 in marital or consensual unionswho are practising (or whose sexual partnersare practising) contraception by using con-doms as a percentage of the total number ofwomen of the same age group (and samemarital status, if applicable) in the survey.

Irrespective of the contraceptive prevalencerate, if 10 per cent of those practising contra-ception use condoms, then the rate for indi-cator 19 is 10 per cent.

The definition and method of calculation ofthe indicator differ when it is used for moni-toring contraceptive use only. In that case,the numerator is the number of women ages15–49 in marital or consensual unions whoreport that they are using a condom as theirmain method of contraception.


Contraceptive prevalence data are obtainedmainly from household surveys, notably theDemographic and Health Surveys, MultipleIndicator Cluster Surveys and contraceptiveprevalence surveys. For condom-use data,married women are asked whether they haveever heard of condoms and then whetherthey are currently using condoms to preventpregnancy.


Household surveys, such as Demographic andHealth Surveys, Multiple Indicator ClusterSurveys and contraceptive prevalence sur-veys, are generally conducted every three tofive years.

GENDER ISSUES

Statistics on contraception prevalence ratesare based primarily on women, mainlybecause contraception is more easily meas-ured in this way. Further, contraception, or itsabsence, affects the health and well-being ofwomen more than it does their sexual partners.Similarly, condom use is still at the discretionof male partners, and the female condom isnot as widely available. The rising number ofwomen and girls infected by HIV/AIDS indi-cates that condom use needs further promo-tion and that women need to be empoweredto refuse unprotected sex.


Condom use, as it is the case in general for

19


42

19-A

contraceptive use, may vary significantly acrosssocio-economic groups and regional and geo-graphical areas. It is important that the analysisaddress specific demographic groups, such asadolescents and unmarried women.


The indicator does not reflect condom use forthe unmarried population and people in groupswith high-risk behaviour. Data are generallycollected for women in consensual unions andin a particular age range, while the populationof concern includes all women of reproductiveage, irrespective of marital status.

The spread of HIV through sexual relationsdepends on having unprotected sex with peoplewho also have other partners. Most monoga-mous relationships are cohabiting, although thereverse is not necessarily true. Partners who donot live together and who have sex only occa-sionally are most likely to have other partnersover the course of a year. These partnershipstherefore carry a higher risk of HIV transmissionthan partnerships that do not link into a widersexual network. AIDS prevention programmestry to discourage high numbers of partnershipsand to encourage mutual monogamy.

Indicator 19, therefore, is not a practical indi-cator for measuring the prevention ofHIV/AIDS. Information should be collected onadditional indicators on condom use in high-risk situations (indicator 19A) and on knowl-edge and misconceptions of HIV/AIDS among15-24 year-olds (indicator 19B). Such indica-tors give a better picture of the proportion ofthe population that engages in relatively high-risk partnerships and that is therefore morelikely to be exposed to the sexual networkswithin which HIV can circulate.


� ORC MACRO (2003). Demographic and HealthSurveys – Providing Information forInformed Decisions in Population, Health andNutrition. Internet site http://www.

measuredhs.com. Calverton, Maryland.� UNAIDS (2003). Internet site http://www.

unaids.org. Geneva.� UNITED NATIONS (1958). Multilingual

Demographic Dictionary. Population Studies,No. 29. Sales No. E.58.XIII.4.


� UNITED NATIONS (2001). Levels and Trends ofContraceptive Use as Assessed in 1998.Sales No. E.01.XIII.4. Available fromhttp://www.un.org/esa/population/unpop.htm.


� UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND (2003).Progress since the World Summit forChildren. New York. Available from http://www.childinfo.org; in Quick Access under“Contraceptive prevalence”.

� UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND (annual).The State of the World’s Children. New York.UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT FUND FOR

WOMEN (2000). Gender, HIV and HumanRights: A Training Manual. New York.Available from http://www.unifem.undp.org/ resources/hivtraining.





AGENCIES

Ministries of health Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS United Nations Children’s Fund


43

United Nations Population Division World Health Organization United Nations Population Fund

CONDOM USE AT LAST HIGH-RISKSEX

DEFINITION

Condom use at last high-risk sex is the per-centage of young people ages 15–24 report-ing the use of a condom during sexual inter-course with a non-regular sexual partner inthe last 12 months.



RATIONALE

Consistent use of condoms in non-regularsexual partnerships substantially reduces therisk of sexual HIV transmission. This is espe-cially important for young people, who oftenexperience the highest rates of HIV infectionbecause they have low prior exposure toinfection and (typically) relatively high num-bers of non-regular sexual partnerships.Consistent condom use with non-regular sex-ual partners is important even in countrieswhere HIV prevalence is low because it canprevent the spread of HIV in circumstanceswhere non-regular relationships are common.Condom use is one measure of protectionagainst HIV/AIDS. Equally important aredelaying age at first sex, reducing the numberof non-regular sexual partners and beingfaithful to one partner.


The number of respondents ages 15–24 whoreported having had a non-regular (non-mar-ital and non-cohabiting) sexual partner in thelast 12 months and using a condom the lasttime they had sex with this partner, as a share

of the number of respondents ages 15–24who reported having had a non-regular sexu-al partner in the last 12 months.


Household surveys, such as Demographic andHealth Surveys, rural household surveys andbehavioural surveillance surveys, are general-ly conducted every three to five years.

GENDER ISSUES

Women’s risk of becoming infected with HIVduring unprotected sexual intercourse ishigher than that of men. And the risk is evenhigher for younger women. Social and cultur-al factors may increase women’s vulnerabilityto HIV infection. For instance, cultural normsrelated to sexuality often prevent girls fromtaking active steps to protect themselves.


A rise in the indicator is an extremely power-ful sign that condom promotion campaignsare having the desired effect among theirprinciple target market. However, condompromotion campaigns aim for consistent useof condoms with non-regular partners ratherthan simply occasional use.

Some surveys have tried to ask directly aboutconsistent use, but the question is subject torecall bias and other biases.

The current indicator is therefore consideredadequate to address the target since it isassumed that if consistent use rises, use atlast high-risk sex will also increase.


Data on condom use with non-regular sexualpartners are available from household surveys(such as Demographic and Health Surveys,rural household surveys and behavioural sur-veillance surveys) that collect information onsexual behaviour.

19-A


44

REFERENCES AND INTERNATIONAL DATA

COMPARISONS

� CAROLINA POPULATION CENTER (2003).National AIDS Programmes: A Guide toMonitoring and Evaluation. Chapel Hill.Available from http://www.cpc.unc.edu/measure/guide/guide.html.




� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, JOINT UNITED

NATIONS PROGRAMME ON HIV/AIDS and theUNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND (2002).Epidemiological Fact Sheets. Geneva.Available from http://www.who.int/emc-hiv/fact_sheets.

AGENCIES

Ministries of healthUnited Nations Children’s FundUnited Nations Population Fund

PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION AGED15–24 YEARS WITH COMPREHEN-SIVE CORRECT KNOWLEDGE OFHIV/AIDS

DEFINITION

Percentage of population aged 15–24 yearswith comprehensive correct knowledge ofHIV/AIDS is the share of women and menaged 15–24 years who correctly identify thetwo major ways of preventing the sexualtransmission of HIV (using condoms and lim-iting sex to one faithful, uninfected partner),who reject the two most common local mis-conceptions about HIV transmission and whoknow that a healthy-looking person can

transmit HIV.



RATIONALE

The indicator reflects the success of nationalinformation, education and communicationprogrammes and other efforts in promotingknowledge of valid HIV-prevention methodsand reducing misconceptions about the dis-ease. Common local misconceptions can bedetermined by the context of the country.


Since there are not enough surveys to calcu-late the indicator as defined above, theUnited Nations Children’s Fund, in collabora-tion with the Joint United Nations Programmeon HIV/AIDS and the World HealthOrganization, has produced two proxy indica-tors that represent two components of theactual indicator:

Percentage of women and men ages 15–24who know that a person can protect him orherself from HIV infection by “consistentuse of condom”. The indicator is calculatedas the number of respondents ages 15–24who, in response to prompting, correctlyidentify consistent use of condoms as ameans of protection against HIV infection,as a percentage of the total number ofrespondents ages 15–24.

Percentage of women and men ages 15–24who know a healthy-looking person cantransmit HIV. The indicator is calculated asthe number of respondents ages 15–24who, in response to prompting, correctlynote that a person who looks healthy maytransmit HIV, as a percentage of the totalnumber of respondents ages 15–24.

19-B


45


Data on knowledge of and misconceptionsabout HIV/AIDS are collected through house-hold surveys (such as Demographic andHealth Surveys, rural household surveys,behavioural surveillance surveys and MultipleIndicator Cluster Surveys).


Household surveys, such as Demographic andHealth Surveys, rural household surveys,behavioural surveillance surveys and MultipleIndicator Cluster Surveys, are generally con-ducted every three to five years.

GENDER ISSUES

Women’s risk of becoming infected with HIVduring unprotected sexual intercourse ishigher than that of men. The risk is even high-er for younger women. Social and cultural fac-tors may increase women’s vulnerability toHIV infection. For instance, cultural normsrelated to sexuality often prevent girls fromtaking active steps to protect themselves.

In many countries, girls are becoming infect-ed and dying younger than boys, for variousreasons, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, theregion most affected by HIV/AIDS.

COMMENTS AND LIMITATIONS:

See “Methods of computation”.



� ORC MACRO (2003). Demographic andHealth Surveys – Providing Information forInformed Decisions in Population, Health and Nutrition. Internet site http://www.measuredhs.com. Calverton, USA.

� UNAIDS (2002). Monitoring the Declarationof Commitment on HIV/AIDS: Guidelines onConstruction of Core Indicators. Geneva.

Available from http://www.unaids.org/en/in+focus/monitoringevaluation. Select:Guidelines on construction of core indica-tors.



� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, JOINT UNPROGRAMME ON HIV/AIDS and the UNITED

NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND (2002). Epidemio-logical Fact Sheets. Geneva. Available fromhttp://www.who.int/emc-hiv/ fact_sheets.

AGENCY

United Nations Children’s Fund.

CONTRACEPTIVE PREVALENCE RATE

DEFINITION

The contraceptive prevalence rate is the per-centage of women who are practising, orwhose sexual partners are practising, anyform of contraception. It is usually reportedfor women ages 15–49 in marital or consen-sual unions.



RATIONALE

The indicator is useful in tracking progresstowards health, gender and poverty goals. It alsoserves as a proxy measure of access to repro-ductive health services that are essential formeeting many of the goals, especially the childand maternity mortality and HIV/AIDS goals.

Contraceptive methods include condoms,female and male sterilization, injectable andoral hormones, intrauterine devices, dia-

19-C


46

phragms, spermicides and natural family plan-ning, as well as lactational amenorrhoea (lack ofmenstruation during breastfeeding) where it iscited as a method. Since, among contraceptivemethods, only condoms are effective in pre-venting HIV infections, specific indicators oncondom use are also considered (SEE INDICATORS

19, 19A and 19B).


The number of women ages 15–49 in maritalor consensual unions who report that they arepractising (or whose sexual partners are prac-tising) contraception is divided by the totalnumber of women ages 15–49 (and samemarital status, if applicable) in the survey.


Contraceptive prevalence data are obtainedmainly from household surveys, notably theDemographic and Health Surveys, MultipleIndicator Cluster Surveys and contraceptiveprevalence surveys.


Household surveys, such as Demographic andHealth Surveys, Multiple Indicator ClusterSurveys and contraceptive prevalence sur-veys, are generally conducted every three tofive years.

GENDER ISSUES

Statistics on contraception prevalence ratesare based primarily on women, mainlybecause contraception is more easily meas-ured in this way. Further, contraception, or itsabsence, affects the health and well-being ofwomen more than it does their sexual partners.


Contraceptive use may vary significantlyacross socio-economic groups and regionaland geographical areas. It is important thatthe analysis address specific demographicgroups, such as adolescents and unmarriedwomen.


Data are generally collected for women inunions and in a particular age range, while thepopulation of concern includes all women ofreproductive age, irrespective of marital status.

In addition, contraceptive methods mayinclude traditional methods that are largelyineffective. It is important, to the extent possi-ble, to at least distinguish between traditionaland modern methods.

Underreporting can occur when the inter-viewer does not mention specific methods,such as contraceptive surgical sterilization.


� ORC MACRO (2003). Demographic and HealthSurveys–Providing Information for InformedDecisions in Population, Health andNutrition. Internet site http://www.measuredhs.com. Calverton, Maryland.

� UNITED NATIONS (1958). MultilingualDemographic Dictionary, English Section,Population Studies, No. 29. Sales No.E.58.XIII.4.

� UNITED NATIONS (2001). Indicators ofSustainable Development: Guidelines andMethodologies. Sales No. E.01.II.A.6.Available from: http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/natlinfo/indicators/isd.htm.

� UNITED NATIONS (2001). Levels and Trends ofContraceptive Use as Assessed in 1998.Sales No. E.01.XIII.4. Available fromhttp://www.un.org/esa/population/unpop.htm.

� UNITED NATIONS (2002). World ContraceptiveUse 2001. Wall Chart. Sales No. E.02.XIII.7.Available from http://www.un.org/esa/populat ion/publ icat ions/contraceptive2001/contraception01.htm.


� UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT FUND FOR WOMEN

(2000). Gender, HIV and Human Rights: ATraining Manual. New York. Available from


47

http://www.unifem.undp.org/resources/hivtraining .



� UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND (annual).State of World Population. Available fromhttp://www.unfpa.org/swp/swpmain.htm.



AGENCIES

Ministry of healthUnited Nations Population FundUnited Nations Children’s FundUnited Nations Population Division

RATIO OF SCHOOL ATTENDANCE OFORPHANS TO SCHOOL ATTENDANCEOF NON-ORPHANS AGED 10–14YEARS

DEFINITION

Strictly defined, the number of childrenorphaned by HIV/AIDS is the estimated num-ber of children who have lost their mother,father or both parents to AIDS before age 15.In practice, the impact of the AIDS epidemicon orphans is measured through the ratio oforphans to non-orphans who are in school.



RATIONALE

HIV/AIDS is claiming the lives of ever-growing numbers of adults just when they are forming

families and bringing up children. As a result,orphan prevalence is rising steadily in manycountries, while fewer relatives within theprime adult ages mean that orphaned chil-dren face an increasingly uncertain future.

Orphanhood is frequently accompanied by prej-udice and increased poverty—factors that canfurther jeopardize children’s well-being.Children and adolescents orphaned by AIDSface decreased access to adequate nutrition,basic health care, housing and clothing. Theymay turn to survival strategies that increasetheir vulnerability to HIV. They are likely to dropout of school owing to discrimination, emotion-al distress, inability to pay school fees or theneed to care for parents or caretakers infectedwith HIV or for younger siblings. In sub-SaharanAfrica, only 60 per cent of orphans (ages10–14) who lost both parents attend school ascompared with 71 per cent of those with bothparents still living. The limited countries withtrend data indicate a widening of the gap. It isimportant, therefore, to monitor the extent towhich AIDS support programmes succeed insecuring educational opportunities fororphaned children.


The current school attendance rate of childrenages 10–14 for whom both biological parentshave died is divided by the current schoolattendance rate of children ages 10–14 whoseparents are both still alive and who live with atleast one biological parent.


Data for the indicator are collected throughhousehold surveys (such as Demographic andHealth Surveys and Multiple Indicator ClusterSurveys).


Household surveys, such as Demographic and Health Surveys and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, are generally conducted every threeto five years.

20


48

GENDER ISSUES

Boys and girls are both affected. However, girlsmight be more likely than boys to leave schoolto care for ill parents and younger siblings.


Data should be presented separately for boysand girls.


The indicator is confined to children ages10–14 for comparability, as age at school entryvaries across countries. Household surveys canmiss children in unstable households, andorphaned children are disproportionately likelyto be in such households.

The indicator is not a direct measure of thenumber of children orphaned by HIV/AIDS,despite the wording. The indicator does notdirectly distinguish the cause of orphanhood.However, it is believed that high proportions ofdeaths of adults with school-age children inareas of HIV epidemics are likely to be related toHIV/AIDS.




� UNITED NATIONS (1998). Principles andRecommendations for Population andHousing Censuses, Revision 1, Series M, No.67, Rev. 1. Sales No. E.98.XVII.1. Availablefrom http://unstats. un.org/unsd/pubs (A,E, F, S).


� UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND, UNAIDS

and UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL

DEVELOPMENT (2002). Children on the Brink2002: A Joint Report on Orphan Estimatesand Program Strategies.


AGENCIES

Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDSUnited Nations Children’s Fund

PREVALENCE AND DEATH RATESASSOCIATED WITH MALARIA

DEFINITION

Prevalence of malaria is the number of casesof malaria per 100,000 people. Death ratesassociated with malaria refers to the numberof deaths caused by malaria per 100,000people.


Goal 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and otherdiseasesTarget 8. Have halted by 2015 and begun toreverse the incidence of malaria and othermajor diseases

RATIONALE

The indicator allows highly endemic countriesto monitor disease and death from malaria,which have been increasing over the last twodecades owing to deteriorating health sys-tems, growing drug and insecticide resist-ance, periodic changes in weather patterns,civil unrest, human migration and populationdisplacement.


Where the only prevalence data available arereported through the administration of healthservices, they are expressed per 100,000population, using population estimates as thedenominator.

21


49

Where prevalence data on children under fivecome from household surveys, the data maybe reported as percentages of children underfive with fever in the last two weeks. The per-centage may be multiplied by 1,000 toexpress the rate per 100,000.

The World Health Organization also producesmodel-based estimates of malaria-specificmortality.


Data come from administrative sources,household surveys and vital statistics regis-trations. Administrative data are derived byhealth ministries from the administration ofhealth services. Multiple Indicator ClusterSurveys collect information on the prevalenceof fever in the last two weeks for childrenunder five. The surveys also provide data onall causes of under-five mortality.

Vital statistics registration systems collectdata on cause of death, including deathscaused by malaria. Good quality informationrequires that death registration be near uni-versal, that the cause of death be reportedroutinely on the death record and that it bedetermined by a qualified observer accordingto the International Classification of Diseases.Such information is not generally available indeveloping countries but is now compiled byWHO annually for approximately 70 (mainlydeveloped) countries.


Administrative data are, in principle, availableannually. Data from surveys are generallyavailable every three to five years.

GENDER ISSUES

Potential differences between men and womenare a function of the interaction between bio-logical factors and gender roles and relations.Biological factors vary between men andwomen and influence susceptibility and

immunity to tropical diseases. Gender rolesand relations influence the degree of expo-sure to the relevant vectors and also to theaccess and control of resources needed toprotect women and men from being infected.Women’s immunity is particularly compro-mised during pregnancy, making pregnantwomen more likely to become infected andimplying differential severity of the conse-quences. Malaria during pregnancy is animportant cause of maternal mortality.


All data should be classified by sex, as therecould be differential death rates.

