asdf
The Millennium Development Goals Report
2015
UNITED NATIONS
Cover Inside
This report is based on a master set of data that has been compiled by the Inter-Agency and Expert
Group on MDG Indicators led by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations
Secretariat, in response to the wishes of the General Assembly for periodic assessment of progress
towards the MDGs. The Group comprises representatives of the international organizations whose
activities include the preparation of one or more of the series of statistical indicators that were identified as
appropriate for monitoring progress towards the MDGs, as reflected in the list below. A number of national
statisticians and outside expert advisers also contributed.
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR WESTERN ASIA
ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA
ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE
ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND
INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION
INTERNATIONAL TRADE CENTRE
INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION
JOINT UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME ON HIV/AIDS
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT
SECRETARIAT OF THE PACIFIC COMMUNITY
THE WORLD BANK
UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND
UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT
UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION
UNITED NATIONS ENTITY FOR GENDER EQUALITY AND THE EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN - UN WOMEN
UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME
UNITED NATIONS FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE
UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES
UNITED NATIONS HUMAN SETTLEMENTS PROGRAMME
UNITED NATIONS INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION
UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
The Millennium Development Goals Report
2015
asdfUnited Nations
New York, 2015
Foreword  | 3
Foreword
The global mobilization behind the Millennium
Development Goals has produced the most successful
anti-poverty movement in history. The landmark
commitment entered into by world leaders in the year
2000—to “spare no effort to free our fellow men,
women and children from the abject and dehumanizing
conditions of extreme poverty”—was translated into
an inspiring framework of eight goals and, then, into
wide-ranging practical steps that have enabled people
across the world to improve their lives and their future
prospects. The MDGs helped to lift more than one billion
people out of extreme poverty, to make inroads against
hunger, to enable more girls to attend school than ever
before and to protect our planet. They generated new
and innovative partnerships, galvanized public opinion
and showed the immense value of setting ambitious
goals. By putting people and their immediate needs at
the forefront, the MDGs reshaped decision-making in
developed and developing countries alike.
Yet for all the remarkable gains, I am keenly aware that
inequalities persist and that progress has been uneven.
The world’s poor remain overwhelmingly concentrated
in some parts of the world. In 2011, nearly 60 per cent of
the world’s one billion extremely poor people lived in just
five countries. Too many women continue to die during
pregnancy or from childbirth-related complications.
Progress tends to bypass women and those who are
lowest on the economic ladder or are disadvantaged
because of their age, disability or ethnicity. Disparities
between rural and urban areas remain pronounced.
Experiences and evidence from the efforts to achieve
the MDGs demonstrate that we know what to do. But
further progress will require an unswerving political
will, and collective, long-term effort. We need to tackle
root causes and do more to integrate the economic,
social and environmental dimensions of sustainable
development. The emerging post-2015 development
agenda, including the set of Sustainable Development
Goals, strives to reflect these lessons, build on our
successes and put all countries, together, firmly on track
towards a more prosperous, sustainable and equitable
world.
Reflecting on the MDGs and looking ahead to the next
fifteen years, there is no question that we can deliver on
our shared responsibility to put an end to poverty, leave
no one behind and create a world of dignity for all.
Ban Ki-moon
Secretary-General, United Nations
4  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
Overview
At the beginning of the new millennium, world leaders
gathered at the United Nations to shape a broad vision to
fight poverty in its many dimensions. That vision, which
was translated into eight Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs), has remained the overarching development
framework for the world for the past 15 years.
As we reach the end of the MDG period, the world
community has reason to celebrate. Thanks to concerted
global, regional, national and local efforts, the MDGs
have saved the lives of millions and improved conditions
for many more. The data and analysis presented in
this report prove that, with targeted interventions,
sound strategies, adequate resources and political will,
even the poorest countries can make dramatic and
unprecedented progress. The report also acknowledges
uneven achievements and shortfalls in many areas. The
work is not complete, and it must continue in the new
development era.
Unprecedented efforts have resulted in profound achievements
Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Extreme poverty rate
in developing countries
47%1990
2015 14%
1990
1,926million
1999
1,751million
2015
836million
Global number of extreme
poor
47%1990
2015 14%
1990
1,926million
1999
1,751million
2015
836million
•• Extreme poverty has declined significantly over the last two decades. In 1990,
nearly half of the population in the developing world lived on less than $1.25 a day;
that proportion dropped to 14 per cent in 2015.
•• Globally, the number of people living in extreme poverty has declined by more
than half, falling from 1.9 billion in 1990 to 836 million in 2015. Most progress has
occurred since 2000.
•• The number of people in the working middle class—living on more than $4 a
day—has almost tripled between 1991 and 2015. This group now makes up half the
workforce in the developing regions, up from just 18 per cent in 1991.
•• The proportion of undernourished people in the developing regions has fallen
by almost half since 1990, from 23.3 per cent in 1990–1992 to 12.9 per cent in
2014–2016.
Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
Global out-of-school children
of primary school age
2000
2015
100
million
57
million
0
20%
40%
60%
80%
52%
1990
60%
2000
80%
2015
Primary school net
enrolment rate
in sub-Saharan Africa
2000
2015
100
million
57
million
0
20%
40%
60%
80%
52%
1990
60%
2000
80%
2015
•• The primary school net enrolment rate in the developing regions has reached 91 per
cent in 2015, up from 83 per cent in 2000.
•• The number of out-of-school children of primary school age worldwide has fallen
by almost half, to an estimated 57 million in 2015, down from 100 million in 2000.
•• Sub-Saharan Africa has had the best record of improvement in primary education
of any region since the MDGs were established. The region achieved a
20 percentage point increase in the net enrolment rate from 2000 to 2015,
compared to a gain of 8 percentage points between 1990 and 2000.
•• The literacy rate among youth aged 15 to 24 has increased globally from 83 per
cent to 91 per cent between 1990 and 2015. The gap between women and men has
narrowed.
Overview  | 5
Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
Primary school enrolment
ratio in Southern Asia
1990
100
74 103
100
2015
90% of countries have more
women in parliament since
1995
1990
100
74 103
100
2015
•• Many more girls are now in school compared to 15 years ago. The developing
regions as a whole have achieved the target to eliminate gender disparity in
primary, secondary and tertiary education.
•• In Southern Asia, only 74 girls were enrolled in primary school for every 100 boys in
1990. Today, 103 girls are enrolled for every 100 boys.
•• Women now make up 41 per cent of paid workers outside the agricultural sector, an
increase from 35 per cent in 1990.
•• Between 1991 and 2015, the proportion of women in vulnerable employment as a
share of total female employment has declined 13 percentage points. In contrast,
vulnerable employment among men fell by 9 percentage points.
•• Women have gained ground in parliamentary representation in nearly 90 per cent
of the 174 countries with data over the past 20 years. The average proportion of
women in parliament has nearly doubled during the same period. Yet still only one
in five members are women.
Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
Global number of deaths
of children under five
1990
12.7
million
6
million2015
0
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
73%
2000
84%
2013
Global measles vaccine
coverage
1990
12.7
million
6
million2015
0
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
73%
2000
84%
2013
•• The global under-five mortality rate has declined by more than half, dropping from
90 to 43 deaths per 1,000 live births between 1990 and 2015.
•• Despite population growth in the developing regions, the number of deaths of
children under five has declined from 12.7 million in 1990 to almost 6 million in
2015 globally.
•• Since the early 1990s, the rate of reduction of under-five mortality has more than
tripled globally.
•• In sub-Saharan Africa, the annual rate of reduction of under-five mortality was over
five times faster during 2005–2013 than it was during 1990–1995.
