About the goals

About the goals

Background to the goals

Many of the targets of the MDGs were first set out by international conferences and summits held in the 1990s. They were later compiled and became known as the International Development Goals. (For a review of progress on the International Development Goals see www.paris21.org/betterworld.) In September 2000 the member states of the United Nations unanimously adopted the Millennium Declaration. Following consultations among international agencies, including the World Bank, the IMF, the OECD, and the specialized agencies of the United Nations, the General Assembly recognized the Millennium Development Goals as part of the road map for implementing the Millennium Declaration.

Links to more information

http://sima/mdg/Aboutgoalstables.htm#tables (Complete listing of the MDG goals, targets, and indicators)

http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/55/a55r002.pdf (United Nations Millennium Declaration (9/2000)

http://www.un.org/documents/ga/docs/56/a56326.pdf (United Nations Roadmap Report on the Millennium Declaration (9/2001)

http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/news/pressrelease.nsf/673fa6c5a2d50a67852565e200692a79/f02c5a35aff0bae885256acc006d0a6c?OpenDocument (World Bank Press Release on the MDGs (9/2001)

UN General Assembly Resolution on the Roadmap Report (11/2001)

http://sima/mdg/MDGs-PARIS21.pdf (OECD/DAC statement on the MDGs and Statistical Capacity Building (12/2001)

MDG Indicator Tables

This web site provides access to Excel files containing tables and graphs of the MDG indicators. The files are organized by goal and by Bank region. Each file includes separate worksheets for each indicator with country timeseries and regional aggregates from 1990 to the latest year--where data are available. For some indicators, charts display trend lines and progress towards one of the targets. To see the files, click on one of the goals listed on the left.

Important data notes

Many of the indicators represent work in progress. In some cases observations are sparse and still being compiled, or serve as benchmarks rather than timeseries; in others they are not yet available in the Bank, or are not yet adequately collected. It is hoped that the monitoring of progress towards the Goals will stimulate more interest in collecting good data

List of goals and targets

Goal 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

Target 1. Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than one dollar a day.

        1. Proportion of population below $1 per day
        2. Poverty gap ratio (incidence x depth of poverty)
        3. Share of poorest quintile in national consumption

Target 2. Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.

4. Prevalence of underweight children (under five years of age)
5. Proportion of population below minimum level of dietary energy consumption

Goal 2. Achieve universal primary education

Target 3. Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling.

        6. Net enrolment ratio in primary education
        7. Proportion of pupils starting grade 1 who reach grade 5
        8. Illiteracy rate of 15-24-year-olds

Goal 3. Promote gender equality and empower women

Target 4. Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and to all levels of education no later than 2015.

        9. Ratio of girls to boys in primary, secondary and tertiary education
        10. Ratio of literate females to males of 15-to-24-year-olds
        11. Ratio of women to men in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector
        12. Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament

Goal 4. Reduce child mortality

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

        13. Under-five mortality rate
        14. Infant mortality rate
        15. Proportion of 1-year-old children immunized against measles

Goal 5. Improve maternal health

Target 6. Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio.

16. Maternal mortality ratio
17. Proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel

Goal 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

Target 7. Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS

        18. HIV prevalence among 15-to-24-year-old pregnant women
        19. Contraceptive prevalence rate
        20. Number of children orphaned by HIV/AIDS

Target 8. Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases.

        21. Prevalence and death rates associated with malaria
        22. Proportion of population in malaria risk areas using effective malaria prevention and treatment measures.
        23. Incidence of tuberculosis (per 100,000 people)
        24. Proportion of tuberculosis cases detected and cured under directly observed treatment short course

Goal 7. Ensure environmental sustainability

Target 9. Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverse the losses of environmental resources.

        25. Proportion of land area covered by forest
        26. Land area protected to maintain biological diversity
        27. GDP per unit of energy use (as proxy for energy efficiency)
        28. Carbon dioxide emissions (per capita)

Target 10. Halve by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water.

29. Proportion of population with sustainable access to an improved water source

Target 11. By 2020 to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers.

30. Proportion of people with access to improved sanitation
31. Proportion of people with access to secure tenure (urban/rural)

Goal 8. Develop a Global Partnership for Development

Target 12. Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system

Target 13. Address the special needs of the least developed countries

Target 14. Address the special needs of landlocked countries and small island developing States.

Target 15. Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries through national and international measures in order to make debt sustainable in the long term.

Indicators for targets 12-15

Official development assistance

        32. Net ODA as percentage of OECD/DAC donors gross national product (targets of 0.7 % in total and 0.15 % for LDCs)
        33. Proportion of ODA to basic social services (basic education, primary health care, nutrition, safe water and sanitation)
        34. Proportion of ODA that is untied.
        35. Proportion of ODA for environment in small island developing stats
        36. Proportion of ODA for transport sector in landlocked countries.

Market access
        37. Proportion of exports (by value and excluding arms) admitted free of duties and quotas
        38. Average tariffs and quotas on agricultural products and textiles and clothing
        39. Domestic and export agricultural subsidies in OECD countries
        40. Proportion of ODA provided to help build trade capacity

Debt sustainability
        41. Proportion of official bilateral HIPC debt cancelled
        42. Debt service as a percentage of exports of goods and services
        43. Proportion of ODA provided as debt relief
        44. Number of countries reaching HIPC decision and completion points

Target 16. In cooperation with developing countries, develop and implement strategies for decent and productive work for youth

45. Unemployment rate of 15 to 24 year olds

Target 17. In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries

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

Target 18. In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications.

47. Telephone lines per 1,000 people
48. Personal computers per 1,000 people