Rural populations carry the overwhelmingburden of disease, so urban and rural disag-gregation of the data is important in trackingthe progress made in rural areas. MultipleIndicator Cluster Surveys data have shownsubstantial difference by wealth quintiles, andwhere possible the data should be disaggre-gated by a wealth index.


Malaria statistics are reported in countrieswhere it is endemic, which includes almost alldeveloping countries. However, data reportedby ministries are often only a fraction of thenumber of cases in the population. Manyreport only laboratory-confirmed cases. Insub-Saharan Africa, clinically diagnosedcases also tend to be reported.

Differences between male and female preva-lence and incidence rates are difficult tomeasure since malaria in women is more likelyto be undetected. The fact that health servicesfocus almost exclusively on women’s repro-ductive function means that opportunities arelost for detection of multiple conditions,including tropical diseases. Moreover, whenincidence rates in women and men are similar,there are still significant differences betweenthem in the susceptibility and the impact oftropical diseases.


50


� GUNN, S.W.A., KLUWER ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS

(1990). Multilingual Dictionary of DisasterMedicine and International Relief. Dordrecht,The Netherlands. English/Français/Español/Arabic.





� WORLD BANK, UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S

FUND, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION andUNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

(2003). Roll Back Malaria (RBM). A GlobalPartnership. Internet site http://www.rbm.who.int/. Geneva.


� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (1998). Genderand Health: Technical Paper.WHO/FRH/WHD/98.16. Geneva. Availablefrom http://www.who.int/reproductive-health/publications. Select: Gender.


� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (2002). 2001-2010: United Nations Decade to Roll BackMalaria: Monitoring and Evaluation.Geneva. Available from http://www.who.int/inf-fs/en/informationSheet11.pdf.

� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (2003). WHOStatistical Information System (WHOSIS)—Evidence and Information for Health Policy.Internet site http://www3.who.int/whosis/

menu.cfm. Geneva. � WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION and UNITED

NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND (2003). AfricaMalaria Report. Available from http://www.r b m . w h o . i n t / a m d 2 0 0 3 / a m r 2 0 0 3 /amr_toc.htm .

AGENCIES


PROPORTION OF POPULATION INMALARIA-RISK AREAS USINGEFFECTIVE MALARIA PREVENTIONAND TREATMENT MEASURES

DEFINITION

Malaria prevention is measured as the per-centage of children ages 0–59 months sleep-ing under insecticide-treated bednets.Malaria treatment among children is meas-ured as the proportion of children ages 0–59months who were ill with fever in the twoweeks before the survey and who receivedappropriate antimalarial drugs.



RATIONALE

The Roll Back Malaria initiative, established inlate 1998 by the World Health Organization,the United Nations Children’s Fund and theWorld Bank, identifies four main interventionsto reduce the burden of malaria in Africa: � Use of insecticide-treated bednets, which

have been demonstrated to cut all-causechild mortality over the first two years by20 per cent.

� Prompt access to effective treatment in ornear the home.

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51

� Provision of antimalarial drugs to symp-tom-free pregnant women in high trans-mission areas.

� Improved forecasting, prevention and rapidresponse to malaria epidemics.

In areas of sub-Saharan Africa with high levels ofmalaria transmission, regular use of an insecti-cide-treated bednet can reduce mortality in chil-dren under five years of age by as much as 20per cent and has a significant impact on anemia.Similar or greater benefits have been achievedin other regions and for pregnant women. Theprevention indicator will allow countries to mon-itor widespread use of insecticide-treated mate-rials and other appropriate methods to limitcontact between humans and mosquitoes.

Detection of epidemics requires timely, com-plete surveillance of malaria cases and monitor-ing of weather patterns. Reserve drug stocks,transport and hospital capacity are needed tomount an appropriate response. In some epi-demic zones, well-timed and targeted vectorcontrol activities have minimized the impact ofepidemics. The treatment indicator allows coun-tries to monitor detection and appropriateresponse to epidemics within two weeks ofonset.


For prevention, the indicator is calculated as thepercentage of children under five years of agein the survey who slept under an insecticide-treated bednet the previous night.


The only data sources are household surveys,mainly Demographic and Health Surveys andthe Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, malar-ia surveys and malaria modules added toother ongoing household surveys.


Data on coverage of insecticide-treated bed-nets and treatment data should be collectedabout every two to three years.

GENDER ISSUES

Girls may have greater exposure than boys tomalaria-infested areas owing to their role inthe provision of fuel, water and other supplies.


Disparities by sex, age, mother’s educationand area of residence should be assessed.


Survey data are subject to sampling errorsand are undertaken only every few years. Asthe data on bednet use are new, no trend dataare yet available.


� GUNN, S.W.A. (1990). MultilingualDictionary of Disaster Medicine andInternational Relief. Dordrecht, TheNetherlands: KLUWER ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS.English/Français/Español/Arabic.

� UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND (2003). TheChallenge – Scope of the Problem. Internetsite http://www.childinfo.org/eddb/Malaria.New York.




� WORLD BANK, UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S

FUND, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION andUNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

(2003). Roll Back Malaria - A GlobalPartnership. Internet site http://www.rbm.who.int. Geneva.

� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (2002). 2001-2010: United Nations Decade to Roll BackMalaria: Monitoring and evaluation.Geneva. Available from http://www.who.int/ inf-fs/en/informationSheet11.pdf.

� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (2002 andannual). World Health Report. Geneva.Available from http://www.who.int/whr/


52

en.

AGENCIES


PREVALENCE AND DEATH RATESASSOCIATED WITH TUBERCULOSIS

DEFINITION

Tuberculosis prevalence is the number of casesof tuberculosis per 100,000 people. Deathrates associated with tuberculosis refers tothe number of deaths caused by tuberculosisper 100,000 people. A tuberculosis case isdefined as a patient in whom tuberculosis hasbeen bacteriologically confirmed or diag-nosed by a clinician.



RATIONALE

Detecting tuberculosis and curing it are keyinterventions for addressing poverty andinequality. Prevalence and deaths are moresensitive markers of the changing burden oftuberculosis than incidence (new cases),although data on trends in incidence are farmore comprehensive and give the best overviewof the impact of global tuberculosis control.


Where the only data available are data report-ed through the administration of health serv-ices, they are expressed per 100,000 popula-tion, using population estimates as thedenominator.

Where the data come from household surveys,prevalence (and more rarely deaths) is ex-

pressed per 100,000 population, using the totalpopulation in the survey as the denominator.Tuberculosis prevalence is sometimes ex-pressed in absolute numbers of cases, whiletuberculosis incidence in a given period (usu-ally one year) is always per 100,000 people.


Direct measures of tuberculosis prevalence areuncommon, and recent population-based sur-veys have been confined largely to countries inEast Asia and the Pacific . Direct measures of thetuberculosis death rate come from vital statis-tics registration. Reliable figures require thatdeath registration be nearly universal and thatthe cause of death be reported routinely on thedeath record and determined by a qualifiedobserver according to the InternationalClassification of Diseases. Such information isnot generally available in developing countries.Vital statistics registration systems tend tounderestimate tuberculosis deaths, althoughtime series data from some countries in Asia andthe Americas give a useful indication of trends.

In the absence of direct measures of prevalenceand death rates, a variety of techniques can beused to estimate these values. Administrativedata are derived from the administration ofhealth services. Data can also be obtained fromsuch household surveys as Multiple IndicatorCluster Surveys or the Demographic and HealthSurveys, although they usually refer only to chil-dren under five and do not provide death rates.Population data come directly or indirectly frompopulation censuses.


Administrative data are, in principle, availableannually. Data from surveys are generallyavailable every three to five years. Resultsfrom population censuses are generally avail-able every 10 years.

GENDER ISSUES

At younger ages, the prevalence of infection issimilar in boys and girls. At older ages, a higher

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prevalence has been found in men; in most of the world, more men than women are diag-nosed with tuberculosis and die from it.However, recent analyses comparing infectionand disease rates suggest that the propensityto develop the disease after infection withmycobacterium tuberculosis (the progressionrate) may be greater among women of repro-ductive age than among men of the same age.A recent review of socio-economic and cultur-al factors relating to the suggested differ-ences called for further research to clarify suchdifferences in the epidemiology of tuberculosis.

Although more men than women die of tuber-culosis, it is still a leading cause of death frominfectious disease among women. Sincetuberculosis affects women mainly in theireconomically and reproductively active years,the impact of the disease is also strongly feltby their children and families.


It is important to compile data by sex and totake a gender perspective in the analysis.


Tuberculosis prevalence and death rate datareported by ministries in developing countriesare usually only a fraction of the number ofcases and deaths from tuberculosis in thepopulation.


� GUNN, S.W.A. (1990). MultilingualDictionary of Disaster Medicine andInternational Relief. Dordrecht, TheNetherlands: Kluwer Academic Publis-hers . English/Français/Español/Arabic.



� WORLD BANK (2003 and annual). WorldDevelopment Indicators. Print and CD-ROM.Washington, D.C. Available in part from

http://www.worldbank.org/data.� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (1992).

International Statistical Classification ofDiseases and Related Health Problems,Tenth Revision (ICD-10), vol. 1. Geneva.

� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (1998). Genderand Health, Technical Paper. Geneva.Available from http://www.who.int/reproductive-health/publications.


� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (2003). GlobalTuberculosis Control – Surveillance, Planning,Financing. WHO Report 2003. Geneva.

� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (2003). WHOStatistical Information System (WHOSIS)—Evidence and Information for Health Policy.Internet site http://www3.who.int/whosis/menu.cfm. Geneva.

AGENCIES

Ministries of health.World Health Organization.

PROPORTION OF TUBERCULOSISCASES DETECTED AND CURED UNDERINTERNATIONALLY RECOMMENDEDTB CONTROL STRATEGY

DEFINITION

The tuberculosis detection rate is the percent-age of estimated new infectious tuberculosiscases detected under the internationally rec-ommended tuberculosis control strategyDOTS. DOTS combines five elements—politi-cal commitment, microscopy services, drugsupplies, surveillance and monitoring systemsand use of highly efficacious regimes—withdirect observation of treatment. The curerate is the percentage of new, registeredsmear-positive (infectious) cases that werecured or in which a full course of DOTS wascompleted. A tuberculosis case is defined as apatient in whom tuberculosis has been bateri-

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54

ologically confirmed or diagnosed by a clini-cian.GOAL AND TARGET ADDRESSED


RATIONALE

Since tuberculosis is an airborne contagiousdisease, primary control is effected throughfinding and treating infectious cases and thuslimiting the risk of acquiring infection. Therecommended approach to primary control isthe DOTS strategy, an inexpensive strategythat could prevent millions of tuberculosiscases and deaths over the coming decade.

DOTS is a proven system based on accuratediagnosis and consistent treatment with a full course of a mixture of anti-tuberculosisdrugs (isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide,streptomycin and ethambutol). DOTS requiresgovernment commitment, careful detection,consistent treatment, uninterrupted supply ofanti-tuberculosis drugs and a monitoring andreporting system to evaluate treatment out-comes for each patient.


The case detection rate is the ratio of smear-positive case notifications in a given year to theestimated number of new smear-positive casesarising in that year. For some countries, thereis a margin of uncertainty in the estimation ofthe denominator of this ratio.

The treatment success rates is the ratio ofnew, registered smear-positive (infectious)cases that were cured or that completed a fullcourse of DOTS to the total number of new,registered cases. Treatment success rates canbe monitored directly and accurately incohorts of patients treated under the DOTSstrategy. Systematic evaluation of patientprogress and treatment outcomes provides

the numerator.


Data on both the detection rate and the treat-ment success rate are derived from WorldHealth Organization DOTS programmes, whichmonitor and report cases detected, treatmentprogress and programme performance.


Administrative data are, in principle, availableannually. Household surveys are generallyavailable annually. Household surveys aregenerally available every three to five years.Data from DOTS programmes, though incom-plete, are updated frequently.

GENDER ISSUES

At younger ages, the prevalence of infection issimilar in boys and girls. At older ages, a higherprevalence has been found in men; in most ofthe world, more men than women are diagnosedwith tuberculosis and die from it. However,recent analyses comparing infection and diseaserates suggest that the propensity to developthe disease after infection with mycobacteri-um tuberculosis (the progression rate) may begreater among women of reproductive agethan among men of the same age. A recentreview of socio-economic and cultural factorsrelating to the suggested differences calledfor further research to clarify such differencesin the epidemiology of tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis is nevertheless a leading causeof death from infectious disease amongwomen. Since tuberculosis affects womenmainly in their economically and reproductivelyactive years, the impact of the disease is alsostrongly felt by their children and families.


Tuberculosis cases reported by ministries indeveloping countries are usually only a fractionof the number of cases in the population. It isestimated that in 2000 only 27 per cent ofnew cases were notified under DOTS and only


55

about 19 per cent of cases were successfullytreated.


� GUNN, S.W.A., (1990). Multilingual Diction-ary of Disaster Medicine and InternationalRelief. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: KluwerAcademic Publishers. English/Français/Español/Arabic.

� STOP TB PARTNERSHIP (2003). Stop Tuber-culosis, the Stop TB Partnetship. Internetsite http://www.stoptb.org .



� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (2003). GlobalTuberculosis Control – Surveillance, Planning,Financing. WHO Report 2003. Geneva.

� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (2003). WHOStatistical Information System (WHOSIS)—Evidence and Information for Health Policy.Internet site http://www3.who.int/whosis/menu.cfm. Geneva.

AGENCIES

Ministries of healthWorld Health Organization

PROPORTION OF LAND AREA COV-ERED BY FOREST

DEFINITION

The Proportion of land area covered by forestis the forest areas as a share of total landarea, where land area is the total surface areaof the country less the area covered by inlandwaters, such as major rivers and lakes. Asdefined by the Food and AgricultureOrganization of the United Nations in GlobalForest Resources Assessmen, 2000, forestincludes both natural forests and forest plan-

tations. It refers to land with an existing orexpected tree canopy of more than 10 percent and an area of more than 0.5 hectarewhere the trees should be able to reach a min-imum height of five metres. Forests are iden-tified by both the presence of trees and theabsence of other land uses. Land from whichforest has been cleared but that will be refor-ested in the foreseeable future is included.Excluded are stands of trees established pri-marily for agricultural production, such asfruit tree plantations.


Goal 7. Ensure environmental sustainabilityTarget 9. Integrate the principles of sustainabledevelopment into country policies and pro-grammes and reverse the loss of environmen-tal resources

RATIONALE

The indicator provides a measure of the rela-tive importance of a forest in a country.Changes in forest area reflect the demand forland for other competitive uses.

Forests fulfil a number of functions that arevital for humanity, including the provision ofgoods (timber and non-timber products) andservices such as protection against flooding,habitat for biodiversity, carbon sequestration,watershed protection and soil conservation.Large areas of the world’s forests have beenconverted to other uses or severely degraded.While substantial areas of productive forestremain, there is now widespread recognitionthat the resource is not infinite and that itswise and sustainable use is needed forhumanity’s survival.


The proportion of forest in the total land areais calculated from information provided bycountries or from satellite images or otherremote sensing information analysis. Changesin the proportion should be computed to iden-tify trends.

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56


FAO global forest resource assessments,regional forest resource assessments, specialstudies and surveys, national forest invento-ries and satellite images.


FAO global forest resource assessments arecarried out every 5–10 years, incorporatingnational forest resource variables, which are measured in the national forest inventoryprocess at different intervals (often 5–10 years).

GENDER ISSUES

Men and women use forest products in differentways. Women typically gather forest productsfor fuel, fencing, food for the family, fodderfor livestock, medicine and raw materials forincome-generating activities. Women are alsooften the chief sources of information on theuse and management of trees and other for-est plants. Men, on the other hand, tend touse non-wood forest products, but also moreoften cut wood to sell or use for buildingmaterials. Women’s access to forest productsmay not be ensured—even where womenhave ownership rights to land.


FAO provides a breakdown of forest coverbetween natural forest and plantation fordeveloping countries only.


National forest inventories and forest surveysare irregular in some countries and may besignificantly out of date. Owing to climaticand geographical differences, forest areasvary in importance among countries. Overtime, changes in area covered by forests aswell as area covered by forests should be doc-umented. Longer time series may be difficultto compare directly without analysis of differ-ences in definitions, methods and underlyingdata.

The proportion of total forest cover (includingboth natural forest and plantation) mayunderestimate the rate at which natural for-est is disappearing in some countries.

It is also recommended that immediate usersor beneficiaries of wooded land be identified.



UNITED NATIONS (2000). Global ForestResources Assessment, 2000. Rome.Available from http://www.fao.org/forestry/fo/fra.


UNITED NATIONS (2003 and biennial). State ofthe World’s Forests. Available from http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/005/Y7581E/Y7581E00.HTM.

� UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR

EUROPE (2000). Forest Resources of Europe,CIS, North America, Australia, Japan andNew Zealand. Sales No. 99.II.E.96. Availablefrom http://www.unece.org/ trade/tim-ber/fra/ pdf/contents.htm.

� UNITED NATIONS. ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR

EUROPE. CONFERENCE OF EUROPEAN STATISTICS

(1989). ECE Standard StatisticalClassification of Land Use. Geneva.Available from http://www.unescap.org/stat/ envstat/stwes-class-landuse.pdf.

� UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME

(2003). Internet site http://www.unep.org.Nairobi.

� WORLD BANK (2003 and annual). WorldDevelopment Indicators. Print and CD-ROM.Washington, D.C. Available in part fromhttp:// www.worldbank.org/data.

Although the FAO forestry-related definitionsare clear and applied at the international level,countries have historically used their owndefinitions in conducting national forest inven-tories and assessments. Considerable effortshave been made to adjust data based on


57

national definitions to comparable internation-al ones, and FAO documents those adjust-ments in Global Forest Resources Assessment.

AGENCIES

Ministries of environmentFood and Agriculture Organization of theUnited Nations

RATIO OF AREA PROTECTED TOMAINTAIN BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITYTO SURFACE AREA

DEFINITION

The ratio of area protected to maintain biolog-ical diversity to surface area is defined asnationally protected area as a percentage oftotal surface area of a country. The generallyaccepted IUCN–World Conservation Uniondefinition of a protected area is an area of landor sea dedicated to the protection and main-tenance of biological diversity and of naturaland associated cultural resources and man-aged through legal or other effective means.


Goal 7 Ensure environmental sustainabilityTarget 9. Integrate the principles of sustain-able development into country policies andprogrammes and reverse the loss of environ-mental resources

RATIONALE

Habitat conservation is vital for stemming thedecline in biodiversity. The establishment ofprotected areas is an important mechanismfor achieving that aim. Some areas, such asscientific reserves, are maintained in theirnatural state and closed to extractive use.Others are partially protected and may beused for recreation or tourism.

In addition to protecting biodiversity, protect-ed areas have become places of high socialand economic value: supporting local liveli-hoods; protecting watersheds from erosion;

harbouring an untold wealth of genetic re-sources; supporting thriving recreation andtourism industries; providing for science,research and education; and forming a basisfor cultural and other non-material values.Those values continue to grow in importance.