•• Measles vaccination helped prevent nearly 15.6 million deaths between 2000 and
2013. The number of globally reported measles cases declined by 67 per cent for
the same period.
•• About 84 per cent of children worldwide received at least one dose of measlescontaining
vaccine in 2013, up from 73 per cent in 2000.
6  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
Goal 5: Improve maternal HEALTH
Global maternal mortality
ratio (deaths per 100,000
live births)
50%
60%
70%
80%
20151990
59%
71%
1990
380
2000
330
2013
210
Global births attended by
skilled health personnel
50%
60%
70%
80%
20141990
59%
71%
1990
380
2000
330
2013
210
•• Since 1990, the maternal mortality ratio has declined by 45 per cent worldwide,
and most of the reduction has occurred since 2000.
•• In Southern Asia, the maternal mortality ratio declined by 64 per cent between
1990 and 2013, and in sub-Saharan Africa it fell by 49 per cent.
•• More than 71 per cent of births were assisted by skilled health personnel globally in
2014, an increase from 59 per cent in 1990.
•• In Northern Africa, the proportion of pregnant women who received four or more
antenatal visits increased from 50 per cent to 89 percent between 1990 and 2014.
•• Contraceptive prevalence among women aged 15 to 49, married or in a union,
increased from 55 per cent in 1990 worldwide to 64 per cent in 2015.
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Global antiretroviral therapy
treatment
0.8
million
2003
ART
13.6
million
2014
ART
900 million
Number of insecticidetreated
mosquito nets
delivered in sub-Saharan
Africa, 2004–2014
0.8
million
2003
ART
13.6
million
2014
ART
900 million
•• New HIV infections fell by approximately 40 per cent between 2000 and 2013,
from an estimated 3.5 million cases to 2.1 million.
•• By June 2014, 13.6 million people living with HIV were receiving antiretroviral
therapy (ART) globally, an immense increase from just 800,000 in 2003. ART
averted 7.6 million deaths from AIDS between 1995 and 2013.
•• Over 6.2 million malaria deaths have been averted between 2000 and 2015,
primarily of children under five years of age in sub-Saharan Africa. The global
malaria incidence rate has fallen by an estimated 37 per cent and the mortality rate
by 58 per cent.
•• More than 900 million insecticide-treated mosquito nets were delivered to
malaria-endemic countries in sub-Saharan Africa between 2004 and 2014.
•• Between 2000 and 2013, tuberculosis prevention, diagnosis and treatment
interventions saved an estimated 37 million lives. The tuberculosis mortality rate
fell by 45 per cent and the prevalence rate by 41 per cent between 1990 and 2013.
Overview  | 7
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
1.9 billion people have gained
access to piped drinking
water since 1990
2.3 billion 4.2 billion
1990 2015
98% of ozone-depleting
substances eliminated since
1990
2.3 billion 4.2 billion
1990 2015
•• Ozone-depleting substances have been virtually eliminated since 1990, and the
ozone layer is expected to recover by the middle of this century.
•• Terrestrial and marine protected areas in many regions have increased substantially
since 1990. In Latin America and the Caribbean, coverage of terrestrial protected
areas rose from 8.8 per cent to 23.4 per cent between 1990 and 2014.
•• In 2015, 91 per cent of the global population is using an improved drinking water
source, compared to 76 per cent in 1990.
•• Of the 2.6 billion people who have gained access to improved drinking water since
1990, 1.9 billion gained access to piped drinking water on premises. Over half of the
global population (58 per cent) now enjoys this higher level of service.
•• Globally, 147 countries have met the drinking water target, 95 countries have met
the sanitation target and 77 countries have met both.
•• Worldwide, 2.1 billion people have gained access to improved sanitation. The
proportion of people practicing open defecation has fallen almost by half since
1990.
•• The proportion of urban population living in slums in the developing regions fell
from approximately 39.4 per cent in 2000 to 29.7 per cent in 2014.
Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development
Official development
assistance
$81 billion
2000
$
$135 billion
2014
$
2000
6%
2015
43%
Global Internet penetration
$81 billion
1990
$
$135 billion
2014
$
2000
6%
2015
43%
•• Official development assistance from developed countries increased by 66 per cent
in real terms between 2000 and 2014, reaching $135.2 billion.
•• In 2014, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom
continued to exceed the United Nations official development assistance target of
0.7 per cent of gross national income.
•• In 2014, 79 per cent of imports from developing to developed countries were
admitted duty free, up from 65 per cent in 2000.
•• The proportion of external debt service to export revenue in developing countries
fell from 12 per cent in 2000 to 3 per cent in 2013.
•• As of 2015, 95 per cent of the world’s population is covered by a mobile-cellular
signal.
•• The number of mobile-cellular subscriptions has grown almost tenfold in the last 15
years, from 738 million in 2000 to over 7 billion in 2015.
•• Internet penetration has grown from just over 6 per cent of the world’s population
in 2000 to 43 per cent in 2015. As a result, 3.2 billion people are linked to a global
network of content and applications.
8  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
Despite many successes, the poorest and most vulnerable people are being left behind
Although significant achievements have been made on
many of the MDG targets worldwide, progress has been
uneven across regions and countries, leaving significant
gaps. Millions of people are being left behind, especially
the poorest and those disadvantaged because of their
sex, age, disability, ethnicity or geographic location.
Targeted efforts will be needed to reach the most
vulnerable people.
XX Gender inequality persists
Women continue to face discrimination in access to
work, economic assets and participation in private
and public decision-making. Women are also more
likely to live in poverty than men. In Latin America
and the Caribbean, the ratio of women to men in poor
households increased from 108 women for every 100
men in 1997 to 117 women for every 100 men in 2012,
despite declining poverty rates for the whole region.
Women remain at a disadvantage in the labour market.
Globally, about three quarters of working-age men
participate in the labour force, compared to only half of
working-age women. Women earn 24 per cent less than
men globally. In 85 per cent of the 92 countries with
data on unemployment rates by level of education for
the years 2012–2013, women with advanced education
have higher rates of unemployment than men with
similar levels of education. Despite continuous progress,
today the world still has far to go towards equal gender
representation in private and public decision-making.
XX Big gaps exist between the poorest and richest
households, and between rural and urban areas
In the developing regions, children from the poorest
20 per cent of households are more than twice as likely
to be stunted as those from the wealthiest 20 per cent.
Children in the poorest households are four times
as likely to be out of school as those in the richest
households. Under-five mortality rates are almost twice
as high for children in the poorest households as for
children in the richest. In rural areas, only 56 per cent
of births are attended by skilled health personnel,
compared with 87 per cent in urban areas. About
16 per cent of the rural population do not use improved
drinking water sources, compared to 4 per cent of the
urban population. About 50 per cent of people living in
rural areas lack improved sanitation facilities, compared
to only 18 per cent of people in urban areas.
XX Climate change and environmental degradation
undermine progress achieved, and poor people
suffer the most
Global emissions of carbon dioxide have increased by
over 50 per cent since 1990. Addressing the unabated
rise in greenhouse gas emissions and the resulting likely
impacts of climate change, such as altered ecosystems,
weather extremes and risks to society, remains an
urgent, critical challenge for the global community.
An estimated 5.2 million hectares of forest were
lost in 2010, an area about the size of Costa Rica.
Overexploitation of marine fish stocks led to declines
in the percentage of stocks within safe biological limits,
down from 90 per cent in 1974 to 71 per cent in 2011.
Species are declining overall in numbers and distribution.
