Major sources of data used in the Human Development Report
By generously sharing data, the following organizations made it possible for the Human Development Report to publish the important human development statistics appearing in the indicator tables.
Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) is a data and analysis centre of the US Department of Energy, focuses on the greenhouse effect and global climate change. It is the source of data on carbon dioxide emissions.
Demographic and Household Surveys (DHS) is a program that has collected, analyzed and disseminated data on population, health, HIV, and nutrition in over 75 countries. DHS is the source for data on inequalities in access to basic services by quintile of wealth published in the Human Development Report as well as for other country specific analysis developed in the Report.
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) collects, analyses and disseminates data and information on food and agriculture. It is the source of data on food insecurity indicators.
International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is an independent centre for research, information and debate on the problems of conflicts, the IISS maintains an extensive military database. The data on armed forces are from its publication The Military Balance.
International Labour Organization (ILO) maintains an extensive statistical publication programme, with the Yearbook of Labour Statistics and the Key Indicators of the Labour Market its most comprehensive collection of labour market data. The ILO is the source of data on wages, employment and occupations and information on the ratification status of labour rights conventions.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) has an extensive programme for developing and compiling statistics on international financial transactions and balance of payments. Much of the financial data provided to the Human Development Report Office by other agencies originates from the IMF.
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is a specialized UN agency which among other activities maintains an extensive collection of statistics on information and communications. The data on trends in telecommunications come from its World Telecommunication Indicators database.
Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) provides data on trends in political participation and structures of democracy. The Human Development Report Office relies on the IPU for data relating to elections and information on women’s political representation.
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) monitors the spread of HIV/AIDS and provides regular updates. The Report on the Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic, a joint publication of UNAIDS and the World Health Organization, is the primary source of data on HIV/AIDS.
Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) is a cooperative research project with 25 member countries. The LIS focuses on poverty and policy issues. It is the source of income poverty estimates for many OECD countries.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) publishes data on a variety of social and economic trends in its member countries as well as on flows of aid. This year’s Report presents data from the OECD on aid, energy, employment and education.
The Penn World Table (PWT) is produced by the Center for International Comparisons at the University of Pennsylvania (CICUP). PWT provides purchasing power parity and national income accounts converted to international prices for 188 countries for some or all of the years 1950-2004. The Human Development Report uses GDP data from the PWT for countries for which the World Bank does not report data.
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) conducts research on international peace and security. The SIPRI Yearbook: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security is the published source of data on military expenditure and arms transfers.
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) monitors the wellbeing of children and provides a wide array of data. Its State of the World’s Children is an important source of data for the Report.
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) provides trade and economic statistics through a number of publications, including the World Investment Report. It is the original source of data on investment flows that the Human Development Report Office receives from other agencies.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is the source of data relating to education. The Human Development Report Office relies on data in UNESCO’s statistical publications as well as data received directly from its Institute for Statistics.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is the UN organization that provides data on refugees through its Statistical Yearbook or other on-line statistical publications.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) carries out international comparative research to support to fight against illicit drugs and international crime. It provides data on crime victims from the International Crime Victims Surveys.
United Nations Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary General (UN Treaty Section) compiles information on the status of major international human rights instruments and environmental treaties based on the database maintained by this UN office
United Nations Population Division (UNPOP) produces international data on population trends. The Human Development Report Office relies on World Population Prospects and World Urbanization Prospects, two of the main publications of UNPOP, and its other publications and databases, for demographic estimates and projections.
United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) provides a wide range of statistical outputs and services. Much of the national accounts data provided to the Human Development Report Office by other agencies originates from the UNSD. Some of the energy indicators in the Report as well as the data for the Millennium Development Goals indicators are provided by UNSD.
World Bank produces and compiles data on economic trends as well as a broad array of other indicators. Its World Development Indicators is the primary source for many indicators in the Report.
World Health Organization (WHO) maintains a large array of data series on health issues, the source for the health related indicators in the Report.
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) promotes the protection of intellectual property rights throughout the world through different kinds of cooperative efforts. It is the source of data relating to patents.