Protected areas, both terrestrial and marine,are totalled and expressed as a percentage ofthe total surface area of the country. The totalsurface area of the country includes terrestri-al area plus any territorial sea area (up to 12nautical miles).


Data are collected by ministries of environ-ment and other ministries responsible for thedesignation and maintenance of protectedareas. Data are stored in the World Databaseon Protected Areas and can be accessed athttp://sea.unep-wcmc. org/ wdbpa/UN.cfm.


Data are constantly updated in the WorldDatabase on Protected Areas as new informa-tion is received from countries.

GENDER ISSUES

Mainstream agricultural, environmental andrelated policies and programmes tend to envi-sion farmers as men and often fail to recog-nize women’s work, knowledge, contributionsand needs. This tendency has important con-sequences for biodiversity as well as for gen-der equality.


The designation of an area as protected is not confirmation that protection measuresare actually in force. The indicator provides ameasure of Governments’ will to protect bio-diversity. It does not measure the effective-ness of policy tools in reducing biodiversityloss, which ultimately depends on a range ofmanagement and implementation factors notcovered by the indicator.

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The indicator provides no information on areasthat are not designated as protected but thatmay also be important for conserving biodi-versity.

The data also do not include sites protectedunder local or provincial law.

No quantified target has been established forthis indicator.


� ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND

DEVELOPMENT/DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE

COMMITTEE (2003). Biodiversity and equalitybetween women and men. In Tipsheets forImproving Gender Equality. Available fromhttp://www1.oecd.org/dac/gender/htm/tipsheets.htm. Paris.

� RAMSAR CONVENTION BUREAU and UNITED

NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL

ORGANIZATION (2003). The RamsarConvention on Wetlands. Internet sitehttp://www.ramsar.org. Geneva.


� UNITED NATIONS. ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR

EUROPE. CONFERENCE OF EUROPEAN STATISTICS

(1989). ECE Standard Statistical Classifica-tion of Land Use. Geneva. Available fromhttp://www.unescap.org/stat/envstat/stwes-class-landuse.pdf.


CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (2003). The MABProgramme: World Network of BiosphereReserves. Internet site http://www.unesco.org/mab/wnbr.htm. Paris.


CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (2003). World Heritage.Internet site http://whc.unesco.org/nwhc/pages/home/pages/homepage.htm. Paris.

� UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME–

WORLD CONSERVATION MONITORING CENTRE

(2003). World Database on Protected Areas.Internet site http://sea.unep-wcmc.org .Cambridge, United Kingdom.

� WORLD CONSERVATION UNION (IUCN).Biodiversity Policy Coordination Division.Internet site http://www.iucn.org/themes/biodiversity.

� WORLD CONSERVATION UNION, WORLD

COMMISSION OF PROTECTED AREAS with theassistance of the WORLD CONSERVATION

MONITORING CENTRE (1994). Guidelines forProtected Area Management Categories.Cambridge, United Kingdom. Available fromhttp://www.wcmc.org.uk/protected_area/categories/eng.

AGENCIES

Ministries of environmentUnited Nations Environment Programme,World Conservation Monitoring CentreIUCN–World Conservation Union

ENERGY USE (KILOGRAM OILEQUIVALENT) PER $1 GROSSDOMESTIC PRODUCT (PPP)

DEFINITION

Energy use (kilogram oil equivalent) per $1gross domestic product (PPP) is commercialenergy use measured in units of oil equivalentper $1 of gross domestic product convertedfrom national currencies using purchasingpower parity conversion factors.


Goal 7. Ensure environmental sustainabilityTarget 9. Integrate the principles of sustain-able development into country policies andprogrammes and reverse the loss of environ-mental resources

RATIONALE

The indicator provides a measure of energyintensity (it is the inverse of energy efficiency).Differences in this ratio over time and across

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countries reflect structural changes in theeconomy, changes in the energy efficiency ofparticular sectors and differences in fuel mixes.In principle, the lower the ratio, the better theenergy efficiency.


Total commercial energy consumption is con-verted to metric ton oil equivalence usingstandard tables. GDP data must be convertedusing PPP tables so that real output is comparedwith real energy input. National total GDP isdeflated (currently to 1995 US PPP dollars) byreference to PPP tables derived from theInternational Comparison Programme. Energyinput is divided by GDP to derive the ratio.


Energy consumption is calculated from nationalenergy balance sheets. Real GDP comes fromthe national income accounts deflated by reference to PPP tables prepared by theInternational Comparison Programme.Traditional fuels, such as animal and vegetablewaste, fuel wood and charcoal, are excluded.


Data are available annually.


This is a relatively crude indicator and needsto be broken down by sector of industry to beinterpreted.


As the input is commercial energy, it shouldbe compared with the output from that ener-gy, deflated by the purchasing power paritiesrelevant to that output. Changes in the ratioover time are influenced almost as much bychanges in the structure of the economy asby changes in sectoral energy intensities.


� INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY (2003).Internet site http://www.iea.org . Paris.

� INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY (annual). EnergyBalances of Non-OECD Countries. Paris.

� INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY (annual).Energy Balances of OECD Countries. Paris.

� UNITED NATIONS (1987). Energy Statistics –Definitions, Units of Measure and ConversionFactors, Series F, No. 44. Sales No.E.86.XVII.21. Available from http://unstats.un.org/unsd/ pubs. (E, F, R, S)

� UNITED NATIONS (2001). Indicators ofSustainable Development: Guidelines andMethodologies. Department of Economicand Social Affairs, Division for SustainableDevelopment Sales No. E.01.II.A.6.Available from http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/natlinfo/indicators/isd.htm.

� UNITED NATIONS (2003). Energy Statistics.Internet site http://unstats.un.org/unsd/energy.

� UNITED NATIONS (2003). MillenniumIndicators Database. Statistics DivisionInternet site http://millenniumindicators.un.org.

� UNITED NATIONS. COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN


DEVELOPMENT and WORLD BANK (1994).System of National Accounts 1993 (SNA1993), Series F, No.2, Rev. 4. Sales No.E.94.XVII.4. Available with updates fromhttp://unstats. un.org/unsd/sna1993.


AGENCIES

International Energy AgencyWorld BankUnited Nations Statistics Division


60

CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS PERCAPITA AND CONSUMPTION OFOZONE-DEPLETING CHLOROFLUORO-CARBONS (ODP TONS)

DEFINITION

Carbon dioxide emissions per capita is thetotal amount of carbon dioxide emitted by acountry as a consequence of human (produc-tion and consumption) activities, divided bythe population of the country. In the globalcarbon dioxide emission estimates of theCarbon Dioxide Information Analysis Centerof Oak Ridge National Laboratory in theUnited States, the calculated country emis-sions of carbon dioxide include emissionsfrom consumption of solid, liquid and gasfuels; cement production; and gas flaring.National reporting to the United NationsFramework Convention on Climate Change,which follows the Intergovernmental Panel onClimate Change guidelines, is based onnational emission inventories and covers allsources of anthropogenic carbon dioxideemissions as well as carbon sinks (such asforests).

Consumption of ozone-depleting chlorofluoro-carbons (CFCs) in ODP (ozone-depleting poten-tial) tons is the sum of the consumption of theweighted tons of the individual substances inthe group—metric tons of the individual sub-stance (defined in the Montreal Protocol onSubstances that Deplete the Ozone Layer)multiplied by its ozone-depleting potential.An ozone-depleting substance is any sub-stance containing chlorine or bromine thatdestroys the stratospheric ozone layer. Thestratospheric ozone layer absorbs most of thebiologically damaging ultraviolet radiation.


Goal 7. Ensure environmental sustainabilityTarget 9. Integrate the principles of sustain-able development into country policies and

programmes and reverse the loss of environ-mental resources

RATIONALE

The indicators signify the commitment toreducing carbon dioxide emissions and progressin phasing out the consumption of CFCs bycountries that have ratified the MontrealProtocol. Carbon dioxide emissions are largelya by-product of energy production and use.They account for the largest share of green-house gases associated with global warming.

The Vienna Convention for the Protection ofthe Ozone Layer (1985) and the MontrealProtocol (1987) are now recognized as havingbeen successful in preventing the global envi-ronmental catastrophe that could have beencaused by stratospheric ozone depletion. TheMontreal Protocol aims to reduce and eventu-ally eliminate the emissions of anthropogenicozone-depleting substances by ceasing theirproduction and consumption. The phasing outof ozone-depleting substances and theirreplacement with less harmful substances ornew processes are aimed at the recovery ofthe ozone layer.

CFCs are considered most representative ofthe protocol’s efforts to phase out the use ofozone-depleting substances since they werethe first to be targeted for elimination.


Carbon dioxide emissions per capita are cal-culated by dividing carbon dioxide emissionsby the number of people in the national pop-ulation. Carbon dioxide emission estimatesfrom 1950 to the present are derived primari-ly from energy statistics published by theUnited Nations, using the methods outlined in“Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels: aprocedure for estimation and results for1950–82”. National reporting to the UnitedNations Framework Convention on ClimateChange is based on the Intergovernmental

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Panel on Climate Change guidelines. Carbondioxide emissions can be expressed in termsof carbon dioxide or converted to carbon con-tent.

The consumption of CFCs is the national pro-duction plus imports, minus exports, minusdestroyed quantities, minus feedstock uses ofindividual CFCs. National annual consump-tion of CFCs is the sum of the weighted tons (consumption in metric tons multiplied by theestimated ozone-depleting potential) of theindividual CFCs.


National carbon dioxide emissions are esti-mated from detailed data on emission sources,using source-specific emission factors. Emissioninventories are usually compiled by energy orenvironment ministries. Annex I parties (dev-eloped countries) to the United NationsFramework Convention on Climate Change sub-mit their data on greenhouse gas emissions tothe organization’s secretariat through anannual reporting format. Reporting of Non-annex I parties is voluntary and occasional.Where national emission inventories are absent,official sources are supplemented by othersources and estimates.

Estimation of the consumption of CFCs requiresdata on national production plus imports,minus exports, minus stocks destroyed.Those can be derived from national produc-tion and international trade statistics.


Data are usually collected annually.


For carbon dioxide emissions, trend data aremore reliable than data comparisons betweencountries.

For ozone depletion, the indicator does notreveal much about current trends in deterio-ration of the ozone layer owing to delays in

ecosystem response.


� CARBON DIOXIDE INFORMATION ANALYSIS CENTRE

(CDIAC) (2003). Global, Regional, andNational Fossil Fuel CO2 Emissions:http://cdiac.ornl.gov/trends/emis/meth_reg.htm. Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

� CARBON DIOXIDE INFORMATION ANALYSIS CENTRE

(CDIAC) (2003). Internet sitehttp://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/. Oak Ridge,Tennessee.

� MARLAND, G., and R.M. ROTTY (1984).Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels:a procedure for estimation and results for1950–82. Tellus, 36(B): 232–61.

� UNITED NATIONS (1996). Glossary ofEnvironmental Statistics, Series F, No. 67(United Nations publication, Sales No.E.96.XVII.12). Available fromhttp://unstats. un.org/unsd/pubs. (A, C, E,F, R, S)

� UNITED NATIONS (2001). Indicators ofSustainable Development: Guidelines andMethodologies. Sales No. E.01.II.A.6.Available from http:// www.un.org/esa/sustdev/natlinfo/indicators/isd.htm.


(2002). Production and Consumption ofOzone-Depleting Substances under theMontreal Protocol, 1986-2000. Availablefrom http://www.unep.ch/ozone/15-year-data-report.pdf. Nairobi.


(2003). The Ozone Secretariat. Internet sitehttp://www.unep.org/ozone/. Nairobi.

� UNITED NATIONS FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON

CLIMATE CHANGE (2003). Greenhouse GasInventory Database (GHG). Internet sitehttp://ghg.unfccc.int. Bonn, Germany.

� UNITED NATIONS FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON

CLIMATE CHANGE (2003). Internet sitehttp://www.unfccc.int. Bonn, Germany.



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� WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION AND

UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME.INTER-GOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE

(2003). Internet site http://www.ipcc.ch.Geneva.

� WORLD RESOURCE INSTITUTE (2003).EarthTrends: The Environment InformationPortal. Internet site http://earthtrends.wri.org. Washington, D.C.

AGENCIES

Carbon dioxide:

United Nations Framework Convention onClimate ChangeUnited Nations Statistics Division

Chlorofluorocarbons:

United Nations Environment Programme,Ozone Secretariat

PROPORTION OF THE POPULATIONUSING SOLID FUELS

DEFINITION

Proportion of population using solid fuels isthe proportion of the population that relies onbiomass (wood, charcoal, crop residues anddung) and coal as the primary source ofdomestic energy for cooking and heating.


Goal 7. Ensure environmental sustainabilityTarget 9. Integrate the principles of sustain-able development into country policies andprogrammes and reverse the loss of environ-mental resources

RATIONALE

Incomplete and inefficient combustion ofsolid fuels results in the emission of hundredsof compounds, many of which are health-damaging pollutants or greenhouse gasesthat contribute to global climate change. Thereare also important linkages between house-hold solid fuel use, indoor air pollution, defor-estation and soil erosion and greenhouse gasemissions. Exposure to indoor air pollution is a

complex phenomenon and depends on inter-actions of pollution source (fuel and stove type),pollution dispersion (housing and ventilation)and the time-activity budget of householdmembers. The type of fuel and participation incooking tasks have consistently been themost important predictors of exposure.


The indicator is computed as the ratio ofhouseholds using one or more unprocessed solidfuels (dung and crop residues, wood, char-coal, and coal) for cooking and heating, to thetotal population, expressed as a percentage.


Data can be derived from household surveys,such as Living Standard Measurement studysurveys and Demographic and Health Surveysand from population censuses. Standardquestions for inclusion in all nationally repre-sentative household surveys have not yetbeen developed and no internationally com-parable data are available.

GENDER ISSUES

More than half the world’s households cookwith unprocessed solid fuels, exposing prima-rily women and children to indoor air pollu-tion, which can result in serious health prob-lems, such as acute respiratory diseases. Inaddition, women spend more time than mengathering wood for fuel.


Development of standard questions for inclu-sion in all nationally representative householdsurveys and censuses is needed to obtaindata for calculating the indicator and allowingcomparisons across countries.

Since the use of solid fuels affects both theenvironment and the population as a wholeand the health status of those directlyexposed, guidelines should clearly set defini-tions and measurement standards for what isintended by “exposure”.

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COMPARISONS

� BRUCE, NIGEL, ROGELIO PEREZ-PADILLA andRACHEL ALBALAK (2000). Indoor air pollutionin developing countries: a major environ-mental and public health challenge. Bulletinof the World Health Organization 78 (9),1078-1092 Geneva.

� STAKEHOLDER FORUM (2002). Earth SummitForum 2002. Internet site http://www.earthsummit2002.org/es/issues/gender/gen-der.htm.

� UNITED NATIONS (1982). Concepts andMethods in Energy Statistics, with SpecialReference to Energy Accounts andBalances: A Technical Report, Series F, No.29. Sales No. E.82.XVII.13 and corrigen-dum. Available from http://unstats.un.org/unsd/pubs (E, F, R).

� UNITED NATIONS (1987). Energy Statistics –Definitions, Units of Measure and ConversionFactors, Series F, No. 44. Sales No.E.86.XVII.21. Available from http://unstats.un.org/unsd/pubs (E, F, R, S).

� WORLD BANK (2003). Briefing Notes onGender and Development - Energy.Available from http://www.worldbank.org/gender/resources/briefing. Washington,D.C.

� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (2002). WorldHealth Report 2002 – Reducing Risks,Promoting Healthy Life. Geneva. Availablefrom http://www.who.int/whr/en.

The World Health Organization has producedestimates of regional aggregates for this indi-cator. However, no country data series areavailable to allow comparison across coun-tries or assessment of trends.

AGENCIES

National statistical officesWorld Health Organization

PROPORTION OF POPULATION WITHSUSTAINABLE ACCESS TO ANIMPROVED WATER SOURCE, URBANAND RURAL

DEFINITION

The proportion of the population with sustain-able access to an improved water source,urban and rural, is the percentage of the pop-ulation who use any of the following types ofwater supply for drinking: piped water, publictap, borehole or pump, protected well, pro-tected spring or rainwater. Improved watersources do not include vendor-providedwater, bottled water, tanker trucks or unpro-tected wells and springs.


Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability.Target 10: Halve, by 2015, the proportion ofpeople without sustainable access to safedrinking water and basic sanitation.

RATIONALE

The indicator monitors access to improvedwater sources based on the assumption thatimproved sources are more likely to providesafe water. Unsafe water is the direct cause ofmany diseases in developing countries.


The indicator is computed as the ratio of thenumber of people who use piped water, publictap, borehole or pump, protected well, protectedspring or rainwater to the total population,expressed as a percentage. The same methodapplies for the urban and rural breakdown.

Access to safe water refers to the percentageof the population with reasonable access toan adequate supply of safe water in theirdwelling or within a convenient distance oftheir dwelling. The Global Water Supply andSanitation Assessment 2000 Report definesreasonable access as “the availability of 20litres per capita per day at a distance nolonger than 1,000 metres”. However, access

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and volume of drinking water are difficult tomeasure, so sources of drinking water thatare thought to provide safe water are used asa proxy.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)and the World Health Organization (WHO),through the Joint Monitoring Programme,assess trends in “access to improved drinkingwater sources” by drawing a regression linethrough the available household survey andcensus data for each country (details are avail-able at http://www.childinfo.org). Regionaland global estimates are aggregated from thenational estimates, using population-weight-ed averages.


Since the late 1990s, data have routinely beencollected at the national and subnational levelsin more than 100 countries using censuses andsurveys by national Governments, often withsupport from international development agen-cies. Two data sources are common: administra-tive or infrastructure data that report on newand existing facilities, and data from householdsurveys, including Multiple Indicator ClusterSurveys, Demographic and Health Surveys andLiving Standards Measurement study surveys.Before the population-based data were avail-able, provider-based data were used.

Evidence suggests that data from surveys aremore reliable than administrative records andprovide information on facilities actually usedby the population.


Administrative data are often available annu-ally. Household surveys are generally con-ducted every three to five years.

WHO and UNICEF annually compile interna-tional data and prepare regional and globalestimates based on household survey data.

GENDER ISSUES

Women and men usually have different rolesin water and sanitation activities. The differ-ences are particularly pronounced in ruralareas. Women are most often the users,providers and managers of water in ruralhouseholds and the guardians of householdhygiene. If a water system breaks down,women are more likely to be affected thanmen because they have to travel farther forwater or use other means to meet the house-hold’s water and sanitation needs.


The indicator should be monitored separatelyfor urban and rural areas. Because of nation-al differences in characteristics that distin-guish urban from rural areas, the distinctionbetween urban and rural population is notamenable to a single definition applicable toall countries. National definitions are mostcommonly based on size of locality, with ruralpopulation as the residual of population thatis not considered urban.