This means they are increasingly threatened with
extinction. Water scarcity affects 40 per cent of people
in the world and is projected to increase. Poor people’s
livelihoods are more directly tied to natural resources,
and as they often live in the most vulnerable areas, they
suffer the most from environmental degradation.
XX Conflicts remain the biggest threat to human
development
By the end of 2014, conflicts had forced almost
60 million people to abandon their homes—the highest
level recorded since the Second World War. If these
people were a nation, they would make up the twentyfourth
largest country in the world. Every day, 42,000
people on average are forcibly displaced and compelled
to seek protection due to conflicts, almost four times the
2010 number of 11,000. Children accounted for half of
the global refugee population under the responsibility
of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
in 2014. In countries affected by conflict, the proportion
of out-of-school children increased from 30 per cent in
1999 to 36 per cent in 2012. Fragile and conflict-affected
countries typically have the highest poverty rates.
XX Millions of poor people still live in poverty and
hunger, without access to basic services
Despite enormous progress, even today, about 800
million people still live in extreme poverty and suffer
from hunger. Over 160 million children under age five
have inadequate height for their age due to insufficient
food. Currently, 57 million children of primary school
age are not in school. Almost half of global workers are
still working in vulnerable conditions, rarely enjoying
the benefits associated with decent work. About
16,000 children die each day before celebrating their
Overview  | 9
fifth birthday, mostly from preventable causes. The
maternal mortality ratio in the developing regions is 14
times higher than in the developed regions. Just half of
pregnant women in the developing regions receive the
recommended minimum of four antenatal care visits.
Only an estimated 36 per cent of the 31.5 million people
living with HIV in the developing regions were receiving
ART in 2013. In 2015, one in three people (2.4 billion)
still use unimproved sanitation facilities, including 946
million people who still practise open defecation. Today
over 880 million people are estimated to be living in
slum-like conditions in the developing world’s cities.
With global action, these numbers can be turned around.
The successes of the MDG agenda prove that global action works. It is the only path to
ensure that the new development agenda leaves no one behind
The global community stands at a historic crossroads
in 2015. As the MDGs are coming to their deadline, the
world has the opportunity to build on their successes
and momentum, while also embracing new ambitions
for the future we want. A bold new agenda is emerging
to transform the world to better meet human needs and
the requirements of economic transformation, while
protecting the environment, ensuring peace and realizing
human rights. At the core of this agenda is sustainable
development, which must become a living reality for
every person on the planet.
This is the final MDG report. It documents the
15-year effort to achieve the aspirational goals set out
in the Millennium Declaration and highlights the many
successes across the globe, but acknowledges the
gaps that remain. The experience of the MDGs offers
numerous lessons, and they will serve as the springboard
for our next steps. Leaders and stakeholders in every
nation will work together, redoubling efforts to achieve
a truly universal and transformative agenda. This is the
only way to ensure a sustainable future and a dignified
life for all people everywhere.
Wu Hongbo
Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs
10  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
Measure what we treasure:
sustainable data for sustainable
development
As the post-2015 development agenda is being established,
strengthening data production and the use of better data
in policymaking and monitoring are becoming increasingly
recognized as fundamental means for development. The
MDG monitoring experience has clearly demonstrated that
effective use of data can help to galvanize development
efforts, implement successful targeted interventions, track
performance and improve accountability. Thus sustainable
development demands a data revolution to improve the
availability, quality, timeliness and disaggregation of data
to support the implementation of the new development
agenda at all levels.
The monitoring of the MDGs taught us
that data are an indispensable element
of the development agenda
XX What gets measured gets done
The MDG framework strengthened the use of robust
and reliable data for evidence-based decision-making,
as many countries integrated the MDGs into their own
national priorities and development strategies. Using
reliable data to monitor progress towards the MDGs also
allowed governments at national and subnational levels to
effectively focus their development policies, programmes
and interventions.
Data at the local level proved extremely helpful. Subnational
monitoring of net enrolment ratios in primary and
secondary education revealed large disparities between the
arid and semi-arid areas of northern Kenya. In response,
the Kenyan government targeted these deprived areas by
establishing a specific school feeding programme, low-cost
boarding primary schools and mobile schools. In Colombia,
data at the subnational level showed sharply uneven rates of
progress, which motivated local governments to implement
key interventions according to local priorities. The Nariño
region, for instance, focused on Goal 3, aiming to reduce the
large gender gaps in employment and political participation.
In Cundinamarca, the focus was on accelerating progress on
Goal 1 in the poorest municipalities.
XX Real data improvement occurs when demand and
policy support meet
The MDGs energized efforts to increase the production and
use of development data. Their monitoring requirements
drew attention to the need for strengthening statistical
capacity and improving statistical methodologies and
information systems at both national and international
levels. Over time, this increased the availability of more
and better data, while improving coordination within
national statistical systems and leading to new statistical
methodologies.
To support MDGs monitoring in the Philippines, the
National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) was
designated as the national custodian of MDG indicators.
The Board formulated an MDGs statistical development
programme, which enabled data compilation from different
sources and formulation of programmes and policies to
support the collection, dissemination and improvement
of data for policymaking. A community-based monitoring
system was also developed to provide data to monitor and
evaluate local development plans.
Global monitoring of the MDGs improved dramatically,
assisted by a close collaboration between international
agencies and country experts. Between 2000 and 2015,
the number of surveys and censuses in the database of
the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme on Water
Supply and Sanitation has increased six-fold. Country
coverage for a subset of 22 official MDG indicators
improved significantly between 2003 and 2014. While in
2003, only 2 per cent of developing countries had at least
two data points for 16 or more of the 22 indicators, by
2014 this figure had reached 79 per cent. This reflects the
increased capacity of national statistical systems to address
monitoring requirements and improvements in datareporting
mechanisms. It also shows the benefits of better
access to national sources by international agencies.
Measure what we treasure: sustainable data for sustainable development  | 11
Proportion of countries and territories in the developing
regions with at least two data points for 22 selected
MDG indicators, 2003, 2006 and 2014 (percentage)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
16–22
11–15
6–10
0–5
2003
19
30
48
2
2006
6
12
19
64
2014
2
6
13
79
Number of indicator series with at least two data points:
XX Despite improvement, critical data for development
policymaking are still lacking
Large data gaps remain in several development areas.
Poor data quality, lack of timely data and unavailability of
disaggregated data on important dimensions are among
the major challenges. As a result, many national and local
governments continue to rely on outdated data or data of
insufficient quality to make planning and decisions.
A World Bank study shows that about half of the 155
countries lack adequate data to monitor poverty and, as a
result, the poorest people in these countries often remain
invisible. During the 10-year period between 2002 and 2011,
as many as 57 countries (37 per cent) had none or only one
poverty rate estimate. In sub-Saharan Africa, where poverty
is most severe, 61 per cent of countries have no adequate
data to monitor poverty trends.
Lack of well-functioning civil registration systems with
national coverage also results in serious data gaps,
especially for vital statistics. According to the UN Interagency
Group for Child Mortality Estimation, only around
60 countries have such systems; the others rely mostly on
household surveys or censuses to estimate child mortality.
Better data are needed for the post-2015
development agenda
XX Only by counting the uncounted can we reach the
unreached
High-quality data disaggregated by key dimensions
beyond the basics of age and sex, including migrant status,
indigenous status, ethnicity and disability among others, are
key to making decisions and monitoring progress towards
achieving sustainable development for all. Estimating the
size and exploring the attributes of small population groups
requires large sample sizes or full population counts.
National population and housing censuses provide an
important data source and sampling frame for estimating
the size of vulnerable minority groups.
