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Indicators
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The statistical tables in this year’s State of World Population
report once again give special attention to indicators that
can help track progress in meeting the quantitative and
qualitative goals of the International Conference on
Population and Development (ICPD) and the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) in the areas of mortality
reduction, access to education, access to reproductive
health services including family planning, and HIV/AIDS
prevalence among young people. Several changes have
been made in other indicators, as noted below. Future
reports will include different process measures when
these become available, as ICPD and MDG follow-up
efforts lead to improved monitoring systems. Improved
monitoring of the financial contributions of governments,
non-governmental organizations and the private
sector should also allow better future reporting of
expenditures and resource mobilization for ICPD/MDG
implementation efforts. The sources for the indicators
and their rationale for selection follow, by category.
INDICATORS OF MORTALITY
Infant mortality, male and female life expectancy at birth.
Source: United Nations Population Division. 2003. World
Population Prospects: The 2002 Revision. New York: United
Nations. Spreadsheets provided by United Nations
Population Division. These indicators are measures of
mortality levels, respectively, in the first year of life
(which is most sensitive to development levels) and
over the entire lifespan. Estimates are for the
2000-2005 period.
Maternal mortality ratio. Source: WHO, UNICEF, and
UNFPA. 2003. Maternal Mortality in 2000: Estimates Developed
by WHO, UNICEF, and UNFPA. Geneva: WHO. This indicator
presents the number of deaths to women per 100,000 live
births which result from conditions related to pregnancy,
delivery and related complications. Precision is difficult,
though relative magnitudes are informative. Estimates
below 50 are not rounded; those 50-100 are rounded to the
nearest 5; 100-1,000, to the nearest 10; and above 1,000,
to the nearest 100. Several of the estimates differ from
official government figures. The estimates are based on
reported figures wherever possible, using approaches to
improve the comparability of information from different
sources. See the source for details on the origin of particular
national estimates. Estimates and methodologies are reviewed regularly
by WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, academic
INDICATORS OF EDUCATION
Male and female gross primary enrolment ratios, male and
female gross secondary enrolment ratios. Source: Spreadsheet
provided by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, March
2004. Data for countries from the OECD database are
provisional (see details at: www1.oecd.org/els/education/
ei/eag/wei.htm, last accessed 1 June 2004). Population
data is based on: United Nations Population Division,
World Population Prospects: The 2002 Revision. Gross enrolment
ratios indicate the number of students enrolled in a level
in the education system per 100 individuals in the appropriate
age group. They do not correct for individuals who
are older than the level-appropriate age due to late starts,
interrupted schooling or grade repetition. Data are for
2001/2002 year, or for 2000/2001 if later date not
available.
Male and female adult illiteracy. Source: See gross enrolment
ratios above for source; data adjusted to illiteracy,
from literacy. Illiteracy definitions are subject to variation
in different countries; three widely accepted
definitions are in use. Insofar as possible, data refer
to the proportion who cannot, with understanding, both
read and write a short simple statement on everyday life.
Adult illiteracy (rates for persons above 15 years of age)
reflects both recent levels of educational enrolment and
past educational attainment. The above education indicators
have been updated using the UN Population Division
estimates from World Population Prospects: The 2002 Revision.
New York: United Nations. Data are for the most recent
year estimates available for the 2000-2004 period.
Proportion reaching grade 5 of primary education. Source:
See gross enrolment ratios above for source. Data are most
recent within the school years beginning in 1999, 2000, or
2001. Twenty-three countries reported data to grade 4
(see original source).
INDICATORS OF REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
Births per 1,000 women aged 15-19. Source: Spreadsheets
provided by the United Nations Population Division. This
is an indicator of the burden of fertility on young women.Since it is
an annual level summed over all women in the
age cohort, it does not reflect fully the level of fertility
for women during their youth. Since it indicates the
annual average number of births per woman per year, one
could multiply it by five to approximate the number of
births to 1,000 young women during their late teen years.
The measure does not indicate the full dimensions of teen
pregnancy as only live births are included in the numerator.
Stillbirths and spontaneous or induced abortions are
not reflected.
Contraceptive prevalence. Source: Spreadsheet, “Percent
Currently Using Contraception among Married or In-union
Women of Reproductive Age”, provided by United Nations
Population Division using “World Contraceptive Use 2003:
Database Maintained by the Population Division of the
United Nations Secretariat.” These data are derived from
sample survey reports and estimate the proportion of
married women (including women in consensual unions)
currently using, respectively, any method or modern
methods of contraception. Modern or clinic and supply
methods include male and female sterilization, IUD, the
pill, injectables, hormonal implants, condoms and female
barrier methods. These numbers are roughly but not completely
comparable across countries due to variation in the
timing of the surveys and in the details of the questions.
Unlike in past years, all country and regional data refer
to women aged 15-49. The most recent survey data available
are cited, ranging from 1980-2002.
HIV prevalence rate, M/F, 15-49. Source: Data provided
by UNAIDS. UNAIDS 2004. Geneva: UNAIDS. These data
derive from surveillance system reports and model estimates.
Data provided for men and women aged 15-49 are
point estimates for each country. The reference year is
2003. Male-female differences reflect physiological and
social vulnerability to the illness and are affected by
age differences between sexual partners.
DEMOGRAPHIC, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Total population 2003, projected population 2050, average
annual population growth rate for 2000-2005. Source:
Spreadsheets provided by United Nations Population
Division. These indicators present the size, projected
future size and current period annual growth of
national populations.
Per cent urban, urban growth rates. Source: United
Nations Population Division. 2004. World Urbanization
Prospects: The 2003 Revision. New York: United Nations,
available from CD-ROM (POP/DP/WUP/Rev.2003), and
United Nations Population Division. 2004. World Urbanization Prospects: The 2003 Revision: Data Tables and
Highlights (ESA/P/WP.190). New York: United Nations.