When data from administrative sources areused, they generally refer to existing sources,whether used or not. Despite official WHO defi-nitions, the judgment about whether a watersource is safe is often subjective. In addition, theexistence of a water supply does not necessari-ly mean that it is safe or that local people use it.For those and other reasons, household surveydata are generally better than administrativedata, since survey data are based on actual useof sources by the surveyed population ratherthan the simple existence of the sources.

While access is the most reasonable indicatorfor water supply, it still involves severe method-ological and practical problems. Among them:� The data are not routinely collected by “the

sector” but by others outside the sector aspart of more general surveys.

� Water quality is not systematically addressed.� The timing of collection and analysis of


65

household survey data is irregular, with longintervals between surveys


� ORC MACRO (2003). Demographic andHealth Surveys – Providing Information forInformed Decisions in Population, Healthand Nutrition. Internet site http://www.measuredhs.com. Calverton, Maryland.

� UNITED NATIONS (1998). Principles andRecommendations for Population andHousing Censuses, Revision 1, Series M, No.67, Rev. 1. Sales No. E.98.XVII.1. Availablefrom http://unstats.un.org/unsd/pubs (A,E, F, S).



� UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND (2003).Progress since the World Summit forChildren. New York. Available from http://www.childinfo.org.



� WORLD BANK (2003). Briefing Notes onGender Development - Water and Sanitation.Washington, D.C. Available from http://www.worldbank.org/gender/resources/briefing.

� WORLD BANK (2003). The Living StandardsMeasurement Study of the World Bank(LSMS). Internet site http://www.world-bank.org/lsms. Washington, D.C.

� WORLD BANK (2003). Toolkit on Gender inWater and Sanitation. Washington, D.C.Available from http://www.worldbank.org/gender/resources/sectoraltools.htm.


� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION AND UNITED

NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND (2000). GlobalWater Supply and Sanitation Assessment2000 Report, pp.77-78. Geneva. Availablefrom http://www.who.int/docstore/water_sanitation_health/Globassessment/GlobalTOC.htm.

AGENCIES

National statistical officesUnited Nations Children’s FundWorld Health Organization

PROPORTION OF POPULATION WITHACCESS TO IMPROVED SANITATION,URBAN AND RURAL

DEFINITION

Proportion of the urban and rural populationwith access to improved sanitation refers tothe percentage of the population with accessto facilities that hygienically separate humanexcreta from human, animal and insect con-tact. Facilities such as sewers or septic tanks,poor-flush latrines and simple pit or ventilat-ed improved pit latrines are assumed to beadequate, provided that they are not public,according to the World Health Organizationand United Nations Children’s Fund’s GlobalWater Supply and Sanitation Assessment 2000Report. To be effective, facilities must be cor-rectly constructed and properly maintained.


Goal 7. Ensure environmental sustainabilityTarget 10. Halve, by 2015, the proportion ofpeople without sustainable access to safedrinking water and basic sanitation

RATIONALE

Good sanitation is important for urban and ruralpopulations, but the risks are greater in urban

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areas where it is more difficult to avoid con-tact with waste.


The indicator is computed as the ratio of thenumber of people in urban or rural areas withaccess to improved excreta-disposal facilitiesto the total urban or rural population, expressedas a percentage.


Since the late 1990s, data have routinely beencollected at national and subnational levels inmore than 100 countries using censuses andsurveys by national Governments, often withsupport from international developmentagencies. Two data sources are common: ad-ministrative or infrastructure data that reporton new and existing facilities, and data fromhousehold surveys including Multiple IndicatorCluster Surveys, Demographic and HealthSurveys, and LSMS surveys. Before thosepopulation-based data were available,provider-based data were used.

Evidence suggests that data from surveys aremore reliable than administrative records andprovide information on facilities actually usedby the population.

Rural and urban population statistics comedirectly from population censuses.


Administrative data are often available annu-ally. Household surveys are generally conductedevery three to five years. WHO and UNICEFannually compile international data and pre-pare regional and global estimates based onhousehold survey data.

GENDER ISSUES

Women and men usually have different rolesin water and sanitation activities. The differ-ences are particularly pronounced in ruralareas. Women are most often the users, pro-viders and managers of water in rural house-

holds and the guardians of household hygiene.If a water system breaks down, women aremore likely to be affected than men becausethey have to travel farther for water or useother means to meet the household’s waterand sanitation needs.


The indicator should be monitored separatelyfor urban and rural areas. Owing to nationaldifferences in characteristics that distinguishurban from rural areas, the distinctionbetween urban and rural population is notamenable to a single definition applicable toall countries. National definitions are mostcommonly based on size of locality, with ruralpopulation as the residual of population thatis not considered urban.


When data are from administrative sources,they generally refer to existing sanitationfacilities, whether used or not. Household sur-vey data are therefore generally better thanadministrative data, since survey data arebased on actual use of facilities by the sur-veyed population rather than the simple exis-tence of the facilities.

While access is the most reasonable indicatorfor sanitation facilities, it still involves severemethodological and practical problems,including the following:� The data are not routinely collected by “the

sector” but by others outside the sector aspart of more general surveys

� Facility quality is not systematicallyaddressed

� The timing of collection and analysis ofhousehold survey data is irregular, withlong intervals between surveys

The definition of access to improved sanita-tion facilities and methods for assessing it areeven more contentious than those for water,with national definitions of “acceptable” sani-tation varying widely.


67


COMPARISONS

� ORC MACRO (2003). Demographic andHealth Surveys – Providing Information forInformed Decisions in Population, Healthand Nutrition. Internet site http://www.measuredhs.com. Calverton, Maryland.

� UNITED NATIONS (1998). Principles andRecommendations for Population andHousing Censuses, Revision 1, Series M, No.67, Rev. 1. Sales No. E.98.XVII.1. Availablefrom http://unstats.un.org/unsd/pubs (A,E, F, S).



� UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND (2003).Progress since the World Summit for Children.New York. Available from http://www.childinfo.org .

� WORLD BANK (2003) The Living StandardsMeasurement Study of the World Bank(LSMS). Internet site http://www.worldbank.org/lsms. Washington, D.C.

� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION AND UNITED

NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND (2000). GlobalWater Supply and Sanitation Assessment2000 Report. Geneva. Available fromhttp://www.who.int/docstore/ water_sani-tation_health/Globassessment/GlobalTOC.htm .

AGENCIES

National statistical officesUnited Nations Children’s FundWorld Health Organization

PROPORTION OF HOUSEHOLDS WITHACCESS TO SECURE TENURE

DEFINITION

The proportion of households with access tosecure tenure is 1 minus the percentage ofthe urban population that lives in slums. In theabsence of data on number of slum dwellers,the United Nations Human SettlementsProgramme (UN-HABITAT) produces estimatesbased on a definition of slums as agreed bythe Expert Group Meeting on Urban Indicatorsin 2002. Those indicators will be adjusted,and the definitions of secure tenure andslums will be refined through future consulta-tions with Expert Group Meeting participantsand their related networks of professionals.

Secure tenure refers to households that ownor are purchasing their homes, are renting pri-vately or are in social housing or subtenancy.Households without secure tenure are definedas squatters (whether or not they pay rent),homeless and households with no formalagreement.

UN-HABITAT defines a slum household as agroup of individuals living under the sameroof who lack one or more (in some cities, twoor more) of the following conditions: securityof tenure, structural quality and durability ofdwellings, access to safe water, access tosanitation facilities and sufficient living area.


Goal 7. Ensure environmental sustainabilityTarget 11. By 2020, to have achieved a signifi-cant improvement in the lives of at least 100million slum dwellers

RATIONALE

The indicator is intended to provide anoverview of the share of urban population liv-ing in conditions of poverty and physical andenvironmental deprivation.

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68


The indicator is computed as 1 minus the ratioof the number of households in urban areasthat lack one or more of the above-mentionedconditions listed under “Definition”to the num-ber of urban households, expressed as a per-centage.


Data come mainly from household surveyssuch as the Demographic and Health Surveys,Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys and JointMonitoring Programme questionnaires. Incountries without such data from surveys,data can be derived from population andhousing censuses, which usually includequestions about housing tenure.

UN-HABITAT produces slum population esti-mates based on those national sources forassessing regional and global trends.


Household surveys are generally conductedevery three to five years. Censuses are con-ducted every 10 years.

GENDER ISSUES

For women (more than for men), housing—beyond basic shelter—also often functions asan important place of employment and socialinteraction, and a place to care for children. Itmay offer respite from social instability andviolence. Discriminatory social and economicpractices within and outside the householdmay result in women being excluded frommany aspects of housing, including policydevelopment, control over housing resources,rights of inheritance and ownership, commu-nity organizing or the construction of hous-ing. Such exclusion can threaten women’ssecurity of tenure by preventing women fromowning, inheriting, leasing, renting or remain-ing in housing and on land.


Data are not yet generally available.


COMPARISONS

� CENTER ON HOUSING RIGHTS AND EVICTIONS

(2003). Women and housing rights. InHousing Rights. Geneva. Available fromhttp://www.cohre.org/hrframe.htm.


� UNITED NATIONS. COMMISSION ON HUMAN

RIGHTS. Women’s equal ownership of,access to and control over land and theequal rights to own property and to ade-quate housing. Official Records of theEconomic and Social Council, Fifty-sixthSession Supplemjent No. 3 (E/200/23-E/CN.4/2000/167), resolution 2000/13.Geneva. Available from http://www.unhabitat.org/programmes/landtenure/13.asp.

� UNITED NATIONS HUMAN SETTLEMENTS PROGRAMME

(UN-HABITAT) (2002). Expert Group Meetingon Urban Indicators – Secure Tenure, Slumsand Global Sample of Cities. Nairobi.Available from http://www.unhabitat.org/programmes/guo/documents/EGM finalreport 4 Dec 02.pdf.


(UN-HABITAT) (2003). Global UrbanObservatory. Internet site http://www.unhabitat.org/programmes/guo. Nairobi.


(UN-HABITAT) (2003). Guide to MonitoringTarget 11: Improving the Lives of 100Million Slum Dwellers–Progress towards theMillennium Development Goals. Nairobi.Available from http://www.unhabitat.org/mdg.


(UN-HABITAT) (2003). The GlobalCampaign for Secure Tenure. Internet sitehttp://www.unhabitat.org/campaigns/tenure. Nairobi.

UN-HABITAT produces regional and globalestimates of percentage of slum dwellersbased on national data. Internationally


69

comparable data series at country levelhave not yet been produced.

AGENCY

United Nations Human SettlementsProgramme

NET ODA, TOTAL AND TO THE LEASTDEVELOPED COUNTRIES, AS A PER-CENTAGE OF OECD/DAC DONORS’GROSS NATIONAL INCOME

DEFINITION

Official development assistance comprisesgrants or loans to developing countries and ter-ritories on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development/DevelopmentAssistance Committee (OECD/DAC) list of aidrecipients that are undertaken by the officialsector with promotion of economic develop-ment and welfare as the main objective and atconcessional financial terms (if a loan, having agrant element of at least 25 per cent). Technicalcooperation is included. Grants, loans and cred-its for military purposes are excluded. Alsoexcluded is aid to more advanced developingand transition countries as determined by DAC.

Donors’ gross national income (GNI) at marketprices is the sum of gross primary incomesreceivable by resident institutional units andsectors. GNI at market prices was called grossnational product (GNP) in the 1953 System ofNational Accounts. In contrast to gross domes-tic product (GDP), GNI is a concept of income(primary income) rather than value added.

The General Assembly, on the recommenda-tion of the Committee for Development Policy,through the Economic and Social Council,decides on the countries to be included in thelist of least developed countries (LDCs). As ofJanuary 2004, the list included the followingcountries, by region: Africa: Angola, Benin,Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, CentralAfrican Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic

Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, EquatorialGuinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea,Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar,Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, theNiger, Rwanda, Saõ Tomé and Principe,Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, the Sudan,Togo, Uganda, the United Republic ofTanzania and Zambia; Asia and the Pacific:Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia,Kiribati, the Lao People’s DemocraticRepublic, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Samoa,Solomon Islands, Timor Leste, Tuvalu,Vanuatu and Yemen; Latin America and theCaribbean: Haiti.

GOAL AND TARGETS ADDRESSED

Goal 8. Develop a global partnership for devel-opmentTarget 12. Develop further an open, rule-based,predictable, non-discriminatory trading andfinancial system. Includes a commitment togood governance, development and povertyreduction—both nationally and internationallyTarget 13. Address the special needs of theleast developed countries. Includes: tariff andquota-free access for least developed coun-tries’ exports; enhanced programme of debtrelief for heavily indebted poor countries andcancellation of official bilateral debt; andmore generous ODA for countries committedto poverty reductionTarget 14. Address the special needs of land-locked countries and small island developingStates (through the Programme of Action forthe Sustainable Development of Small IslandDeveloping States and the outcome of thetwenty-second special session of the GeneralAssembly)Target 15. Deal comprehensively with the debtproblems of developing countries throughnational and international measures in orderto make debt sustainable in the long term

RATIONALE

Goal 8 addresses the way developed coun-tries can assist developing countries toachieve the other seven goals through more

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70

development assistance, improved access tomarkets and debt relief. The InternationalConference on Financing for Development,held in Monterrey, Mexico in 2002, stimulatedcommitments from major donors to start toreverse the decline in official developmentassistance and focus more on poverty reduc-tion, education and health to help countriesrealize the Millennium Development Goals.


GNI is equal to GDP (which at market pricesrepresents the final result of the productionactivity of resident producer units) less pri-mary incomes payable to non-resident unitsplus primary incomes receivable from non-resident units. In other words, GNI is equal toGDP less taxes (less subsidies) on productionand imports, compensation of employees andproperty income payable to the rest of theworld plus the corresponding items receivablefrom the rest of the world.


Data are compiled by the DevelopmentAssistance Committee of OECD.


Annual.

REFERENCES AND INTERNATIONAL DATA COMPARISONS


DEVELOPMENT. DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE

COMMITTEE (2003). Internet site http://www.oecd.org/dac . Paris.



COMMITTEE (annual). Development Co-opera-tion Report. Paris.



COMMITTEE (annual). InternationalDevelopment Statistics. CD-ROM. Paris.



COMMUNITIES, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND,ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION andDEVELOPMENT AND WORLD BANK (1994).System of National Accounts 1993 (SNA1993), Series F, No.2, Rev. 4. Sales No.E.94.XVII.4. Available with updates athttp://unstats. un.org/unsd/sna1993.

� UNITED NATIONS OFFICE OF THE HIGH

REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE LEAST DEVELOPED

COUNTRIES, LANDLOCKED DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

AND SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES (2003).Internet site http://www.un.org/ohrlls.

AGENCY

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Development AssistanceCommittee

PROPORTION OF TOTAL BILATERAL,SECTOR-ALLOCABLE ODA OF OECD/DAC DONORS TO BASIC SOCIALSERVICES (BASIC EDUCATION, PRI-MARY HEALTH CARE, NUTRITION,SAFE WATER AND SANITATION)

DEFINITION

Official development assistance comprisesgrants or loans to developing countries and ter-ritories on the OECD Development AssistanceCommittee list of aid recipients that are under-taken by the official sector with promotion ofeconomic development and welfare as the mainobjective and at concessional financial terms (ifa loan, having a grant element of at least 25 percent). Technical cooperation is included. Grants,loans and credits for military purposes areexcluded. Also excluded is aid to moreadvanced developing and transition countriesas determined by DAC. Bilateral official develop-ment assistance is from one country to another.

Basic education comprises primary education,basic life skills for youth and adults and earlychildhood education. Primary health careincludes basic health care, basic health infra-

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71

structure, basic nutrition, infectious diseasecontrol, health education and health person-nel development. (For safe water and sanita-tion, see INDICATORS 30 and 31.)


Goal 8. Develop a global partnership for devel-opmentTarget 12. Develop further an open, rule-based,predictable, non-discriminatory trading andfinancial system. Includes a commitment togood governance, development and povertyreduction—both nationally and internationally.Target 13. Address the special needs of theleast developed countries. Includes: tariff andquota-free access for least developed coun-tries’ exports; enhanced programme of debtrelief for heavily indebted poor countries andcancellation of official bilateral debt; andmore generous ODA for countries committedto poverty reductionTarget 14. Address the special needs of land-locked countries and small island developingStates (through the Programme of Action forthe Sustainable Development of Small IslandDeveloping States and the outcome of thetwenty-second special session of the GeneralAssembly)Target 15. Deal comprehensively with the debtproblems of developing countries throughnational and international measures in orderto make debt sustainable in the long term

RATIONALE

The World Summit on Social Development atCopenhagen in 1995 suggested the possibili-ty of “mutual commitment between interest-ed developed and developing country part-ners to allocate, on average, 20 per cent ofODA and 20 per cent of the national budget,respectively, to basic social programmes”.These programmes comprise basic education,basic health, population and reproductivehealth programmes, and poverty-focusedwater and sanitation projects.


Compiled by the Development AssistanceCommittee of the OECD.


Annual.


Aid to water supply and sanitation is definedas part of basic social services only if povertyfocused.


� ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION

AND DEVELOPMENT. DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE

COMMITTEE (2003). Internet site http://www.oecd.org/dac. Under Topics, select: Aid sta-tistics, Aid effectiveness and donor prac-tices or Millennium Development Goals.Paris.



COMMITTEE (annual). Development Co-opera-tion Report. Paris.



COMMITTEE (annual). International DevelopmentStatistics CD-ROM. Paris.


AGENCY

Organisation for Economic Co-operation andDevelopment/Development AssistanceCommittee

PROPORTION OF BILATERAL ODA OFOECD/DAC DONORS THAT IS UNTIED

DEFINITION

Official development assistance (ODA) com-prises grants or loans to developing countriesand territories on the OECD DevelopmentAssistance Committee list of aid recipientsthat are undertaken by the official sector with

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72

promotion of economic development and wel-fare as the main objective and at concession-al financial terms (if a loan, having a grant ele-ment of at least 25 per cent). Technical coop-eration is included. Grants, loans and creditsfor military purposes are excluded. Alsoexcluded is aid to more advanced developingand transition countries as determined by theCommittee. Bilateral official developmentassistance is from one country to another.Untied bilateral official development assis-tance is assistance from country to countryfor which the associated goods and servicesmay be fully and freely procured in substan-tially all countries.



RATIONALE

Tying procurement from aid contracts to sup-pliers in the donor country reduces its cost-

effectiveness. Recognizing this, OECD/DACmember countries have raised the share oftheir aid that is untied. The share of untied aidto the least developed countries has risen rel-atively slowly, but the situation is likely toimprove with the implementation of the newDAC Recommendation on Untying OfficialDevelopment Assistance to the LeastDeveloped Countries.




Annual.