Remarkable progress has been made, for instance, in the
availability of detailed data on indigenous peoples in Latin
America. In the 2010 census round, 17 of 20 countries in
Latin America included questions on indigenous people
to provide detailed data for this group. Data on maternal
care revealed that around 2000, the proportion of births
attended by health professionals was 38 percentage points
lower among indigenous women than non-indigenous
women in Mexico, and 45 percentage points lower in
Peru. The availability of these disaggregated data led to
the adoption of more effective interventions to reduce
inequality. By 2012, more than 80 per cent of births to
indigenous women were attended by health personnel in
both countries.
Births attended by skilled personnel in Mexico
and Peru, by indigenous status, selected years
(percentage)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Non-indigenous women
Indigenous women
Mexico
2003
57
95
2012
81
99
Peru
2000
22
67
2012
83
92
12  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
XX Real-time data are needed to deliver better
decisions faster
In today’s rapidly changing world, real-time information
is needed to prepare and respond to economic, political,
natural and health crises. However, most development data
have a time lag of two to three years. Recent innovations are
helping to circumvent this problem. For example, UNICEF
and partners have used text messaging (SMS) technology
to facilitate real-time collection and sharing of information
about the Ebola outbreak. In Liberia, hundreds of health
workers have used mHero (Health Worker Electronic
Response and Outreach) and in Guinea and Sierra Leone,
thousands of young people are using U-Report. This realtime
information has helped rapidly locate new cases,
determined what supplies are needed and disseminated
lifesaving messages.
XX Geospatial data can support monitoring in many
aspects of development, from health care to natural
resource management
Knowing where people and things are and their relationship
to each other is essential for informed decision-making.
Comprehensive location-based information is helping
Governments to develop strategic priorities, make decisions,
and measure and monitor outcomes. Once the geospatial
data are created, they can be used many times to support
a multiplicity of applications. A geodetic reference frame
allows precise observations and ‘positioning’ of anything on
the Earth and can be used for many social, economic and
environmental purposes, such as precision agriculture and
monitoring changes in sea level rise.
For example, geospatial information was used to support
health care and design social intervention measures during
the chikungunya virus (chick-V) outbreak across the
Caribbean. In Trinidad and Tobago, geospatial applications
for smart phones assisted the Ministry of Health to identify
the location of infected persons and use the information to
contain the outbreak.
Strong political commitment and significantly
increased resources will be needed to meet the
data demand for the new development agenda
XX Strengthening statistical capacity is the foundation
for monitoring progress of the new development
agenda
To improve the availability, reliability, timeliness and
accessibility of data to support the post-2015 development
agenda, sustainable investments are needed in statistical
capacity at all levels, especially the national level. The
scaling-up of national statistical capacities and the
strengthening and modernization of statistical systems
will require ensuring effective institutional arrangements
and internal coordination, sustainable human resources,
sustainable financial resources (internal and external) and
technical cooperation. National statistical offices should
have a clear mandate to lead the coordination among
national agencies involved and to become the data hub for
monitoring.
For instance, improving a country’s civil registration and
vital statistics system requires strong commitment from
the government and long-term efforts in strengthening
administrative infrastructure. Progress in the past 20 years
has been very slow, but a few countries have made great
strides. In South Africa, for example, 85 per cent of births
in 2012 were registered compared to 56 per cent of births
in 2003. In Thailand, thanks to efforts begun in 1996, more
than 95 per cent of births and deaths are now registered.
XX New technology is changing the way data are
collected and disseminated
New information and communication technologies provide
unprecedented opportunities for data collection, analysis
and dissemination. Today, 95 per cent of the global
population is covered by a cellular network, while mobilecellular
subscriptions have grown to over 7 billion. Internet
penetration has increased to 43 per cent of the world’s
population, linking 3.2 billion people to a global network of
content and applications. New data collection technologies,
such as Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI)
and mobile text surveys (SMS), and new data sources, such
as social media posts, online search records and mobile
phone call records, allow faster data collection and provide
near real-time information.
The 2010 Brazilian Census introduced several innovations
in its operation. Digital census mapping was developed
and integrated with the National Address File, which
made the census data collection more efficient and more
accurate. Field operations through CAPI devices equipped
with a Global Positioning System receiver allowed better
monitoring of the field operation and real-time data editing.
Measure what we treasure: sustainable data for sustainable development  | 13
To cover difficult-to-reach populations, Brazil also used
Internet data collection as a complementary system.
However, new data sources and new data collection
technologies must be carefully applied to avoid a reporting
bias favouring people who are wealthier, more educated,
young and male. The use of these innovative tools might
also favour those who have greater means to access
technology, thus widening the gap between the “data poor”
and the “data rich”.
XX Global standards and an integrated statistics system
are key elements for effective monitoring
International standards are important for building national
statistical capacity. One of the Fundamental Principles of
Official Statistics states that “the use by statistical agencies
in each country of international concepts, classifications
and methods promotes the consistency and efficiency of
statistical systems at all official levels“. The SecretaryGeneral’s
Independent Expert Advisory Group on the Data
Revolution for Sustainable Development also highlighted
in its report the need for a “Global consensus on data”
to adopt principles concerning legal, technical, privacy,
geospatial and statistical standards that facilitate openness
and information exchange while promoting and protecting
human rights.
Measuring sustainability is a highly technical task that
requires capturing complex economic, societal and
environmental interactions. Therefore, an integrated
framework of indicators is needed to cover these three
dimensions cohesively. Integration benefits not only data
users, but also data producers and providers by reducing the
respondents’ burden, the likelihood of errors and the longterm
costs. Harnessing the benefits of statistical integration
requires investment in the adoption of statistical standards,
developing and re-engineering of statistical production
processes, and changing institutional arrangements.
XX Promoting open, easily accessible data and
data literacy is key for effective use of data for
development decision-making
Data for development are public goods and should be made
available to the public in open formats. Open data supports
government transparency and accountability, enables
the use of collective intelligence to make smarter policy
decisions, increases citizen engagement and promotes
government efficiency and effectiveness. Besides data,
information on definitions, data quality, methods used in
collecting data and other important metadata also need to
be made widely available. In addition to opening up data,
great efforts need to be made to release data in machinereadable
formats and to provide free visualization and
analysis tools.
With an increasing volume of data available, people will
also need the skills to use and interpret them correctly.
Governments, international organizations and other
stakeholders should support implementation of data
literacy programmes, provide e-learning opportunities and
include data literacy as a part of school curriculum.  
XX Together we can measure what we treasure
Data, as the basis for evidence-based decision-making
and accountability, are a crucial pillar of the post-2015
development agenda. The necessary data revolution is
a joint responsibility of governments, international and
regional organizations, the private sector and civil society.
Building a new partnership will be essential to ensure that
data are available to inform the post-2015 development
agenda and support development decision-making for the
next 15 years.
14  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
Goal 1
Eradicate
extreme
poverty and
hunger
Target 1.A
Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people
whose income is less than $1 a day
The extreme poverty rate has dropped
significantly in most developing regions
66%
57
Proportion of people living on less than $1.25 a day, 1990, 2011
and 2015 (percentage)
Note: Sufficient country data are not available for Oceania.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
World
Developing regions
Developing regions (excluding China)
Northern Africa
Western Asia
Caucasus and Central Asia
Latin America and the Caribbean
Eastern Asia (China only)
South-Eastern Asia
Southern Asia (excluding India)
Southern Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
1990 2011 2015 projection
Percentage change between 1990 and 20152015 target
57
47
52
23
53
20
46
12
61
6
13
5
8
4
5
5
2
2
41
22
47
18
36
15
41
17
14
7
4
4
2
3
1
18
14
12
28%
73%
84%
94%
66%
77%
46%
81%
57%
69%
68%
XX More than 1 billion people have
been lifted out of extreme
poverty since 1990.