These indicators reflect the proportion of the national
population living in urban areas and the growth rate
in urban areas projected.
Agricultural population per hectare of arable and permanent
crop land. Source: Data provided by Food and
Agriculture Organization, Statistics Division, using agricultural
population data based on the total populations
from United Nations Population Division. 2003. World
Population Prospects: The 2002 Revision. New York: United
Nations. This indicator relates the size of the agricultural
population to the land suitable for agricultural production.
It is responsive to changes in both the structure of
national economies (proportions of the workforce in agriculture)
and in technologies for land development. High
values can be related to stress on land productivity and to
fragmentation of land holdings. However, the measure is
also sensitive to differing development levels and land
use policies. Data refer to the year 2001.
Total fertility rate (period: 2000-2005). Source: United
Nations Population Division. 2003. World Population
Prospects: The 2002 Revision. New York: United Nations.
The measure indicates the number of children a woman
would have during her reproductive years if she bore children
at the rate estimated for different age groups in the
specified time period. Countries may reach the projected
level at different points within the period.
Births with skilled attendants. Source: Spreadsheet provided
by UNICEF, with data from State of World’s Children
2004 and February 2004 MDG Monitoring updates. Data
for more developed countries are not available. This indicator
is based on national reports of the proportion of
births attended by “skilled health personnel or skilled
attendant: doctors (specialist or non-specialist) and/or
persons with midwifery skills who can diagnose and
manage obstetrical complications as well as normal deliveries”.
Data for more developed countries reflect their
higher levels of skilled delivery attendance. Because of
assumptions of full coverage, data (and coverage) deficits
of marginalized populations and the impacts of chance
and transport delays may not be fully reflected in official
statistics. Data estimates are the most recent available
after 1994.
Gross national income per capita. Source: Most recent
(2001 or 2002) figures from: The World Bank. World Development
Indicators Online. Web site: http://devdata.worldbank.org/
dataonline/ (by subscription). This indicator (formerly
referred to as gross national product [GNP] per capita) measures
the total output of goods and services for final
use produced by residents and non-residents, regardless
of allocation to domestic and foreign claims, in relation
to the size of the population. As such, it is an indicator
of the economic productivity of a nation. It differs from
gross domestic product (GDP) by further adjusting for
income received from abroad for labour and capital by
residents, for similar payments to non-residents, and by
incorporating various technical adjustments including
those related to exchange rate changes over time. This
measure also takes into account the differing purchasing
power of currencies by including purchasing power parity
(PPP) adjustments of “real GNP”. Some PPP figures are
based on regression models; others are extrapolated from
the latest International Comparison Programme benchmark
estimates; see original source for details.
Central government expenditures on education and health.
Source: Most recent data point in last 6 years from: The
World Bank. World Development Indicators Online. Web site:
http://devdata.worldbank.org/dataonline/ (by subscription).
These indicators reflect the priority afforded to
education and health sectors by a country through the
government expenditures dedicated to them. They are not
sensitive to differences in allocations within sectors, e.g.,
primary education or health services in relation to other
levels, which vary considerably. Direct comparability is
complicated by the different administrative and budgetary
responsibilities allocated to central governments in
relation to local governments, and to the varying roles
of the private and public sectors. Reported estimates are
presented as shares of GDP per capita (for education) or
total GDP (for health). Great caution is also advised about
cross-country comparisons because of varying costs of
inputs in different settings and sectors.
External assistance for population. Source: UNFPA. 2003.
Financial Resource Flows for Population Activities in 2001. New
York: UNFPA. This figure provides the amount of external
assistance expended in 2001 for population activities in
each country. External funds are disbursed through
multilateral and bilateral assistance agencies and by
non-governmental organizations. Donor countries are
indicated by their contributions being placed in parentheses.
Regional totals include both country-level projects
and regional activities (not otherwise reported in the
table). Data for 2002 will be available post-publication.
Under-5 mortality. Source: United Nations Population
Division, special tabulation based on United Nations.
2003. World Population Prospects: The 2002 Revision. New York:
United Nations. This indicator relates to the incidence of mortality to infants and young children. It reflects,
therefore, the impact of diseases and other causes of
death on infants, toddlers and young children. More
standard demographic measures are infant mortality and
mortality rates for 1 to 4 years of age, which reflect differing
causes of and frequency of mortality in these ages.
The measure is more sensitive than infant mortality to
the burden of childhood diseases, including those preventable
by improved nutrition and by immunization
programmes. Under-5 mortality is here expressed as deaths
to children under 5 per 1,000 live births in a given year.
The estimate refers to the period 2000-2005.
Per capita energy consumption. Source: The World Bank.
World Development Indicators Online. Web site: http://devdata.
worldbank.org/dataonline/ (by subscription). This indicator
reflects annual consumption of commercial primary
energy (coal, lignite, petroleum, natural gas and hydro,
nuclear and geothermal electricity) in kilograms of oil
equivalent per capita. It reflects the level of industrial
development, the structure of the economy and patterns
of consumption. Changes over time can reflect changes
in the level and balance of various economic activities
and changes in the efficiency of energy use (including
decreases or increases in wasteful consumption).
Data estimates are for 2001.
Access to safe water. Source: UNICEF. 2003. The State of
the World’s Children 2004: Girls, Education and Development. New
York: UNICEF: Table 3: Health. This indicator reports the
percentage of the population with access to an improved
source of drinking water providing adequate amount of safe
water located within a convenient distance from the user’s
dwelling. The italicized words use country-level definitions.
The indicator is related to exposure to health risks,
including those resulting from improper sanitation. Data
are estimates for the year 2000.
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