DEVELOPMENT. DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE COMMITTEE

(2003). Internet site http://www.oecd.org/dac . Under Topics, select: Aid statistics, Aideffectiveness and donor practices orMillennium Development Goals. Paris.



(annual). Development Co-operationReport. Paris.



(annual). International DevelopmentStatistics. CD-ROM. Paris.


� UNITED NATIONS. OFFICE OF THE HIGH



AND SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES (2003).Internet site http://www.un.org/ohrlls .

AGENCY

Organisation for Economic Co-operation andDevelopment, Development AssistanceCommittee


73

ODA RECEIVED IN LANDLOCKEDCOUNTRIES AS PROPORTION OFTHEIR GROSS NATIONAL INCOMES

DEFINITION

Official development assistance comprisesgrants or loans to developing countries andterritories on the OECD DevelopmentAssistance Committee list of aid recipientsthat are undertaken by the official sector withpromotion of economic development and wel-fare as the main objective and at concession-al financial terms (if a loan, having a grant ele-ment of at least 25 per cent). Technical coop-eration is included. Grants, loans and credits formilitary purposes are excluded. Also excludedis aid to more advanced developing and tran-sition countries as determined by DAC.

Recipient countries’ gross national income(GNI) at market prices is the sum of gross pri-mary incomes receivable by resident institu-tional units and sectors. GNI at market priceswas called gross national product (GNP) in the1953 System of National Accounts. In con-trast to gross domestic product (GDP), GNI isa concept of income (primary income) ratherthan value added.

The land-locked developing countries are, byregion: Africa: Botswana, Burkina Faso,Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad,Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Niger,Rwanda, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia andZimbabwe; Asia and the Pacific: Afghanistan,Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,the Lao People’s Democratic Republic,Mongolia, Nepal, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan andUzbekistan; Europe: The former YugoslavRepublic of Macedonia and the Republic ofMoldova (expected from 2003); Latin Americaand the Caribbean: Bolivia and Paraguay.


Goal 8. Develop a global partnership for devel-opmentTarget 12. Develop further an open, rule-based,

predictable, non-discriminatory trading andfinancial system. Includes a commitment togood governance, development and povertyreduction—both nationally and internationallyTarget 13:. Address the special needs of theleast developed countries. Includes: tariff andquota-free access for least developed coun-tries’ exports; enhanced programme of debtrelief for HIPCs and cancellation of officialbilateral debt; and more generous ODA forcountries committed to poverty reductionTarget 14. Address the special needs of land-locked countries and small island developingStates (through the Programme of Action forthe Sustainable Development of Small IslandDeveloping States and the outcome of thetwenty-second special session of the GeneralAssembly)Target 15. Deal comprehensively with the debtproblems of developing countries throughnational and international measures in orderto make debt sustainable in the long term

RATIONALE

The indicator addresses the special needs oflandlocked countries to achieve their develop-ment goals.


Data are compiled by the DevelopmentAssistance Committee of the Organisation forEconomic Co-operation and Development


Annual.




(2003). Internet site http://www.oecd.org/dac. Under Topics, select: Aid statis-tics, Aid effectiveness and donor practicesor Millennium Development Goals. Paris.



(annual). Development Co-operation Report.

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74

Paris.� ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND


(annual). International DevelopmentStatistics. CD-ROM. Paris.




DEVELOPMENT and WORLD BANK (1994).System of National Accounts 1993 (SNA1993), Series F, No.2, Rev. 4. Sales No.E.94.XVII.4. Available with updates athttp://unstats.un.org/unsd/sna1993.





AGENCY

Organisation for Economic Co-operation andDevelopment/Development AssistanceCommittee.

ODA RECEIVED IN SMALL ISLANDDEVELOPING STATES AS PROPOR-TION OF THEIR GROSS NATIONALINCOMES

DEFINITION

Official development assistance comprisesgrants or loans to developing countries andterritories on the OECD DevelopmentAssistance Committee list of aid recipientsthat are undertaken by the official sector withpromotion of economic development and wel-fare as the main objective and at concession-al financial terms (if a loan, having a grant ele-ment of at least 25 per cent). Technical coop-eration is included. Grants, loans and credits formilitary purposes are excluded. Also excludedis aid to more advanced developing and tran-sition countries as determined by DAC.

Recipient countries’ gross national income atmarket prices is the sum of gross primaryincomes receivable by resident institutionalunits and sectors. GNI at market prices wascalled gross national product in the 1953System of National Accounts. In con-trast to gross domestic product, GNI is a con-cept of income (primary income) rather thanvalue added.

The small island developing States are byregion: Africa: Cape Verde, Comoros, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritius, Saõ Tomé and Principe, andSeychelles; Asia and the Pacific: Bahrain, CookIslands, Fiji, Kiribati, Maldives, MarshallIslands, Micronesia (Federated States of),Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea,Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, TimorLeste, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu;Europe: Cyprus and Malta; Latin America andthe Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba,the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba,Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada,Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Netherlands Antilles,St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent andthe Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad andTobago, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.


Goal 8. Develop a global partnership for devel-opment Target 12. Develop further an open, rule-based,predictable, non-discriminatory trading andfinancial system. Includes a commitment togood governance, development and povertyreduction—both nationally and internationally Target 13. Address the special needs of theleast developed countries. Includes: tariff andquota-free access for least developed coun-tries’ exports; enhanced programme of debtrelief for heavily indebted poor countries andcancellation of official bilateral debt; andmore generous ODA for countries committedto poverty reductionTarget 14. Address the special needs of land-locked countries and small island developing

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States (through the Programme of Action forthe Sustainable Development of Small IslandDeveloping States and the outcome of thetwenty-second special session of the GeneralAssembly)Target 15. Deal comprehensively with the debtproblems of developing countries throughnational and international measures in orderto make debt sustainable in the long term

RATIONALE

The indicator addresses the special needs ofsmall island developing States. That group ofcountries has very diverse incomes per capita,ranging from the least developed countries tohigh-income countries. The least developedcountries need continued aid, which shouldbe monitored closely.




Annual.




(2003). Internet site http://www.oecd.org/dac. Under Topics, select: Aid statistics, Aideffectiveness and donor practices orMillennium Development Goals. Paris.



(annual). Development Co-operation Report.Paris.



(annual). International Development Statistics.CD-ROM. Paris.



COMMUNITIES, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND,

ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND

DEVELOPMENT and WORLD BANK (1994).System of National Accounts 1993 (SNA1993), Series F, No.2, Rev. 4. Sales No.E.94.XVII.4. Available with updates fromhttp://unstats.un.org/ unsd/sna1993.





AGENCY

Organisation for Economic Co-operation andDevelopment/Development AssistanceCommittee

PROPORTION OF TOTAL DEVELOPEDCOUNTRY IMPORTS (BY VALUE ANDEXCLUDING ARMS) FROM DEVEL-OPING COUNTRIES AND FROM THELEASE DEVELOPED COUNTRIES,ADMITTED FREE OF DUTY

DEFINITION

Imports and imported value of goods (mer-chandise) are goods that add to the stock ofmaterial resources of a country by enteringits economic territory. Goods simply beingtransported through a country (goods in tran-sit) or temporarily admitted (except for goodsfor inward processing) do not add to the stockof material resources of a country and are notincluded in international merchandise tradestatistics. In many cases, a country’s econom-ic territory largely coincides with its customsterritory, which is the territory in which thecustoms laws of a country apply in full.

Goods admitted free of duties are exports ofgoods (excluding arms) received from devel-oping countries and admitted without tariffsto developed countries.

There is no established convention for thedesignation of developed and developing

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countries or areas in the United Nations system.In common practice, Japan in Asia, Canadaand the United States in North America,Australia and New Zealand in Oceania andEurope are considered “developed” regions orareas. In international trade statistics, theSouthern African Customs Union is also treat-ed as a developed region, and Israel is treatedas a developed country; countries emergingfrom the former Yugoslavia are treated asdeveloping countries; and countries of east-ern Europe and European countries of the for-mer Soviet Union are not included undereither developed or developing regions.

The General Assembly, on the recommenda-tion of the Committee for Development Policy,through the Economic and Social Councildecides on the countries to be included in thelist of least developed countries (LDCs). As ofJanuary 2004, the list included the followingcountries, by region: Africa: Angola, Benin,Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, theCentral African Republic, Chad, Comoros, theDemocratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti,Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, theGambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho,Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania,Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Saõ Tomé andPrincipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, theSudan, Togo, Uganda, the United Republic ofTanzania and Zambia; Asia and the Pacific:Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia,Kiribati, the Lao People’s DemocraticRepublic., Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Samoa,Solomon Islands, Timor Leste, Tuvalu,Vanuatu and Yemen; Latin America and theCaribbean: Haiti.


Goal 8:. Develop a global partnership for devel-opmentTarget 12. Develop further an open, rule-based,predictable, non-discriminatory trading andfinancial system. Includes a commitment to goodgovernance, development and poverty reduc-tion—both nationally and internationally Target 13. Address the special needs of the

least developed countries. Includes: tariff andquota-free access for least developed coun-tries’ exports; enhanced programme of debtrelief for heavily indebted poor countries andcancellation of official bilateral debt; andmore generous ODA for countries committedto poverty reduction Target 14. Address the special needs of land-locked countries and small island developingStates (through the Programme of Action forthe Sustainable Development of Small IslandDeveloping States and the outcome of thetwenty-second special session of the GeneralAssembly) Target 15. Deal comprehensively with the debtproblems of developing countries throughnational and international measures in orderto make debt sustainable in the long term

RATIONALE

The indicator monitors the international effortmade to remove barriers to trade for develop-ing countries, to encourage the achievementof the Millennium Development Goals. Poorpeople in developing countries work primarilyin agriculture and labour-intensive manufac-turing, sectors that confront the greatesttrade barriers. Removing barriers to merchan-dise trade, therefore, could increase growth inthose countries by a significant amount.


To value their exports, countries can choosefree-on-board (f.o.b.) values, which includeonly the transaction value of the goods andthe value of services performed to delivergoods to the border of the exporting country,or cost, insurance and freight (c.i.f.) values,which add to this the value of the servicesperformed to deliver the goods from the bor-der of the exporting country to the border ofthe importing country. It is recommended thatimported goods be valued at c.i.f. prices forstatistical purposes. Specific duties—notexpressed as a proportion of the declaredvalue—may or may not be included in calcu-lations of goods admitted free of duties.


77


The indicator is calculated by the United NationsConference on Trade and Development in col-laboration with the World Bank and the WorldTrade Organization, from the Trade Analysisand Information System (TRAINS) CD-ROM,version 8 (2002).


Indicator data available only at the world level.


� UNITED NATIONS (1998). InternationalMerchandise Trade Statistics – Conceptsand Definitions, Series M, No. 52, Rev. 2.Sales No. E.98.XVII.16. Available fromhttp:// unstats.un.org/unsd/pubs (A, C, E,F, R, S).




DEVELOPMENT and WORLD BANK (1994).System of National Accounts 1993 (SNA1993), Series F, No.2, Rev. 4. Sales No.E.94.XVII.4, para. 7.66 for import duties.Available with updates at http://unstats.un.org/unsd/sna 1993.

� UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND

DEVELOPMENT (2003). Trade Analysis andInformation System (TRAINS). Internet sitehttp://r0.unctad.org/trains. Geneva.





� WORLD CUSTOMS ORGANIZATION (1996).Harmonized Commodity Description andCoding Systems, Second Edition (HS).Brussels. English, French.

Data discrepancies across countries limitinternational comparison.

AGENCY

World Trade Organization.AVERAGE TARIFFS IMPOSED BYDEVELOPED COUNTRIES ON AGRI-CULTURAL PRODUCTS AND CLOTH-ING FROM DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

DEFINITION

Average tariffs are the simple average of allapplied ad valorem tariffs (tariffs based onthe value of the import) applicable to thebilateral imports of developed countries. Agri-cultural products comprise plant and animalproducts, including tree crops but excludingtimber and fish products. Clothing and textilesinclude natural and synthetic fibers and fabricsand articles of clothing made from them.



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RATIONALE

The indicator monitors the internationaleffort made to remove barriers to trade fordeveloping countries in order to encourage theachievement of the Millennium DevelopmentGoals. Poor people in developing countries workprimarily in agriculture and labour-intensivemanufacturing, sectors that confront thegreatest trade barriers. Removing barriers tomerchandise trade, therefore, could increasegrowth in those countries by a significantamount.


To calculate average tariffs, each HarmonizedSystem six-digit bilateral trade flow is giventhe same weight. The results for each developedcountry are then aggregated using the stan-dard import pattern as the weighting schemefor all importers. The standard weightingscheme would be the average import structureof all developed markets for imports from theleast developed countries and from developingcountries. The tariff rates used are the avail-able ad valorem rates, including most-favoured nation and non-most-favoured-nation (largely preferential) rates. As it is notpossible to convert non-ad valorem rates toad valorem equivalents, all tariff lines withnon-ad valorem rates are excluded from thecalculation. This affects, in particular, agricul-tural products, where almost 25 per cent ofthe Harmonized System six-digit product cat-egories contain at least one non-ad valoremtariff line. Therefore, the agricultural part ofthe indicator is excluded from the initial dataset until an appropriate methodology for treat-ing non-ad valorem tariffs is developed.


The indicator is calculated by the United NationsConference on Trade and Development andthe World Trade Organization in consultationwith the World Bank from the Trade Analysisand Information System (TRAINS) CD-ROM,version 8 (2002). Organisation for EconomicCo-operation and Development database,

www.oecd.org. Agricultural Market AccessDatabase, http://www.amad.org.


There are two types of average tariffs—sim-ple average tariffs, which are used for goalsmonitoring, and the weighted average. Simpleaverages are frequently a better indicator oftariff protection than weighted averages,which, because higher tariffs discouragetrade and reduce the weights applied to them,are biased downward .


� UNITED NATIONS (1998). InternationalMerchandise Trade Statistics – Concepts andDefinitions, Series M, No. 52, Rev. 2. SalesNo. E.98.XVII.16. Available from http://unstats.un.org/unsd/pubs (A, C, E, F, R, S).


� WORLD CUSTOMS ORGANIZATION (1996).Harmonized Commodity Description andCoding System (HS), Second Edition.Brussels. English, French.

Data discrepancies across countries limitinternational comparison.

AGENCY

World Trade Organization

AGRICULTURAL SUPPORT ESTIMATEFOR OECD COUNTRIES AS A PER-CENTAGE OF THEIR GROSS DOMES-TIC PRODUCT

DEFINITION

Agricultural support is the annual monetaryvalue of all gross transfers from taxpayers andconsumers, both domestic and foreign (in theform of subsidies arising from policy measuresthat support agriculture), net of the associated

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79

budgetary receipts, regardless of their objec-tives and impacts on farm production andincome, or consumption of farm products.

For agricultural products, the total supportestimate represents the overall taxpayer andconsumer costs of agricultural policies. Whenexpressed as a percentage of GDP, the totalsupport estimate is an indicator of the cost tothe economy as a whole.



RATIONALE

In penetrating foreign markets, developingcountries face not only tariffs but also competi-tion from products in developed countries thatbenefit from government subsidies. The chal-lenge linked to the Doha Development Agenda isto further reduce production and trade-distort-ing support and implement policies that effec-

tively address both domestic and internationalgoals while ensuring well-functioning markets.


The agricultural total support estimateincludes support to individual farmers fromtrade barriers that keep domestic farm pricesabove those on world markets, budget-financedpayments, input subsidies, consumer foodsubsidies and support to general services pro-vided to the agricultural sector as a whole.


Annual.


Differences across countries in total supportestimates as a percentage of GDP reflect thelevel of support and the share of agriculturaloutput in the economy. Changes over timereflect changes in the level of support and inthe share of agriculture in GDP, as well as thegrowth of the economy.



DEVELOPMENT (2003). Producer and ConsumerSupport Estimates, OECD Database 1986-2002, User’s Guide. Paris. Available fromhttp://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/47/20/4351287.pdf.


DEVELOPMENT (2003). Producer and ConsumerSupport Estimates, OECD Database 1986-2002. Internet site http://www.oecd.org,Select Statistics/Agriculture and Fisheries.Paris.


DEVELOPMENT (annual). Agricultural Policiesin OECD Countries, Monitoring andEvaluation. Paris.



COMMUNITIES, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND,


80


DEVELOPMENT and WORLD BANK (1994).System of National Accounts 1993 (SNA1993), Series F, No.2, Rev. 4. Sales No.E.94.XVII.4. Available with updates fromhttp://unstats.un.org/unsd/sna1993.

AGENCY

Organisation for Economic Co-operation andDevelopment

PROPORTION OF ODA PROVIDED TOHELP BUILD TRADE CAPACITY

DEFINITION

Official development assistance comprisesgrants or loans to developing countries andterritories on the OECD DevelopmentAssistance Committee list of aid recipientsthat are undertaken by the official sector withpromotion of economic development and wel-fare as the main objective and at concession-al financial terms (if a loan, having a grant ele-ment of at least 25 per cent). Technical coop-eration is included. Grants, loans and creditsfor military purposes are excluded. Alsoexcluded is aid to more advanced developingand transition countries as determined byDAC.

Activities to help build trade capacity enhancethe ability of the recipient country � To formulate and implement a trade devel-

opment strategy and create an enablingenvironment for increasing the volume andvalue-added of exports, diversifying exportproducts and markets and increasing for-eign investment to generate jobs and trade

� To stimulate trade by domestic firms andencourage investment in trade-orientedindustries

� To participate in the benefit from the insti-tutions, negotiations and processes thatshape national trade policy and the rulesand practices of international commerce

Those activities are further classified by theFirst Joint WTO/OECD Report on Trade-RelatedTechnical Assistance and Capacity-Building(2002) under two main categories, trade pol-icy and regulations (divided into nineteensubcategories) and trade development (divid-ed into six subcategories).


Goal 8. Develop a global partnership for devel-opmentTarget 12. Develop further an open, rule-based,predictable, non-discriminatory trading andfinancial system. Includes a commitment togood governance, development and povertyreduction—both nationally and internationally Target 13. Address the special needs of theleast developed countries. Includes: tariff andquota-free access for least developed coun-tries’ exports; enhanced programme of debtrelief for heavily indebted poor countries andcancellation of official bilateral debt; andmore generous ODA for countries committedto poverty reductionTarget 14. Address the special needs of land-locked countries and small island developingStates (through the Programme of Action forthe Sustainable Development of Small IslandDeveloping States and the outcome of thetwenty-second special session of the GeneralAssembly)Target 15. Deal comprehensively with the debtproblems of developing countries throughnational and international measures in orderto make debt sustainable in the long term

RATIONALE

At the Fourth Ministerial Conference of theWorld Trade Organization, held in Doha in2001, donors committed to providingincreased support to help developing coun-tries, especially the least developed coun-tries, build the capacity to trade and to inte-grate into world markets.