XX Despite progress, almost half
of the world’s employed people
work in vulnerable conditions.
XX The proportion of
undernourished people in the
developing regions has fallen by
almost half since 1990.
XX One in seven children worldwide
are underweight, down from one
in four in 1990.
XX By the end of 2014, conflicts had
forced almost 60 million people
to abandon their homes.
Key facts
Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger  | 15
Global poverty has declined significantly over the past
two decades. The MDG target of reducing by half the
proportion of people living in extreme poverty was
achieved five years ago, ahead of the 2015 deadline. The
latest estimates show that the proportion of people living
on less than $1.25 a day globally fell from 36 per cent
in 1990 to 15 per cent in 2011. Projections indicate that
the global extreme poverty rate has fallen further, to 12
per cent, as of 2015. The poverty rate in the developing
regions has plummeted, from 47 per cent in 1990 to 14
per cent in 2015, a drop of more than two thirds.
By 2011, all developing regions except sub-Saharan Africa
had met the target of halving the proportion of people
who live in extreme poverty (Oceania has insufficient
data). The world’s most populous countries, China and
India, played a central role in the global reduction of
poverty. As a result of progress in China, the extreme
poverty rate in Eastern Asia has dropped from 61 per
cent in 1990 to only 4 per cent in 2015. Southern Asia’s
progress is almost as impressive—a decline from 52 per
cent to 17 per cent for the same period—and its rate of
reduction has accelerated since 2008.
In contrast, sub-Saharan Africa’s poverty rate did not fall
below its 1990 level until after 2002. Even though the
decline of poverty has accelerated in the past decade,
the region continues to lag behind. More than 40 per
cent of the population in sub-Saharan Africa still lives in
extreme poverty in 2015. In Western Asia, the extreme
poverty rate is expected to increase between 2011 and
2015.
The number of people living in extreme
poverty has declined by more than half
since 1990
Number of people living on less than $1.25 a day
worldwide, 1990¬2015 (millions)
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
1,600
1,800
2,000
2015
(projection)
20112008200520021999199619931990
1,926
1,939
1,754
1,751
1,632
1,371
1,255
1,011
836
The absolute number of people living in extreme poverty
globally fell from 1.9 billion in 1990 to 1 billion in 2011.
Estimates suggest that another 175 million people have
been lifted out of extreme poverty as of 2015. Thus, the
number of people worldwide living on less than $1.25 a
day has also been reduced by half from its 1990 level.
The world’s extremely poor people are distributed
very unevenly across regions and countries. The
overwhelming majority of people living on less than
$1.25 a day reside in two regions—Southern Asia and
sub-Saharan Africa—and they account for about 80 per
cent of the global total of extremely poor people. Nearly
60 per cent of the world’s 1 billion extremely poor people
lived in just five countries in 2011: India, Nigeria, China,
Bangladesh and the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(ranked from high to low).
16  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
Women face a greater risk of living in poverty
Ratio of women to men of working age (20 to 59) in the lowest wealth quintile of all households, selected developing
countries, 2000¬2013
Notes: This indicator is weighted by the ratio of females to males aged 20–59 in all households to reflect the fact that women may be overrepresented in the
entire population. It uses the wealth asset index in the Demographic and Health Surveys and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys as a proxy measure for poverty.
Values above 103 indicate that women are overrepresented in the lowest wealth quintile while values below 97 indicate that men are overrepresented in the
lowest wealth quintile. Values between 97 and 103 indicate parity.
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
0 15 30 45 60 75
In 41 countries, women are
more likely than men
to live in poor households
In 17 countries, women are
equally likely as men
to live in poor households
In 17 countries, women are
less likely than men
to live in poor households
Among the 1 billion people who were still living in
extreme poverty worldwide in 2011, it is unknown how
many were women and girls. In part this is because
measures of poverty rely on income or consumption
data collected at the household level, rather than at the
individual level. This makes it difficult to differentiate
poverty rates within households, and hence to
understand gender differences in the incidence, severity
and impact of poverty.
A recent study used a wealth asset index as a proxy for
household poverty to compare the percentage of women
and men aged 20–59 who live in the lowest wealth
quintile of all households. Using this measure, the study
found that women are more likely to live in poverty in 41
out of 75 countries with data. Further analysis indicates
that in countries where women are overrepresented in
the lowest wealth quintile of households, the households
are more likely to be headed by women or to have no
male adults. This suggests a greater risk of poverty
among separated women, widows and single mothers,
including self-reported heads of household without a
male partner.
Using conventional national poverty lines, another study
found that in Latin America and the Caribbean, the ratio
of women to men in poor households increased from
108 women for every 100 men in 1997 to 117 women
to every 100 men in 2012. This upward trend is all the
more concerning because it took place in the context of
declining poverty rates for the whole region.
Many factors contribute to women’s heightened
vulnerability to poverty. These include unequal access to
paid work, lower earnings, lack of social protection and
limited access to assets, including land and property.
Even where women are equally as likely to live in poor
households as men, they are more likely to be deprived in
other important areas of well-being, such as education.
Understanding the characteristics of the world’s poorest
people and the reasons for their deprivation is crucial in
determining how best to target and eradicate poverty. It
is clear that greater efforts are needed to produce highquality
poverty and gender statistics if we are to monitor
progress effectively in eradicating extreme poverty for all
people everywhere.
Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger  | 17
Target 1.B
Achieve full and productive employment and
decent work for all, including women and
young people
Employment opportunities are being
outpaced by the growing labour force
Employment-to-population ratio, 1991 and 2015
(percentage)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Developed regions
Developing regions
Oceania
Eastern Asia
South-Eastern Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
Latin America and the Caribbean
Caucasus and Central Asia
Southern Asia
Western Asia
Northern Africa
1991 2015 projection
41
47
58
57
63
67
58
74
67
64
57
56
61
68
68
67
65
62
60
53
46
43
As the global economy has entered a new period
combining slower growth, widening inequalities and
turbulence, employment is not expanding fast enough
to keep up with the growing labour force. The global
employment-to-population ratio—the proportion of
the working-age population that is employed—has
fallen from 62 per cent in 1991 to 60 per cent in 2015,
with an especially significant downturn during the
global economic crisis of 2008/2009. According to
the International Labour Organization, more than 204
million people are unemployed in 2015. This is over
34 million more than before the start of the economic
crisis and 53 million more than in 1991.
Employment opportunities have diminished in both the
developing and the developed regions. The employmentto-population
ratio in the developing regions has fallen
by 3.3 percentage points from 1991 to 2015, while in
the developed regions it has declined by 1 percentage
point. The largest declines are found in Eastern Asia
and Southern Asia, which have experienced drops in
the employment-to-population ratio of 6.7 and 4.6
percentage points, respectively. The employment
situation has improved slightly in sub-Saharan Africa, but
progress in livelihoods has been offset by persistently
high underemployment and informal employment, as
well as low labour productivity.
Youth, especially young women, continue to be
disproportionately affected by limited employment
opportunities and unemployment. Only four in ten
young women and men aged 15–24 are employed in
2015, compared with five in ten in 1991. This represents
a fall of more than 10 percentage points. While the drop
is partially a result of young people staying longer in
school, still about 74 million young people are looking
for a job in 2015. Globally, the youth unemployment rate
is almost three times higher than the rate for adults. In
2015, the situation is most acute in Northern Africa and
Western Asia, where the proportion of young people that
is employed is only half of that of the entire working-age
population.
18  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
The proportion of workers living
in extreme poverty has fallen sharply
Proportion of employed people living on less than
$1.25 a day, 1991 and 2015 (percentage)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Developing regions
Western Asia
Northern Africa
Caucasus and Central Asia
Latin America and the Caribbean
Eastern Asia
South-Eastern Asia
Southern Asia
Oceania
Sub-Saharan Africa
1991 2015 projection
57
51
53
50
68
8
5
5
52
1
1
1
2
2
11
3
7
17
18
36
The number of workers living in extreme poverty has
declined dramatically over the past 25 years, despite
the global economic crisis. In 1991, close to half of the
workers in the developing regions were living with their
families on less than $1.25 per person per day. This rate
has dropped to 11 per cent in 2015, corresponding to
a two-thirds decline in the number of extremely poor
workers, from 900 million in 1991 to 300 million in 2015.
However, progress across regions has been uneven. In
2015, 80 per cent of the working poor reside in subSaharan
Africa and Southern Asia.
The working middle class makes up almost
half the workforce in the developing world
Employment by economic class in the developing regions,
1991 and 2015 (percentage of total employment)
0
20
40
60
80
100
Developed middle class and above (above $13)
Developing middle class (between $4 and $13)
Near poor (between $2 and $4)
Moderately poor (between $1.25 and $2)
Extremely poor (less than $1.25)
2015 projection
11
13
35
25
16
1991
5
49
19
14
13
Based on the five economic classes defined by the
International Labour Organization, the number of people
in the working middle classes—living on more than $4 a
day—has almost tripled between 1991 and 2015. People
in this group now make up almost half the workforce
in the developing regions, up from 18 per cent in 1991.
Yet, that means that half of workers and their families
still live on less than $4 a day. Few are covered by social
protection systems, and they face the constant risk of
slipping back into poverty. Much work needs to be done
to raise productivity, promote sustainable structural
transformation and expand social protection systems
for the poorest and most vulnerable workers and their
families.
Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger  | 19
Despite progress, almost half of the world’s employed people are still working
in vulnerable conditions
Number and proportion of own-account and contributing family workers in total employment, 1991¬2015
1,200
1,250
1,300
1,350
1,400
1,450
1,500
2015
(projection)
201120072003199919951991
40
42
44
46
48
50
52
54
56
58
60
Left axis: number of workers in vulnerable employment Right axis: proportion of workers in vulnerable employment
Millions Percentage
The proportion of workers in vulnerable employment—
defined as the share of own-account work and
contributing family employment in total employment—
has continued to decline in all regions. The most
significant progress has been made in Eastern
Asia, where the proportion of people in vulnerable
employment has dropped from 71.2 per cent in 1991 to
39.6 per cent in 2015. Globally, however, 45 per cent
of all workers are still working in vulnerable conditions.
These workers rarely have the benefits associated with
decent work. Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia
account for more than half of the world’s vulnerable
employment, with three out of four workers falling in
this category. The number of workers in vulnerable
employment has increased by 25 million since 2008,
because of the increasing number of people entering
the labour market and limited opportunities for paid
employment. Currently there are 1.45 billion workers in
vulnerable employment worldwide.
20  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
Target 1.C
Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger
Progress on ending hunger has been
significant despite the challenging global
environment
Number and proportion of undernourished people
in the developing regions, from 1990¬1992 to 2014¬2016
0
5
10
15
20
25
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
2014¬16
(projection)
2011¬13
2008¬10
2005¬07
2002¬04
1999¬01
1996¬98
1993¬95
1990¬92
23.3
22.1
19.7
18.3
18.3
17.3
15.0
13.7
12.9
991 991
926 902 940 927
843
793 780
PercentageMillions
Left axis: number of undernourished people
Right axis: proportion of undernourished people
Right axis: 2015 target
Current estimates suggest that about 795 million people
are undernourished globally. This means that nearly
one in nine individuals do not have enough to eat. The
vast majority of them (780 million people) live in the
developing regions. However, projections indicate a
drop of almost half in the proportion of undernourished
people in the developing regions, from 23.3 per cent in
1990–1992 to 12.9 per cent in 2014–2016. This is very
close to the MDG hunger target. Rapid progress during
the 1990s was followed by a slower decline in hunger
in the first five years of the new millennium and then a
rebound starting around 2008. The projections for the
most recent period mark a new phase of slower progress.
Progress in reducing hunger has been significant despite
the challenging global environment over the last decade.
Obstacles have included volatile commodity prices,
higher food and energy prices, rising unemployment
and economic recessions in the late 1990s and in
2008/2009. Frequent extreme weather events and
natural disasters have also taken a considerable toll on
lives and livelihoods, and eventually on progress towards
global food security. In a growing number of countries,
political instability and civil strife have aggravated the
effects of natural disasters, resulting in numerous and
significant humanitarian crises. These developments
have slowed progress in reducing food insecurity in
some of the most vulnerable countries and regions of the
world.
Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger  | 21
Marked differences in hunger prevalence
persist across regions
Proportion of undernourished people,
1990¬1992 and 2014¬2016 (percentage)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Developing regions
Caucasus and Central Asia
Western Asia
South-Eastern Asia
Eastern Asia
Oceania
Southern Asia
Caribbean
Sub-Saharan Africa
Latin America
Northern Africa
1990¬92 2014¬16 projection
2015 target
33
23
23
23
14
14
14
10
88
7
6
16
16
24
27
31
20
10
<5
<5
<5
13
The rate of hunger reduction varies widely by region. The
Caucasus and Central Asia, Eastern Asia, Latin America
and South-Eastern Asia have reached the hunger target,
due mainly to rapid economic growth in the past two
decades. China alone accounts for almost two thirds
of the total reduction in the number of undernourished
people in the developing regions since 1990. Northern
Africa is close to eradicating severe food insecurity,
having attained an overall level below 5 per cent.
In contrast, the pace of reduction in the Caribbean,
Oceania, Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa has
been too slow to achieve the target. Southern Asia faces
the greatest hunger burden, with about 281 million
undernourished people. Progress in Oceania has been
slow because of heavy dependence on food imports
by the small islands that constitute the majority of
countries in that region. Food security in this region is
also hampered by natural and human-caused disasters,
which often result in volatile prices and sudden and
unpredictable changes in the availability of important
staple foods.
In sub-Saharan Africa, projections for the 2014–2016
period indicate a rate of undernourishment of almost 23
per cent. While the hunger rate has fallen, the number of
undernourished people has increased by 44 million since
1990, reflecting the region’s high population growth
rate. The situation varies widely across the subregions.
Northern, Southern and Western Africa have already
met or are close to meeting the target. But in Central
Africa progress has been hampered by rapid population
growth and environmental fragility as well as economic
and political upheaval. The number of undernourished
people in the subregion has doubled since 1990.
In Western Asia, a starkly different pattern emerges.
Despite a relatively low number of undernourished
people and fast progress in reducing food insecurity
in several countries, projections indicate that the
prevalence of undernourishment will rise by 32 per cent
between 1990–1992 and 2014–2016 due to war, civil
unrest and a rapidly growing number of refugees.
22  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
Prevalence of underweight children
continues to decline but not fast enough
for all regions to reach the target
Proportion of children under age five who are moderately
or severely underweight, 1990 and 2015 (percentage)
* 1990 baseline data for Caucasus and Central Asia refer to 1995 and 2015
target is half of the 1995 rate.
Note: The trend analysis was based on harmonized estimates on child
malnutrition from the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Health
Organization and the World Bank.