Data collected for the indicator will help mon-itor the following aspects of trade-related

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82

official development assistance:� Transparency of trade-related technical

assistance delivered� Sharing of information� Minimization and avoidance of duplication� Estimation of progress in the implementa-

tion of the Doha mandates on technicalcooperation and capacity-building

� Coordination and coherence� Achievement of the objectives mandated in

paragraph 41 of the Ministerial Declarationadopted by the Conference at Doha


See “Comments and limitations”.


The World Trade Organization and the OECDhave compiled the Doha Development AgendaTrade Capacity-Building Database (TCBDB)that lists and quantify activities by bilateraland multilateral donors from 2001 onwards.The database lists both the number and thevalue of activities.Data are reported from bilateral donors andmultilateral and regional agencies that repliedto the requests for information sent in May2002 and April 2003 by the director-general ofthe World Trade Organization and the secretary-general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.


Donors differ in defining what constitutes asingle “activity”. Some donors split individualactivities into components in order to obtaindetailed data on aid allocated to each subcat-egory. Others classify the whole activity underthe most relevant subcategory. For somedonors, the number of records in the databaseis larger than the actual number of activities.In the Joint Report by the World TradeOrganization and the Organisation forEconomic Co-operation and Development, thedata are based on the actual number of activ-ities.

There are also differences in the methodologyused for reporting trade development activi-ties among donors who replied to the requestsfor information. A number of donors isolatedthe trade components of each activity, whereasothers reported the whole activity as traderelated. The total amounts of trade-relatedtechnical assistance and capacity building perdonor in this category should therefore beinterpreted with caution.

The joint report also highlights the need torefine the activity categories to better identi-fy general trade development activities, suchas trade fairs, trade information, publicationsor general export training. At present, most ofthose activities appear under “business sup-port services and institutions”.

These issues are being addressed in the firstupdate to the data, with results online byAugust 2003.




(2003). Internet site http://www.oecd.org/dac.Under topics, select: Aid statistics, Aideffectiveness and donor practices orMillennium Development Goals. Paris.ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND


(annual). Development Co-operationReport. Paris.ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND


(annual). International DevelopmentStatistics CD-ROM. Paris.WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION AND ORGANISATION

FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

(2003 and annual). Joint WTO/OECD Reporton Trade-Related Technical Assistance andCapacity-Building, Management of TradeCapacity-Building. Paris and Geneva.Available from http://tcbdb.wto.org/stat-analysis.asp.

AGENCIES

Organisation for Economic Co-operation andDevelopmentWorld Trade Organization

TOTAL NUMBER OF COUNTRIES THATHAVE REACHED THEIR HIPC DECI-SION POINTS AND NUMBER THATHAVE REACHED THEIR HIPC COM-PLETION POINTS (CUMULATIVE)

DEFINITION

The HIPC decision point is the date at which aheavily indebted poor country with an estab-lished track record of good performanceunder adjustment programmes supported bythe International Monetary Fund (IMF) andthe World Bank commits to undertake addi-tional reforms and to develop and implementa poverty reduction strategy.

The HIPC completion point is the date at whichthe country successfully completes the keystructural reforms agreed at the decisionpoint, including the development and imple-mentation of its poverty reduction strategy.The country then receives the bulk of debtrelief under the HIPC Initiative without anyfurther policy conditions.


Goal 8. Develop a global partnership for devel-opmentTarget 12. Develop further an open, rule-based,predictable, non-discriminatory trading andfinancial system. Includes a commitment togood governance, development and povertyreduction—both nationally and international-ly Target 13. Address the special needs of theleast developed countries. Includes: tariff andquota-free access for least developed coun-tries’ exports; enhanced programme of debt

relief for heavily indebted poor countries andcancellation of official bilateral debt; andmore generous ODA for countries committedto poverty reduction Target 14. Address the special needs of land-locked countries and small island developingStates (through the Programme of Action forthe Sustainable Development of Small IslandDeveloping States and the outcome of thetwenty-second special session of the GeneralAssembly)Target 15. Deal comprehensively with the debtproblems of developing countries throughnational and international measures in orderto make debt sustainable in the long term

RATIONALE

A global partnership for development requiresincreased debt reduction for heavily indebtedpoor countries. The indicator will monitor theHeavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, amajor international effort targeted specifical-ly at improving developing countries’ debtsustainability. Launched in 1996 and enhancedin 1999 to broaden and accelerate debt relief,the HIPC Initiative marked the first time thatmultilateral, official bilateral and commercialcreditors united in a joint effort to reduce theexternal debt of the world’s most debt-ladenpoor countries to sustainable levels.


See “Definition”.


Information is compiled by the IMF and WorldBank from their HIPC decision and completionpoint documents (see “References”).


Twice a year.


The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiativewas launched in 1996. The earliest availabledata are for 2000 and the most recent avail-

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83

able data are for 2002.


� INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (2003). DebtRelief under the Heavily Indebted PoorCountries (HIPC) Initiative. Internet sitehttp://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/hipc.htm. Washington, D.C.


World Bank, www.worldbank.org/hipc.

AGENCIES

International Monetary FundWorld Bank

DEBT RELIEF COMMITTED UNDERHIPC INITIATIVE

DEFINITION

Debt relief committed under HIPC Initiative (inUnited States dollars) as a component of offi-cial development assistance has been record-ed in different ways over time. Up through1992, forgiveness of non-official develop-ment assistance debt that met the tests ofofficial development assistance wasreportable as ODA. During 1990–1992 itremained reportable as part of a country’sODA, but was excluded from the DevelopmentAssistance Committee total. Since 1993, for-giveness of debt originally intended for mili-tary purposes has been reportable as “otherofficial flows”, while forgiveness of other non-ODA loans (mainly export credits) recorded asODA has been included in both country dataand total Committee ODA, as it was until1989.


Goal 8. Develop a global partnership for devel-opmentTarget 12. Develop further an open, rule-based,

predictable, non-discriminatory trading andfinancial system. Includes a commitment togood governance, development and povertyreduction—both nationally and internationallyTarget 13. Address the special needs of theleast developed countries. Includes: tariff andquota-free access for least developed coun-tries’ exports; enhanced programme of debtrelief for heavily indebted poor countries andcancellation of official bilateral debt; andmore generous ODA for countries committedto poverty reductionTarget 14. Address the special needs of land-locked countries and small island developingStates (through the Programme of Action forthe Sustainable Development of Small IslandDeveloping States and the outcome of thetwenty-second special session of the GeneralAssembly)Target 15. Deal comprehensively with the debtproblems of developing countries throughnational and international measures in orderto make debt sustainable in the long term

RATIONALE

A global partnership for development requiresincreased debt reduction for heavily indebtedpoor countries. The indicator will monitor theHeavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, amajor international effort targeted specificallyat improving developing countries’ debt sus-tainability. Launched in 1996 and enhanced in1999 to broaden and accelerate debt relief,the HIPC Initiative marked the first time thatmultilateral, official bilateral and commercialcreditors united in a joint effort to reduce theexternal debt of the world’s most debt-ladenpoor countries to sustainable levels.


See “Definition” and The DAC Journal:Development Cooperation Report and theOECD/DAC International DevelopmentStatistics CD-ROM for notes on definitions.


Information is compiled by the International

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84

Monetary Fund and the World Bank from theirHIPC decision and completion point docu-ments (see “References”).


Annual.


Figures are available by country.





� WORLD BANK (2003). Debt Initiative for theHeavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs).Internet site http://www.worldbank.org/hipc.Washington, D.C.

AGENCIES


DEBT SERVICE AS A PERCENTAGE OFEXPORTS OF GOODS AND SERVICES

DEFINITION

External debt service refers to principal repay-ments and interest payments made to non-residents in foreign currency, goods or services.Long-term refers to debt that has an originalor extended maturity of more than one year.

Exports of goods and services comprise sales,barter or gifts or grants of goods and servicesfrom residents to non-residents. Where exportsof goods are valued f.o.b., the costs of trans-portation and insurance up to the border of the

exporting country are included in exports ofgoods. Other transactions involving a mixture ofgoods and services, such as expenditures byforeign travellers in the domestic market, mayall have to be recorded under services in the restof the world account. Export receipts along withworker remittances received from abroad pro-vide the foreign exchange proceeds for meetingexternal debt service obligations. GOAL AND TARGETS ADDRESSED

Goal 8. Develop a global partnership for devel-opmentTarget 12. Develop further an open, rule-based,predictable, non-discriminatory trading andfinancial system. Includes a commitment togood governance, development and povertyreduction—both nationally and internationallyTarget 13. Address the special needs of theleast developed countries. Includes: tariff andquota-free access for least developed coun-tries’ exports; enhanced programme of debtrelief for HIPCs and cancellation of officialbilateral debt; and more generous ODA forcountries committed to poverty reductionTarget 14. Address the special needs of land-locked countries and small island developingStates (through the Programme of Action for theSustainable Development of Small Island Dev-eloping States and the outcome of the twenty-second special session of the General Assembly)Target 15. Deal comprehensively with the debtproblems of developing countries throughnational and international measures in orderto make debt sustainable in the long term

RATIONALE

The targets on debt relief also address theneed to make debt sustainable in the longterm. The indicator is one measure of whetherdebt levels are sustainable.


The indicator is calculated as the ratio ofexternal debt service to exports of goods andservices, expressed as a percentage.


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85

The World Bank collects data on indicators of finance, published annually in GlobalDevelopment Finance.


Annual.


Small, open economies may have relativelyhigh levels of exports (and imports) and yet mayface problems in meeting debt service obliga-tions, particularly when debt service paymentsdue on public debt are high relative to gov-ernment revenue. A large economy may haveproportionately smaller exports and still find itsdept payments sustainable. For this reason, itis useful to look at other indicators, such as theratio of total debt to gross national income, thesize of international reserves relative to totaldebt and debt maturing within a year’s time,in forming a picture of debt sustainability.



� UNITED NATIONS (1998). InternationalMerchandise Trade Statistics – Concepts andDefinitions, Series M, No. 52, Rev. 2. SalesNo.E.98.XVII.16. Available fromhttp://unstats.un.org/unsd/pubs (A, C, E, F, R,S).




DEVELOPMENT and WORLD BANK (1994).System of National Accounts 1993 (SNA1993), Series F, No.2, Rev. 4. Sales No.E.94.XVII.4. Available with updates fromhttp://unstats.un.org/unsd/sna1993.

� WORLD BANK (2003). Debt Initiative for the

Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs).Internet site http://www.worldbank.org/hipc.Washington, D.C.

� WORLD BANK (annual). Global DevelopmentFinance, vol. 2, Country Tables.Washington, D.C.

AGENCIES


UNEMPLOYMENT RATE OF YOUNGPEOPLE AGED 15–24 YEARS, EACHSEX AND TOTAL

DEFINITION

Unemployment rate of young people aged15–24 years is the number of unemployedpeople ages 15–24 divided by the labourforce of the same age group. Unemployedpeople are all those who are not employedduring a specified reference period but areavailable for work and have taken concretesteps to seek paid employment or self-employment. In situations where the conven-tional means of seeking work are of limitedrelevance, where the labour market is largelyunorganized or of limited scope, where labourabsorption is temporarily inadequate orwhere the labour force is largely self-employed, a relaxed definition of unemploy-ment can be applied, based on only the firsttwo criteria (without work and currently avail-able for work).

The labour force consists of those who areemployed plus those who are unemployedduring the relevant reference period. It is theeconomically active portion of the population.Employment refers to being engaged in aneconomic activity during a specified referenceperiod or being temporarily absent from suchan activity, while economic activity refers tothe production of goods and services for payor profit or for use by own household.

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86


Goal 8. Develop a global partnership for devel-opmentTarget 16. In cooperation with developingcountries, develop and implement strategiesfor decent and productive work for youth

RATIONALE

The indicator monitors the degree to whichthe youth labour force is utilized in the econ-omy and therefore serves as a measure of thesuccess of strategies to create jobs for youth.


The number of people aged 15–24 years whoare unemployed is divided by the number ofpeople in the labour force of the same agegroup.


Country data are available from labour forcesurveys, administrative records, official nationalestimates and population censuses. Labourforce surveys generally provide the most com-prehensive and comparable source of infor-mation. Concepts and definitions adopted fordata collection in labour force surveys alsogenerally conform to International LabourOrganization (ILO) resolutions and recom-mendations, such as the InternationalConference of Labour Statisticians resolutionon international standards for unemploymentand youth unemployment.


Results from population censuses are normallyavailable every 10 years. Labour force surveysmay be available annually or even more fre-quently in OECD countries and generally everythree to five years in developing countries

GENDER ISSUES

Female unemployment rates are often signifi-cantly higher than male unemployment rates.However, unemployment data do not ade-quately reflect the situation of women in thelabour market, especially in developing coun-tries where women are engaged in subsis-

tence work and, more often than men, work inthe informal sector. In those settings, womenare seldom employed, although they mayoften be underemployed. Furthermore,women may not have easy access to formalchannels for seeking employment, particularlyin rural areas, and often face social and cul-tural barriers when looking for a job. Thusofficial labour statistics may undercountwomen’s unemployment (unless the relaxeddefinition of unemployment is used and ade-quate criteria are adopted in data collection).


In most countries, data are available sepa-rately for men and women.

INTERNATIONAL DATA COMPILATIONS

ILO compiles internationally comparable dataseries on unemployment and youth unem-ployment.

� Bulletin of Labour Statistics, 2002–4.International Labour Organization. Geneva.

� Key Indicators of the Labour Market (annu-al). International Labour Organization.Available in part fromhttp://www.ilo.org/kilm.


The concepts of employment and unemploy-ment have different relevance depending onthe level of labour market development andthe presence of a market economy. People living in regions of a country where there is lit-tle or no formal employment would not usual-ly be classified as “unemployed” even if theyare without work and would accept a job ifoffered one (discouraged workers).

Unemployment is but one dimension of theemployment problem faced by young people.A disproportionately large number of youth inmany countries are underemployed. Some workfewer hours than they would like to, and otherswork long hours with little economic gain.Stagnation and decline of employment oppor-tunities in the formal sector of most developing


87

countries have intensified the problem inrecent years, with young women bearing a dis-proportionate share of the burden. Therefore,indicators measuring underemployment, theinformal sector, educational access and labourforce participation, among others, shouldsupplement the information obtained fromthe youth unemployment indicator.

Limitations to comparability arise from vari-ous causes, including different sources,measurement methodologies, number ofobservations per year and coverage.Comparability may also be limited by concep-tual variations, involving issues such as thedefinition of job search or whether to includediscouraged workers who are not currentlylooking for work.


� INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION (1990).Surveys of Economically Active Population,Employment, Unemployment and Under-employment: An ILO Manual on Conceptsand Methods. Geneva.


� INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION (2003).Laborsta—an International Labour Officedatabase on labour statistics operated bythe ILO Bureau of Statistics. Internet sitehttp://laborsta.ilo.org . Geneva.

� INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION (annual).Key Indicators of the Labour Market.Geneva. Available in part from http://www.ilo.org/kilm.

� INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION (annual).Yearbook of Labour Statistics. Tables 3A-3E. Geneva. Available from http://laborsta.ilo.org.


DEVELOPMENT (2003). Standardized Un-employment rates for OECD countries. InMain Economic Indicators. Paris. Availablefrom http://www.oecd.org. Select:

Employment/ Statistics/Indicators. � UNITED NATIONS (2003). Millennium Indicators

Database. Statistics Division Internet sitehttp://millenniumindicators.un.org.

� UNITED NATIONS, AND INTERNATIONAL LABOUR

ORGANIZATION BUREAU OF STATISTICS (2002).Collection of Economic Characteristics inPopulation Censuses. Technical report.ST/ESA/STAT/119.


AGENCIES

Ministries of labourNational statistical officesInternational Labour Organization


88

PROPORTION OF POPULATION WITHACCESS TO AFFORDABLE, ESSENTIALDRUGS ON A SUSTAINABLE BASIS

DEFINITION

The proportion of population with access toaffordable essential drugs on a sustainablebasis is the percentage of the population thathas access to a minimum of 20 most essentialdrugs. Access is defined as having drugs con-tinuously available and affordable at public orprivate health facilities or drug outlets thatare within one hour’s walk of the population.Essential drugs are drugs that satisfy thehealth care needs of the majority of the pop-ulation. The World Health Organization hasdeveloped the Model List of Essential Drugs,which is regularly updated through widespreadconsultations with member States and otherpartners. Progress in access to essential med-icines is thus the result of combined effort bygovernments, strategic partners such as UnitedNations agencies, public-private partnerships,non-governmental organizations and profes-sional associations (WHO Expert Committeeon Essential Drugs, November 1999).


Goal 8. Develop a global partnership for devel-opmentTarget 17. In cooperation with pharmaceuticalcompanies, provide access to affordable,essential drugs in developing countries

RATIONALE

Millions of people die prematurely or sufferunnecessarily each year from diseases orconditions for which effective medicines orvaccines exist. Essential drugs save lives andimprove health, but their potential can only berealized if they are accessible, rationally usedand of good quality.


The World Health Organization regularlymonitors access to a minimum of 20 mostessential drugs.


The Action Programme on Essential Drugs ofthe World Health Organization periodicallyinterviews experts in each country about thepharmaceutical situation, asking them to rateaccess by the population to essential drugs atless than 50 per cent, 50–80 per cent, 80–95per cent or more than 95 per cent (WHOExpert Committee on Essential Drugs,November 1999).


National data series are currently available for1995 and 1997. Regional aggregates are cur-rently available for 1987 and 1999.



� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (1997). TheWHO Model List of Essential Medicines- The13th Model List of Essential Medicines.Geneva. Available from http://www.who.int/medicines.

� WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (1998).Progress of WHO Member States inDeveloping National Drug Policies and inRevising Essential Drugs Lists. WHO/DAP/98.7. Geneva. Available from http://www.who.int/medicines.

WHO produces country data series andregional aggregates.

AGENCIES

Ministries of healthWorld Health Organization

46


89

TELEPHONE LINES AND CELLULARSUBSCRIBERS PER 100 POPULATION

DEFINITION

Telephone lines refer to the number of tele-phone lines connecting subscribers’ terminalequipment to the public switched networkand that have a dedicated port in the tele-phone exchange equipment.

Cellular subscribers refers to users of cellulartelephones who subscribe to an automaticpublic mobile telephone service that providesaccess to the public switched telephone net-work using cellular technology.


Goal 8. Develop a global partnership for devel-opment Target 18. In cooperation with the private sector,make available the benefits of new technolo-gies, especially information and communica-tions

RATIONALE

Indicator 47 and indicators 48A and B areimportant tools for monitoring progresstowards Goal 8, because effective communi-cation among those involved in the develop-ment process is not possible without the nec-essary infrastructure. Personal computersand telephones allow people to exchangeexperiences and learn from each other,enabling higher returns on investment andavoiding problems of duplication or missinginformation. The use of information and com-munication technologies can makeGovernments more transparent, therebyreducing corruption and leading to bettergovernance. It can help people in rural areasfind out about market prices and sell theirproducts at a better price. It can also over-come traditional barriers to better educationby making books available online and openingthe door to e-learning.