1990 2015 projection
2015 target 95 per cent confidence intervals
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Southern Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
Oceania
South-Eastern Asia
Western Asia
Caucasus and Central Asia*
Northern Africa
Latin America and Caribbean
World
Eastern Asia
50
28
29
20
18
19
31
16
14
4
9
4
10
4
15
2
7
2
25
14
The proportion of children under age five who are
underweight has been cut almost in half between 1990
and 2015, according to global projections, and it is
possible that the target has been achieved. Yet over 90
million children under age five—one in seven children
worldwide—remain underweight. Being underweight
puts children at greater risk of dying from common
infections, increases the frequency and severity of such
infections and contributes to delayed recovery. Poor
nutrition in the first 1,000 days of life is also associated
with impaired cognitive ability and reduced school and
work performance. Two regions account for nearly 90
per cent of all underweight children in 2015—half live in
Southern Asia and one third in sub-Saharan Africa.
Eastern Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean have
clearly met the target. Projections indicate that the
Caucasus and Central Asia, Northern Africa, SouthEastern
Asia and Western Asia likely have met the target
too. While Southern Asia has the highest underweight
prevalence, with approximately one in three children still
affected in 2015, the region has experienced the largest
absolute decrease since 1990, a 22 percentage-point
drop. In sub-Saharan Africa the underweight rate has
fallen by only one third since 1990. However, due to the
region’s growing population, the number of underweight
children has actually risen.
One in four children under five worldwide
have stunted growth, but stunting is
declining
Stunting—defined as inadequate height for age—is a
better measure than underweight of the cumulative
effects of undernutrition and infection during the
critical 1,000-day period from pregnancy to the child’s
second birthday. Stunting is also more common than
underweight, affecting approximately one in four
children under five, or 161 million children worldwide
in 2013. This chronic form of undernutrition puts these
children at risk of diminished cognitive and physical
development. The number of stunted children has fallen
in all regions except sub-Saharan Africa, where the
numbers increased by about one third between 1990
and 2013. Children from the poorest 20 per cent of the
population are more than twice as likely to be stunted as
those from the wealthiest quintile.
Stunting and other forms of malnutrition can be
reduced through proven interventions. These include
improving maternal nutrition, especially before,
during and immediately after pregnancy; early and
exclusive breastfeeding; and timely introduction of safe,
appropriate and high-quality complementary food for
infants, accompanied by appropriate micronutrient
interventions.
Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger  | 23
Conflicts have forced almost 60 million
people from their homes
Number of forcibly displaced persons, 2000¬2014
(millions)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
20142012201020082006200420022000
Internally displaced persons
Total number of forcibly displaced persons
Refugees and asylum seekers
38
41 40 39
42
44
45
60
In 2014, the world witnessed conflicts, violence and
human rights violations that resulted in the massive
displacement of people, either within or outside their
home countries. During the year, an average of 42,000
people each day were forced to abandon their homes and
seek protection due to conflicts, such as those in Iraq,
Nigeria, Pakistan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic
of the Congo, the Syrian Arab Republic and Ukraine. This
is almost four times the figure of 11,000 people only four
years earlier.
By the end of 2014, almost 60 million people had been
forcibly displaced worldwide, the highest level recorded
since the Second World War. If these people were a
nation, they would make up the twenty-fourth largest
country in the world. Roughly one third of them were
refugees or asylum seekers, including 14.4 million
individuals under the responsibility of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
and 5.1 million Palestinian refugees registered with
the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees in the Near East. In addition, close
to 1.8 million individuals were waiting for a decision
on asylum applications by the end of 2014. The global
figure of displaced people also includes more than 38
million people displaced within the borders of their own
countries.
Nine out of ten refugees under the UNHCR mandate
are located in the developing regions. This compares
to seven out of ten a decade ago. The top three source
countries of refugees at the end of 2014 were the Syrian
Arab Republic (3.9 million), Afghanistan (2.6 million)
and Somalia (1.1 million). Together they accounted for
more than half of all refugees under the responsibility of
UNHCR.
Based on available evidence, children accounted for
half of the global refugee population under the UNHCR
mandate in 2014, the highest proportion in 10 years.
Over the past decade, the number of refugee children
has been growing intermittently, from a low of 41 per
cent in 2009. This increase is principally driven by the
growing number of Afghan, Somali and Syrian refugee
children.
Eradicating poverty and hunger is central
to the post-2015 development agenda
Although the MDG targets of halving the proportion of
people living in extreme poverty and hunger have been
met or almost met, the world is still far from reaching the
MDG goal of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger.
In 2015, an estimated 825 million people still live in
extreme poverty and 800 million still suffer from hunger.
Eradicating poverty and hunger remains at the core of
the post-2015 development agenda.
Eliminating the remaining extreme poverty and hunger
will be challenging. Many of the people suffering the
most live in fragile contexts and remote areas. Access
to good schools, health care, electricity, safe water and
other critical services remains elusive for many people,
and it is frequently determined by socioeconomic status,
gender, ethnicity or geography. For those who have been
able to climb out of poverty, progress is often fragile and
temporary; economic shocks, food insecurity and climate
change threaten to rob them of their hard-won gains.
The post-2015 development agenda will pick up where
the MDGs left off. The remaining gaps must be filled
in order to eradicate poverty and hunger and promote
sustained and inclusive economic growth, allowing
people everywhere to thrive.
24  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
Goal 2
Achieve
universal
primary
education
Target 2.A
Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and
girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of
primary schooling
Across the world, tremendous progress
has been made since 2000 in enrolling children
in primary school
Adjusted net enrolment rate* in primary education,
1990, 2000 and 2015 (percentage)
1990
0 20 40 80 100
2000 2015 projection
60
Latin America and the Caribbean
87
94
94
Sub-Saharan Africa
52
60
80
South-Eastern Asia
94
93
93
Caucasus and Central Asia
95
95
Southern Asia
95
75
80
Western Asia
95
84
86
Oceania
95
69
Eastern Asia
97
96
97
Northern Africa
99
90
80
Developed regions
96
97
96
Developing regions
80
83
91
* Adjusted net enrolment rate is defined as the number of pupils of the official age
for primary education enrolled either in primary or secondary school, expressed as
a percentage of the total population in that age group.
Note: 2000 figure for Oceania is not available.
1990 figure for Caucasus and Central Asia is not available.
XX The primary school net
enrolment rate in the developing
regions has reached an estimated
91 per cent in 2015, up from 83
per cent in 2000.
XX The number of out-of-school
children of primary school age
worldwide has fallen by almost
half, to an estimated 57 million in
2015, from 100 million in 2000.
XX Between 1990 and 2012, the
number of children enrolled in
primary school in sub-Saharan
Africa more than doubled, from
62 to 149 million.
XX In the developing regions,
children in the poorest
households are four times as
likely to be out of school as those
in the richest households.
XX The literacy rate among youth
aged 15 to 24 has increased
globally from 83 per cent to 91
per cent between 1990 and 2015.
Key facts
Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education  | 25
Considerable progress has been made in expanding
primary education enrolment since 1990, particularly
since the adoption of the MDGs in 2000. Yet in some
developing countries many children of primary education
age do not attend school, and many children who begin
primary school do not complete it.
Progress has been erratic since 1990. Between 1990
and 2000, the enrolment rate in the developing regions
increased from 80 per cent to just 83 per cent. After
2000, improvement accelerated, and the adjusted net
enrolment rate in primary education reached 90 per cent
in 2007. After 2007, progress stalled. The enrolment
rate has not increased significantly, and projections
based on the extrapolation of trends between 2007 and
2012 indicate that nearly one in ten primary-school-age
children remain out of school in 2015.