Total telephone lines (see “DEFINITION”) aredivided by the population and multiplied by 100.Total cellular subscribers (see “DEFINITION”) aredivided by the population and multiplied by 100.


Data on telephone lines and cellular subscribersare collected through annual questionnairesthat the International TelecommunicationUnion (ITU) sends to government telecommu-nication agencies. The questionnaire is sup-plemented by annual reports of industryorganizations to cross-check accuracy and toobtain data for countries that do not reply tothe questionnaire.


Annual.


Data for telephone lines come from adminis-trative records compiled by national regulatoryauthorities or telecommunication operatorsand tend to be timely and complete. However,there are comparability issues for mobile sub-scribers owing to the prevalence of prepaidsubscriptions. Those issues arise from differ-ences in the time period chosen for determin-ing when a prepaid subscription is consideredno longer active.


� INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION

(2003). World Telecommunication IndicatorsDatabase. Geneva. Available from http://www.itu.int/ITU–D/ict/publications/world/world.html.


(annual). Yearbook of Statistics. Geneva.Available from http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict.


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AGENCY

International Telecommunication Union

PERSONAL COMPUTERS IN USE PER100 POPULATION

DEFINITION

Personal computers (PCs) are computers de-signed to be operated by a single user at a time.


Goal 8. Develop a global partnership for devel-opmentTarget 18. In cooperation with the private sec-tor, make available the benefits of new tech-nologies, especially information and commu-nication technologies

RATIONALE

Indicators 47 and 48 are important tools formonitoring progress towards Goal 8, becauseeffective communication among thoseinvolved in the development process is notpossible without the necessary infrastructure.Personal computers and telephone lines allowpeople to exchange experiences and learnfrom each other, enabling higher returns oninvestment and avoiding problems of duplica-tion or missing information. The use of infor-mation and communication technologies canmake Governments more transparent, there-by reducing corruption and leading to bettergovernance. It can help people in rural areasfind out about market prices and sell theirproducts at a better price. It can also over-come traditional barriers to better educationby making books available online and openingthe door to e-learning.


The total number of PCs in a country is divid-ed by the population and multiplied by 100.


Data are based largely on responses to a ques-tionnaire that the International Telecom-

munication Union sends to government tele-communication agencies. In the absence of datafrom countries, the number of PCs is estimatedusing industry sales data or PC imports data.


Data for PCs come from administrative andoperational records that do not disaggregatethe data.


Annual.COMMENTS AND LIMITATIONS

Very few countries have a precise measure ofthe number of PCs. For some small developingeconomies, neither sales nor import data areavailable. PC data are quite recent, so longtime series exist only for developed countriesand major developing countries.



(2003). World Telecommunication IndicatorsDatabase. Geneva. Available from http://www.itu.int/ITU–D/ict/publications/world/world.html.




AGENCY


INTERNET USERS PER 100 POPULATION

DEFINITION

The Internet is a linked global network ofcomputers in which users at one computer, ifthey have permission, get information fromother computers in the network.

48

48


91


Goal 8. Develop a global partnership for devel-opmentTarget 18. In cooperation with the private sec-tor, make available the benefits of new tech-nologies, especially information and commu-nications

RATIONALE

Indicators 47 and 48 are important tools formonitoring progress towards Goal 8, becauseeffective communication among thoseinvolved in the development process is notpossible without the necessary infrastructure.Personal computers and telephone lines allowpeople to exchange experiences and learnfrom each other, enabling higher returns oninvestment and avoiding problems of duplica-tion or missing information. The use of infor-mation and communication technologies canmake Governments more transparent, there-by reducing corruption and leading to bettergovernance. It can help people in rural areasfind out about market prices and sell theirproducts at a better price. It can also over-come traditional barriers to better educationby making books available online and openingthe door to e-learning.


The total number of Internet users is dividedby the population and multiplied by 100.


Internet user statistics are based largely onresponses to an annual questionnaire that theInternational Telecommunication Unionsends to government telecommunicationagencies. For most developed and largerdeveloping countries, Internet user data arebased on methodologically sound user sur-veys conducted by national statistical agen-cies or industry associations. The data areeither provided directly to the ITU by eachcountry, or the ITU does the necessaryresearch to obtain the data. For countrieswhere Internet user surveys are not available,the ITU uses average multipliers to estimate

the number of users per subscriber.

GENDER ISSUES

Surveys have been conducted by some coun-tries providing a breakdown between male andfemale Internet users. The surveys indicatethat more men than women use the Internet.Since the availability of gender-disaggregatedstatistics for this indicator is limited, however,little is known about use by gender.


Internet user data can be disaggregated bygender, age, frequency of use, householdincome, location of access and other vari-ables. However, this information is availableonly for a limited number of countries thatcollect data on information and communica-tion technology use in household surveys.


Annual.


The quality of Internet user data varies, andthe quality of data for smaller developingcountries is uncertain. The data can also bemisleading owing to multiple prepaid Internetaccounts, free Internet access accounts orpublic Internet access such as Internet cafés.



(2003). World TelecommunicationIndicators Database. Geneva. Availablefrom http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/publica-tions/ world/world.html.




AGENCY



92

PROPORTION OF CHILDREN UNDERAGE 15 WHO ARE WORKING

DEFINITION

Proportion of children under age 15 who areworking refers to children who are employedin an economic activity for pay, profit or fam-ily gain. Economic activity covers the produc-tion of goods and services for pay or profit orfor use by own household. Employed meansbeing engaged in an economic activity duringa specified reference period or being tem-porarily absent from such an activity.


Goal. Reduce child labourTarget. Elimination of child labour (WorldSummit on Sustainable Development, 1995)

RATIONALE

The indicator monitors the degree to whichthe youth labour force is utilized in the econ-omy and therefore serves as a measure of thesuccess of strategies to create jobs for youth.


The number of children who are employed isdivided by the number of children of the sameage group in the population.

DATA COLLECTION AND SOURCES

Data come from population censuses, labourforce surveys, special child labour surveys,Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (http://www.childinfo.org), Demographic and HealthSurveys (http://www.measuredhs.com),Living Standards Measurement Study surveys(http://www.worldbank.org/lsms) and CoreWelfare Indicators Questionnaires (http://www4.worldbank.org/afr/stats/cwiq.cfm).


Results from population censuses are normallyavailable every 10 years. Labour force surveysmay be available annually or more frequentlyin developed countries, but are generallyavailable every three to five years in develop-ing countries. The other surveys are producedonly occasionally.

GENDER ISSUES

The available data indicate that boys are morelikely to be economically active than girls. Girlsare more often engaged in household services.


Reliable estimates of child labour are difficultto obtain. In many countries child labour isassumed not to exist and therefore is excludedfrom official statistics. Some estimates coveronly children ages 10–14. Others cover chil-dren ages 5–14. Still others cover differentage ranges.

Not all work is harmful to a child’s develop-ment. The International Labour Organizationhas addressed this concern, for example, bydifferentiating acceptable work from unac-ceptable labour. The United Nations Children’sFund sometimes also distinguishes betweendifferent types of work and different ages ofchildren.


� HUSSMANNS, R., F. MEHRAN AND V. VERMA

(1990). Surveys of Economically ActivePopulation, Employment, Unemploymentand Underemployment: An ILO Manual onConcepts and Methods. Geneva.


� INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION (2002).Every Child Counts: New Global Estimateson Child Labour. Geneva.

� INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION (2003).International Programme on the Elimination

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A N N E X 1A d d i t i o n a l s o c i o - e c o n o m i c c o m m o n c o u n t r y a s s e s s m e n ti n d i c a t o r s

of Child Labour: IPEC. Geneva. Internet sitehttp://www.ilo.org/public/english/stan-dards/ipec/.

� INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION (annual).Yearbook of Labour Statistics. Geneva.Available from http://laborsta.ilo.org.

� UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND (2003).Progress since the World Summit forChildren. New York. Available from http://www.childinfo.org. Select: Quick Access/Child labour.


ORGANIZATION (2002). Collection of EconomicCharacteristics in Population Censuses.Technical Report. ST/ESA/STAT/119.

� WORLD BANK (2003 and annual). WorldDevelopment Indicators. Print and CD-ROM.Notes to table 2.3. Washington, DC. Availablein part from http://www.worldbank.org/data.

AGENCIES

International Labour OrganizationUnited Nation’s Children’s Fund

EMPLOYMENT TO POPULATION OFWORKING AGE RATIO

DEFINITION

Population of working age covers people ages15–64. Employment is defined according tointernational definitions and refers to beingengaged in an economic activity during a speci-fied reference period, or being temporarilyabsent from such an activity. Economic activitycovers all production of goods and servicesfor pay or profit or for use by own household.

Working age is usually determined on thebasis of national circumstances, such as theage at which most children have completedcompulsory education and the age at whichany general old age pension system can beclaimed. The United Nations recommends thatpopulation census tabulations on theemployed distinguish those 15 years and

older from those younger than 15 years old.


Goal. Creation of full employmentTarget. Universal access to paid employment(World Summit on Sustainable Development, 1995)


The number of people who are employed isdivided by the total number of people in theselected age interval for working age, gener-ally 15–64.


Data are collected through population cen-suses, labour force surveys and officialnational estimates.


Results from population censuses are normallyavailable every 10 years. Labour force surveysmay be available annually or more frequentlyin developed countries, but are generallyavailable every three to five years in develop-ing countries. The other surveys are producedoccasionally.

GENDER ISSUES

Male employment rates are generally higherthan female employment rates. Femaleemployment rates are often underestimatedbecause many economic activities in whichwomen dominate are not recorded as employ-ment. This may influence the internationalcomparability of employment rates.


Measuring employment is more straightfor-ward where labour markets are well devel-oped and a large proportion of the populationgains its livelihood from a market economy.


� HUSSMANNS, R., F. MEHRAN and V. VERMA

(1990). Surveys of Economically ActivePopulation, Employment, Unemployment

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and Underemployment: An ILO Manual onConcepts and Methods. Geneva.


� INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION (annual).Yearbook of Labour Statistics. Geneva.Available from http://laborsta.ilo.org.

� UNITED NATIONS (2003). Methods and Classif-ications. Statistics Division Internet sitehttp://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods.htm .


ORGANIZATION (2002). Collection ofEconomic Characteristics in PopulationCensuses Technical Report. ST/ESA/STAT/119.

� WORLD BANK (2003 and annual). WorldDevelopment Indicators. Print and CD-ROM.Notes to table 2.3 and 2.4. Washington, DC.Available in part from http://www.world-bank.org/data.

AGENCY

International Labour Organization

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

DEFINITION

Unemployment covers all people who, duringa specified reference period, are not employed,are available for work and have taken con-crete steps to seek paid employment or self-employment during a recent period. The labourforce consists of those who are employed plusthose who are unemployed during the relevantreference period. Employed means being en-gaged in an economic activity during a specifiedreference period or being temporarily absentfrom such an activity. Economic activity refersto all production of goods and services for payor profit or for use by own household.


Goal. Creation of full employmentTarget. Universal access to paid employment (World

Summit on Sustainable Development 1995)


The number of people who are unemployed is div-ided by the number of people in the labour force.


Data are collected from population censuses,labour force surveys, Demographic and HealthSurveys (http://www.measuredhs.com), LivingStandards Measurement Study surveys(http://www.worldbank.org/lsms) and CoreWelfare Indicators Questionnaires (http://www4.worldbank.org/afr/stats/cwiq.cfm).


Results from population censuses are normallyavailable every 10 years. Labour force sur-veys may be available annually or more fre-quently in developed countries, but are gen-erally available every three to five years indeveloping countries. The other surveys areproduced only occasionally.

GENDER ISSUES

Female unemployment rates are often signifi-cantly higher than male unemployment rates.


The concepts of employment and unemploy-ment have different relevance depending onthe level of labour market development andthe presence of a market economy. People liv-ing in regions of a country where there is littleor no formal employment would not usuallybe classified as “unemployed” even if they arewithout work and would accept a job if offeredone (discouraged workers). Unemploymentestimates can also understate problems inlabour markets when people are discouragedfrom seeking work because jobs are scarce ornonexistent.

Only household surveys can give reliable esti-mates according to the international definition.Employment services and unemploymentcompensation schemes that are well

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developed (such as those in OECD countries)can derive reliable unemployment estimatesfrom records of unemployment registration orfrom national insurance records.


� HUSSMANNS, R., F. MEHRAN and V. VERMA

(1990). Surveys of Economically ActivePopulation, Employment, Unemploymentand Underemployment: An ILO Manual onConcepts and Methods. Geneva.


� INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION (annual).Yearbook of Labour Statistics. Geneva.available from http://laborsta.ilo.org.

� UNITED NATIONS, and INTERNATIONAL LABOUR

ORGANIZATION (2002). Collection of EconomicCharacteristics in Population Censuses.Technical Report. ST/ESA/STAT/119.

� WORLD BANK (2003 and annual). WorldDevelopment Indicators. Print and CD-ROM.Notes to 2.5. Washington, DC. Available inpart from http://www.worldbank.org/data.

AGENCY


INFORMAL SECTOR EMPLOYMENT ASA PERCENTAGE OF EMPLOYMENT

DEFINITION

Informal sector employment includes all peo-ple who, during a given reference period, wereemployed in at least one informal sectorenterprise, irrespective of their status inemployment (employer, own-account worker,contributing family worker, employee ormember of a producers cooperative) orwhether it was their main or second job.

Informal sector enterprises are defined by thefollowing criteria: they are household unincor-porated enterprises (excluding quasi-corpo-

rations) as defined by the System of NationalAccounts 1993; they produce at least some oftheir goods or services for sale or barter; theyare engaged in non-agricultural activities(including secondary non-agricultural activi-ties of enterprises in the agricultural sector);and their size (in number of employees) is belowa specified threshold, determined accordingto national circumstances, or they are notregistered under specific forms of nationallegislation (such as commercial acts, tax orsocial security laws, professional groups, reg-ulatory acts, or similar acts, laws or regula-tions established by national legislative bod-ies), or none of their employees is registered.Households producing domestic or personalservices in employing paid domestic employ-ees may be included.

Employed means being engaged in an eco-nomic activity during a specified referenceperiod or being temporarily absent from suchan activity. Economic activity refers to all pro-duction of goods and services for pay or profitor for use by own household


Goal. Creation of full employmentTarget. Universal access to paid employment(World Summit on Sustainable Development,1995)


The number of people classified as employedin the informal sector in their main or secondjobs is divided by the total number of peopleemployed in the same geographical areas,branches of economic activity, age group orother defining characteristic.

DATA COLLECTION AND SOURCES

Data are collected through informal sectorsurveys, Labour force surveys and MultipleIndicator Cluster Surveys.


Informal sector surveys are generally carried

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out ad hoc, often with intervals of five ormore years. Labour force surveys tend to beconducted more frequently, generally everythree to five years in developing countries.

GENDER ISSUES

There are large gender-specific differences ininformal sector employment in most countries.

INTERNATIONAL DATA COMPARISONS

Major limitations on the international compa-rability of data result from the inclusion orexclusion of agricultural activities from thescope of the informal sector, the inclusion orexclusion of informal sector activities under-taken as second jobs, differences in the geo-graphical coverage of informal sector surveysand similar factors.


Statistics on employment in the informal sec-tor tend to be available only for developingcountries and transition countries, where theinformal sector plays a significant role inemployment and income generation. Informalemployment outside informal sector enter-prises is not covered by the enterprise-baseddefinition of the informal sector. Althoughthere are international standards, definitionsmay vary among countries.


� INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE (2002). Womenand Men in the Informal Economy: A statis-tical picture. Geneva. available fromhttp://www.ilo.org/public/english/employ-ment/gems/download/women.pdf.

� INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION (annual).Key Indicators of the Labour Market. Table7. Geneva. Available in part fromhttp://www.ilo.org/kilm.


AGENCY


NUMBER OF PERSONS PER ROOM, ORAVERAGE FLOOR AREA PER PERSON

DEFINITION

Number of persons per room, or average floorarea per person, is a measure of crowding.Number of persons per room is the number ofrooms in the living quarters of a householdper person in the household. Average floor area(in square metres) per person is the medianusable floor area per person.

The number of rooms excludes kitchens,bathrooms, toilets, verandas, rooms used forbusiness and rooms let to tenants.

Floor area includes kitchens, bathrooms,internal corridors and closets. Covered, semi-private spaces such as corridors, inner court-yards or verandas are included in the floorarea if they are used for cooking, eating,sleeping or other domestic activities.


Goal. Adequate shelter for allTarget. Provision of sufficient living space andavoidance of overcrowding (United NationsConference on Human Settlements, [Habitat II],1996)

RATIONALE

Crowding, or housing density, is a key meas-ure of housing quality. The three most com-monly used measures of crowding are per-sons per room, floor area per person andhouseholds per dwelling unit. Surveys haveshown that floor area per person is the moreprecise and more policy sensitive of the three.


The number of persons per room is calculatedby dividing the number of people who live inthe household by the total number of rooms

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they occupy. A low indicator denotes lowcrowding (density).

The area per person is calculated by dividingthe floor area in square metres by the numberof people in the household. A low indicatordenotes high crowding (density).


The data are mainly collected from populationcensuses and from household surveys such asLiving Standards Measurement Study surveys(http://www.worldbank.org/lsms), MultipleIndicator Cluster Surveys (http://www.childinfo.org), Demographic and Health Surveys(http://www.measuredhs.com) and CoreWelfare Indicators Questionnaires(http://www4.worldbank.org/afr/stats/cwiq.cfm).

GENDER ISSUES

In many countries, households headed bywomen are more crowded than those headedby men.


Population censuses are every 10 years or less.Household surveys are generally conductedevery three to five years.


Data on the two indicators were collectedduring the first phase of the jointUN–HABITAT–World Bank Housing IndicatorsProgramme (1992). Results vary considerablywhen collected in different areas: urban, ruraland national. Informal settlements and disad-vantaged groups tend to have less space.Housing size and housing quality are notalways linked, for economic and cultural rea-sons. Floor area is preferred for accuracy andsensitivity to policy, but some censuses andsurveys collect only number of rooms.


� UNITED NATIONS (2001). Compendium ofHuman Settlements Statistics. Sales No.

E.01.XVII.5. � UNITED NATIONS (2001). Indicators of

Sustainable Development: Guidelines andMethodologies. Sales No. E.01.II.A.6.Available from http://www.un.org/esa/susdev/natlinfo/indicators/isd.htm.

� UNITED NATIONS HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

PROGRAMME (UN-HABITAT) (1995). HumanSettlement Interventions: AddressingCrowding and Health Issues. (HS/374/95/E).Nairobi.


PROGRAMME (UN-HABITAT) (2003). GlobalUrban Observatory. Internet site http://www.unhabitat.org/programmes/guo. Nairobi.


PROGRAMME (UN-HABITAT) (2003). Internetsite http://www.unhabitat.org and http://www.unhabitat.org/mdg. Nairobi.

� WORLD BANK (2003 and annual). WorldDevelopment Indicators. Print and CD-ROM.Notes to table 3.11. Washington, DC.Available in part from http://www.worldbank.org/data .

AGENCY

United Nations Human Settlements Programme

NUMBER OF INTENTIONAL HOMI-CIDES PER 100,000 INHABITANTS

DEFINITION

Homicide is defined by the United NationsInterregional Crime and Justice ResearchInstitute as the killing of any human being bythe act, procurement or omission of another.(The term murder is usually applied to unlaw-ful and premeditated homicide.)


Goal. Improve crime preventionTarget. Eliminate/significantly reduce violenceand crime (United Nations Congress on thePrevention of Crime and Treatment ofOffenders, 1995)

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The indicator is calculated as the ratio ofnumber of the intentional homicides to thetotal population multiplied by 100,000.


Crime data, including homicide data, arederived mainly from the administration recordsof criminal justice ministries. Population datacome from censuses.

GENDER ISSUES

Women commit fewer crimes than men gen-erally, including homicide. Women are alsoless often the victims of homicide.


Administrative data on crimes are normallyavailable annually. Census data are usuallycollected every 10 years.


Since crime data are dependent on nationaldefinitions and reporting procedures, they areoften not comparable internationally.

More comparable and more consistent dataare derived from household crime victim sur-veys, but such surveys are not universal andare often taken only in capital cities.


� UNITED NATIONS CRIME AND JUSTICE INFORMATION

NETWORK(UNCJIN) (2003). Internet sitehttp://www.uncjin.org. Vienna.

� UNITED NATIONS OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIME

(2003). Internet site http://www.odccp.org/odccp/crime_cicp_sitemap.html.Vienna.

AGENCIES

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime United Nations Interregional Crime andJustice Research Institute


99

Annex 2 reviews Multiple Indicator ClusterSurveys, Demographic and Health Surveys,Living Standards Measurement Studies, CoreWelfare Indicators Questionnaires in Africa,household budget surveys, labour force sur-veys, household surveys with an institutionalcomponent, censuses of population andhousing, other surveys and administrativedata.

All household surveys and censuses providedata by gender and age and by many otherclassifying variables. TABLE A2 at the end of thepresent annex shows the topics covered bythe Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, Demo-graphic and Health Surveys, Living StandardsMeasurement Studies and Core WelfareIndicators Questionnaires in Africa.

MULTIPLE INDICATOR CLUSTER SURVEY

To provide recent data for assessing progresstowards the 1990 World Summit for Childrengoals, the United Nation’s Children’s Funddeveloped the Multiple Indicator ClusterSurveys (MICS) in 1994 to obtain data on asmall subset of the goals. Experience fromthis work was used in developing a revised andexpanded Survey (known as MICS2) for assess-ing progress at end-decade. The surveys wereconducted in 66 countries during 1999–2001, primarily by national government min-istries with support from a variety of partners.

The main subjects of MICS2 are health andeducation; TABLE A2 shows which indicators arelikely to be included. MICS2 is modular and sothe surveys may not be identical. More infor-mation can be found at http://www.childinfo.org.

DEMOGRAPHIC AND HEALTH SURVEY

Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) aresponsored by the United States Agency forInternational Development and undertaken byMacro International, Inc. They were first con-ducted in 1984 as successors to theInternational Statistical Institute WorldFertility Surveys. The Demographic HealthSurveys are now in their fourth series. Theabbreviated name was changed in 1997 toDHS+. They have been undertaken in over 60countries. Some countries have had only oneDHS, but others have had several. Most sur-veys are addressed to about 5,000 house-holds.

Most questions refer to demography and tohealth including nutrition, but they alsoinclude other topics, such as education. TABLE

A2 shows the indicators likely to be covered bythe DHS. More information can be found atwww.measuredhs.com.

LIVING STANDARDS MEASUREMENT STUDY

The first Living Standards MeasurementStudy (LSMS) surveys were launched by theWorld Bank in Côte d’Ivoire and Peru in 1985.Since then there have been about 40 surveysin 25 countries. They have been sponsored byvarious donors, including the World Bank andthe United States Agency for InternationalDevelopment, and by some countries.

Although the first few LSMS surveys followeda similar format, they have varied consider-ably since then. There are standard LSMSmodules, but they are often omitted. Theorganization of the fieldwork also varies.Most are one-off sample surveys, but a four-wave panel was also undertaken in the Kageraregion of Tanzania.

TABLE A2 shows the indicators likely to be cov-ered by LSMS. More information can be foundat http://www.worldbank.org/lsms.


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A N N E X 2H o u s e h o l d s u r v e y s a n d o t h e r n a t i o n a l d a t a s o u r c e s

CORE WELFARE INDICATORS QUESTIONNAIRESURVEY IN AFRICA

The Core Welfare Indicators Questionnaire(CWIQ) survey is relatively new. Developed bythe World Bank, it was piloted in Kenya in 1996and in Ghana in 1997. The questionnaires arerelatively short (about eight sides), but othermodules may be added. The surveys areintended to be annual and to have samples of5,000 to 15,000 households. The question-naire is designed to complement other sur-veys as part of a national monitoring package.It is intended to contribute to statisticalcapacity-building in developing countries. Theresults are intended to be available within afew weeks of data collection.

TABLE A2 shows the indicators likely to be cov-ered by the CWIQ. More information can befound at http://www4.worldbank.org/afr/stats/cwiq.cfm.

HOUSEHOLD BUDGET SURVEYS

Household budget surveys (HBS) are intendedfor various purposes, including measurementof poverty and of household consumption ofgoods and services for weighting consumerprices. Their value as sources of other dataderive from the inclusion of a variety of ques-tions among basic or general variables. Thisoffers the possibility of cross-classifying themagainst many other variables, includingincome and urban or rural location as well as allthe common classifiers such as age and gender.

The surveys are complex and expensive, sothey are not conducted very frequently indeveloping countries. They are undertakenoften enough (perhaps every five years or so)in many countries to provide fairly up-to-dateand fairly frequent data, however.

The Income Consumption and ExpenditureSurvey (ICES) in Zimbabwe is an example of ahousehold budget survey. The 2001 survey isthe most recent, and the ICES has been con-

ducted there approximately every five yearssince 1985.

LABOUR FORCE SURVEYS

Labour force surveys (LFS) have becomewidespread in industrialized countries, butare more rare in developing countries. Theyare intended to provide information onemployment and unemployment, but theyalso frequently seek information on educationand training and may include other variables.They occasionally include questions onincome from employment. For reasons of effi-ciency, they generally cover the non-institu-tional population. In developing countries,they are often undertaken only in urban areas

SURVEYS WITH AN INSTITUTIONAL COMPONENT

Some household surveys are also accompa-nied by surveys addressed to local institu-tions, including schools and hospitals. TheZimbabwe Sentinel Surveillance Survey, forexample, includes institutional componentsaddressed to schools and to health establish-ments. Thus they are able to provide data onfacilities serving households.

CENSUSES OF POPULATION AND HOUSING

A population census is the primary source ofinformation about the number of people in acountry and the characteristics of the popula-tion. Several features distinguish a censusfrom survey-based sources of data. It canachieve complete coverage of the population.It offers possibilities for relating individualcharacteristics of the population with thoseof households. It provides details about sub-national population groups. Owing to its highcost, it has the disadvantage of being able toprovide data only once every 10 years, orsometimes less, and the questionnaires haveto be relatively short.

The census is the unique basic source of bench-mark demographic data, such as number ofpeople by age and gender. Demographic dataare used as denominators for ratios of all


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kinds, on school enrolment for example, andfor many other common country assessmentand Millennium Development Goals indica-tors. However, population estimates have tobe updated between censuses, and nationalmethods and standards can differ. Manyinternational agencies use United Nationsestimates of population as denominators forratios in order to be consistent betweencountries. Nevertheless, the United Nationspopulation estimates, which are revised everytwo years, are often different from thenational estimates, mainly (but not always) asa result of international standardization.

Censuses are also sometimes used as sam-pling frames for sample surveys.

REFERENCES :

� UNITED NATIONS. (1998). Principles andRecommendations for Population andHousing Censuses, Revision 1. Series M, No.67. Sales No. E.98.XVII.1.

� UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND (2002).Population and Housing Censuses: Strategiesfor Reducing Costs. Available from:http://www.unfpa.org/upload/lib_pub_file/24_filename_pophousingcensus.pdf.

� UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND (2003).Counting the People: Constraining CensusCosts and Assessing Alternative Approaches.Available from: http://www.unfpa.org/upload/ lib_pub_file/184_filename_popdev-strat-7.pdf.

OTHER SURVEYS

There are also many household surveys ofvariable frequency, or ad hoc, that are eithergeneral in their purpose or have a limitedrange of purposes. There are special surveyson particular topics, such as some limitedaspect of health.

Survey programmes pertinent to the data forcommon country assessment and MillenniumDevelopment Goals indicators, in addition tothose mentioned above, include the following:� HIV/AIDS, various epidemiological surveys

(Joint United Nations Programme onHIV/AIDS)

� Tuberculosis/DOTS (notification pro-gramme); Roll Back Malaria (World HealthOrganization)

� Pilot surveys in selected countries totest/improve methodologies of data collec-tion on labour force (International LabourOrganization)

� Child labour survey (International LabourOrganization)

� Informal sector surveys (InternationalLabour Organization)

� Pilot surveys in selected countries totest/improve methodologies of data collec-tion on nutrition (Food and AgricultureOrganization of the United Nations)

� Pilot small-scale studies on education/lit-eracy (United Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organization)

� Access to personal computers and theInternet (International TelecommunicationUnion)

� Secure tenure and slum improvement(United Nations Human SettlementsProgramme)

ADMINISTRATIVE SOURCES

The most commonly used sources of data foreducation, and often for health, are adminis-trative sources—data derived from the admin-istration of education or health. Unemploy-ment data are also frequently derived fromadministrative registrations of employmentoffices. The data are made available by min-istries and sometimes by national statisticaloffices. Data on births and deaths are alsofrequently drawn from administrative sources,usually vital statistics registration systems.

Administrative sources can potentially pro-vide data for very small areas. Their disadvan-tages include bias, application of nationalstandards and definitions, and non-response.For vital statistics, such as births and deaths,and for many other indicators, the data oftendo not exist or are incomplete.


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G O A L S M I C S aC W I QD H SL S M S

G O A L 1 : E R A D I C AT E E X T R E M E P O V E RT Y A N D H U N G E R

Proportion of population below $1 per day b

Poverty gap ratio [incidence x depth of poverty]

Share of poorest quintile in national consumption

Prevalence of underweight children under 5 years of age

Proportion of population below minimum level of dietary energyconsumption d

G O A L 2 : A C H I E V E U N I V E R S A L P R I M A RY E D U C AT I O N

Net enrolment ratio in primary education e

Proportion of pupils starting grade 1 who reach grade 5

Literacy rate of 15–24 year-olds

G O A L 3 : P R O M OT E G E N D E R E Q U A L I T Y A N D E M P O W E R W O M E N

Ratio of girls to boys in primary, secondary and tertiary education f

Ratio of literate women to men, 15–24 years old

Share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector

Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament

G O A L 4 : R E D U C E C H I L D M O RTA L I T Y

Under-five mortality rate

Infant mortality rate

Proportion of 1-year-old children immunized against measles

G O A L 5 : I M P R O V E M AT E R N A L H E A LT H

Maternal mortality ratio

Proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel

G O A L 6 : C O M B AT H I V / A I D S , M A L A R I A A N D OT H E R D I S E AS E S

HIV prevalence among aged pregnant women 15–24 years

Contraceptive prevalence rate g

Number of children orphaned by HIV/AIDS

Prevalence and death rates associated with malaria

Proportion of population in malaria-risk areas using effectivemalaria prevention and treatment measures h

Prevalence and death rates associated with tuberculosis

Proportion of tuberculosis cases detected and cured under DOTS

G O A L 7 : E N S U R E E N V I R O N M E N TA L S U STA I N A B I L I T Y

Proportion of land area covered by forest

Ratio of area protected to maintain biological diversity to surface area

Energy use (kg oil equivalent) per $1 GDP (PPP)

Carbon dioxide emissions per capita and consumption of ozone-depleting CFCs (ODP tons)

Proportion of population using solid fuels

Proportion of population with sustainable access to an improved water source, urban and rural j

Proportion of urban and rural population with access to improved sanitation

Proportion of households with access to secure tenure

•c

•

•

• • • •

( • ) ( • ) ( • ) ( • )

• • • •

• • • •

( • ) ( • ) ( • ) ( • )

• • • •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

•i

• • • •

• • • •

( • )k

TA B L E A 2 . Comparison of indicator coverage of four survey types

TABLE A2 (CONTINUED)

NOTESa. The Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) is

made up of modules, and not all modules wereused in all countries. This column is based on thefull questionnaire using all modules.

b. For monitoring country poverty trends, indicatorsbased on national poverty lines should be used,where available.

c. This indicator also requires the calculation of anational PPP, which in turn is derived from inter-nationally coordinated price collection conductedby the International Comparison Programme.

d. National data are provided by the Food andAgriculture Organization of the United Nationsbased on a statistical modeling technique.

e. All surveys collect school attendance, rather thanenrolment. However, it could be argued that thishas greater policy relevance at the national level.Enrolment rates in international reporting arebased on administrative records.

f. The ratio is of attendance rates, not enrolmentrates.

g. Among contraceptive methods, only condoms areeffective in preventing HIV transmission. Thecontraceptive prevalence rate is also useful intracking progress in other health, gender andpoverty goals. Since the condom use rate ismeasured only among women in union, it is sup-plemented by an indicator on condom use inhigh-risk situations (indicator 19A) and an indi-cator on HIV/AIDS knowledge (indicator 19B).

h. Prevention can be measured by the percentageof children under five sleeping under insecticide-treated bednets. Treatment can be measured bythe percentage of children under five who areappropriately treated.

i. For children under five only.

j. All surveys measure access to improved source,but do not assess whether it is sustainable.

k. Surveys typically ask about type of dwelling andtenure. They may not explicitly address the issueof how secure is, for example, a rental agree-ment, but that could be covered in the future.


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�

United Nations. Millennium DevelopmentGoals. http://www.un.org/millenniumgoalsUnited Nations Statistics Division.Millennium Indicators Database.http://millenniumindicators.un.orgUnited Nations Statistics Division. http://unstats.un.org/unsdWorld Bank. Millennium DevelopmentGoals. http://www.developmentgoals. orgOrganisation for Economic Co-operationand Development. http://www.oecd.org/dac. Under Topics, select: Aid statistics,Aid effectiveness and donor practices orMillennium Develoment GoalsCore Welfare Indicators Questionnaire(CWIQ) surveys. Available from http://www4.worldbank.org/afr/stats/cwiq.cfmDemographic and Health Surveys. http://www.measuredhs.comFood and Agriculture Organization of theUnited Nations. http://www.fao.orgInternational Labour Organization. http://www.ilo.org/statWorld Health Organization/United NationsEnvironment Programme IntergovernmentalPanel on Climate Change. http://www.ipcc.chIUCN–World Conservation Union. http://www.iucn.orgLiving Standards Measurement Study(LSMS). http://www.worldbank.org/lsmsMultiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS).Available from http://www.childinfo.orgOrganisation for Economic Co-operationand Development. Development AssistanceCommittee. http://www.oecd.org/dacUnited Nations Development Group.http://www.undg.orgUnited Nations Development Programme.Human Development Report. Availablefrom http://www. undp.org/hdr2003United Nations Environment Programme.http://www.unep.org

UNEP. Land use. Available from http://www.unep.org/themes/landUnited Nations Educational, Scientific andCultural Organization. http://www.unesco.orgUNESCO Institute for Statistics. http://www.uis.unesco.orgUnited Nations Children’s Fund. http://www.unicef.org and http://www.childinfo.orgUnited Nations Framework Convention onClimate Change. http://unfccc.intUnited Nations Population Fund. http://www.unfpa.orgUnited Nations Human SettlementsProgramme. http://www.unhabitat.organd http://www.unhabitat.org/campaigns/tenure/introduction.aspCities in a Globalizing World. Available fromhttp://www. earthscan.co.uk/citiesUnited Nations Interregional Crime andJustice Research Institute. http://www.unicri.itWorld Conservation Monitoring Centre.Protected area data unit. http://www.wcmc.org.uk/dataJoint United Nations Programme onHIV/AIDS. http://www.unaids.org/hivaidsinfoWorld Health Organization. Directlyobserved treatment short course (fortuberculosis). Available from http://www.who.int/gtb/dotsStop TB Partnership. http://www.stoptb.orgWorld Bank. http://www.worldbank.org/dataWorld Bank. World Development Indicators.Available from http://www.worldbank.org/dataWorld Resources Institute. http://www.earthtrends.wri.orgBiosphere reserves. http://www.unesco.org/mabHeritage sites. http://www.unesco.org/whcWetlands. http://www.ramsar.org/sitelist.pdf


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A N N E X 3W e b s i t e s (see also references in the metadata sheets)

International Conference on Primary HealthCare, Almaty, Kazakhstan, 1978

World Conference to Review and AppraiseAchievements of the United Nations Decadefor Women: Equality, Development and Peace,Nairobi, 1985

World Conference on Education for All,Jomtien, Thailand, 1990

World Summit for Children, New York, 1990

International Conference on Nutrition, Rome, 1992

United Nations Conference on Environmentand Development, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1992

World Conference on Human Rights, Vienna, 1993

Global Conference on the SustainableDevelopment of Small Island DevelopingStates, Bridgetown, 1994

International Conference on Population andDevelopment, Cairo, 1994

Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, 1995

Ninth United Nations Congress on thePrevention of Crime and the Treatment ofOffenders, Cairo, 1995

World Summit for Social Development,Copenhagen, 1995

United Nations Conference on HumanSettlements (Habitat II), Istanbul, 1996

World Food Summit, Rome, 1996

World Conference of Ministers Responsiblefor Youth, Lisbon, 1998

Twentieth special session of the GeneralAssembly on the world drug problem, NewYork, 1998

Global Conference on the SustainableDevelopment of Small Island DevelopingStates, New York, 1999

Tenth United Nations Congress on thePrevention of Crime and the Treatment ofOffenders, Vienna, 2000

World Education Forum, Dakar, 2000

Twenty-fourth special session of the GeneralAssembly: World Summit for SocialDevelopment and beyond: achieving socialdevelopment for all in a globalizing word,Geneva, 2000

World Summit on Sustainable Development,Johannesburg, South Africa, 2002


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A N N E X 4W o r l d s u m m i t s a n d c o n f e r e n c e s

Documents

INDICATORSfor Monitoring the Millennium Development Goals · Indicators for Monitoring the Millennium Development Goals: Definitions, Rationale, Concepts and Sourcescontains basic