A threshold of at least 97 per cent is frequently used
to determine whether universal enrolment has been
attained. Based on this threshold, enrolment in primary
education is now universal or nearly universal in Eastern
Asia and Northern Africa. The target is close to being
reached in all regions except sub-Saharan Africa.
Sub-Saharan Africa faces daunting challenges. These
include rapid growth of the primary-school-age
population (which has increased 86 per cent between
1990 and 2015), high levels of poverty, armed conflicts
and other emergencies. However, sub-Saharan Africa
has made the greatest progress in primary school
enrolment among all developing regions. Its enrolment
rate grew from 52 per cent in 1990 to 78 per cent in
2012. In absolute numbers the region’s enrolment more
than doubled over this period, from 62 million children to
149 million.
The number of out-of-school children has
been cut almost in half since 2000
Number of out-of-school children of primary school age,
selected regions, 1990¬2015 (millions)
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
1990 1995 2000 2015
(Projection)
2005 2010
103.9
100.6
41.3
38.2
99.8
97.5
43.7
33.8
57.8
55.2
32.7
9.8
56.7
53.6
32.8
9.1
World Developing regions
Sub-Saharan Africa Southern Asia
The global number of out-of-school children has
fallen considerably since 1990, although the pace of
improvement has been insufficient to achieve universal
primary enrolment by 2015. Currently, 57 million children
of primary school age are estimated to be out of school,
down from 100 million in 2000. Of these, 33 million are
in sub-Saharan Africa, and more than half (55 per cent)
are girls.
According to 2012 estimates, 43 per cent of out-ofschool
children globally will never go to school. However,
regional disparities are large. In Southern Asia, an
estimated 57 per cent of out-of-school children will
never go to school, while in sub-Saharan Africa the
proportion is 50 per cent. Gender is also an important
factor. Almost half of out-of-school girls (48 per cent)
are unlikely to ever go to school, compared to 37 per cent
of boys. On the other hand, boys are more likely to leave
school early.
In countries affected by conflict, the proportion of outof-school
children increased from 30 per cent in 1999 to
36 per cent in 2012. This worrying trend is particularly
strong in Northern Africa (where the share increased
from 28 per cent to 49 per cent) and Southern Asia
(from 21 per cent to 42 per cent). In many cases, these
estimates do not capture relatively recent outbreaks
26  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
of conflict. For example, in Western Asia the ongoing
conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic has had a devastating
impact on children’s education. Data from the Syrian
Ministry of Education indicate that enrolment rates fell
by 34 percentage points for grades 1 to 12 in the school
year ending in 2013. Among Syrian refugee children of
primary and lower secondary school age (6 to 14 years)
in Lebanon, the enrolment rate is estimated to be around
12 per cent.
Large disparities remain in primary school
enrolment, and the poorest and most
disadvantaged children bear the heaviest
burden
Household wealth remains an important determinant
of a child’s likelihood of attending school. For instance,
2008–2012 survey data from 63 developing countries
show that children in the poorest households were four
times as likely to be out of school as children in the
richest households. More specifically, 21.9 per cent of
primary-school-age children in the poorest quintile were
out of school, compared to 5.5 per cent in the richest
quintile.
The 2008–2012 survey data also show that disparities
between urban and rural locations persist across
countries. The average out-of-school rate in rural areas
was twice as high (16 per cent) as the rate in urban
areas (8 per cent). However, some countries have made
significant progress in enrolling the most marginalized
children. Recent studies indicate, for example, that
only four in ten girls from poor, rural households in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo were in school in
2001, but by 2013 nearly seven in ten were enrolled.
Disability is another major impediment to accessing
education. In India, for instance, more than one third
of children and adolescents aged 6 to 13 who live with
disabilities are out of school. Yet the country has made
remarkable efforts to make education more inclusive,
such as through the Right to Education Act and allocation
of funding for school infrastructure and teacher training.
More children are completing primary
school in lower-income countries
Completion rate in primary education, low- and
middle-income countries, 1992¬2015 (percentage)
Low income
Lower middle income
Upper middle income
Low and middle income
0
20
30
40
80
90
100
1992 1999 2015
(Projection)
2008
70
60
50
10
89
70
65
43
95
77
73
47
96
82
81
57
96
85
84
64
Note: The age group for which the completion rate is reported differs by
country according to the official age of entry into the last grade of primary
school, but it corresponds roughly to ages 14 to 16 (three to five years
above the official primary-school-leaving age). The analysis is based on
72 countries representing 86 per cent of the population of low- and
middle-income countries.
In low- and middle-income countries, survey data show
that the proportion of adolescents aged about 14 to 16
years who had finished primary school increased from
70 per cent in the early 1990s to 81 per cent in 2008,
and is projected to reach 84 per cent in 2015. However,
this means that in 2015 one in every six adolescents in
those countries—almost 100 million adolescents—are
still not completing primary school.
Equally worrisome are wide disparities between poor and
rich children in completing primary education. According
to 2007–2013 survey data from 73 developing countries,
adolescents from the poorest households were more
than five times as likely not to complete primary school
as children in the richest households. More specifically,
34.4 per cent of adolescents in the poorest quintile did
not complete primary school, compared to 6.5 per cent
in the richest quintile.
Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education  | 27
The gender gap in youth literacy has fallen
since 1990, and a greater proportion of all
youth can read and write
Literacy rate among youth aged 15 to 24 by sex and region,
1990, 2000 and 2015 (percentage)
40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Sub-Saharan Africa
Oceania
Southern Asia
Northern Africa
Western Asia
South-Eastern Asia
Latin America and the Caribbean
Eastern Asia
Caucasus and Central Asia
Female Male
1990 2000 2015 Projection
Since the 1990s, global progress in youth and adult
literacy has been slow but steady, and the gap between
women and men has narrowed. The literacy rate among
youth aged 15 to 24 increased globally from 83 per cent
in 1990 to 89 per cent in 2010. This improvement was
largely a result of increasing attendance in primary and
secondary school among younger generations.
According to projections based on historical trends,
91 per cent of youth are expected to be able to read
and write by the end of 2015. Youth literacy rates
are estimated to be 93 per cent for young men and
90 per cent for young women. This still leaves an
estimated 103 million illiterate youth in 2015, which is
22 million fewer than in 2010.
Northern Africa and Southern Asia have shown the
greatest improvement in youth literacy, especially
among young women. Over the past two decades,
sub-Saharan Africa has also achieved a large increase in
youth literacy. However, a smaller proportion of its young
women and men are able to read and write than in any
other region.
The unfinished work on education must rank high on the post-2015 development agenda
Despite enormous progress during the past 15 years,
achieving universal primary education will require
renewed attention in the post-2015 era, just as the
global community seeks to extend the scope to universal
secondary education. Drawing on lessons learned from
the MDGs, interventions will have to be tailored to
the needs of specific groups of children—particularly
girls, children belonging to minorities and nomadic
communities, children engaged in child labour and
children living with disabilities, in conflict situations or
in urban slums. Investing in the quality of education
and ensuring a sustainable source of funding are also
essential.
Stagnation in education progress has profound
consequences for the children and adolescents who
cannot go to school. As the world looks beyond 2015,
it is crucial to reflect on and address the root causes of
limited progress in youth literacy in some parts of the
world. It is also necessary to explore new approaches to
directly assess whether children have mastered the skills
they are taught and whether they are being taught the
skills they need in the twenty-first century.
28  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
Goal 3
Promote
gender
equality and
empower
women
Target 3.A
Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary
education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of
education no later than 2015
A majority of regions have reached gender parity
in primary education, but disparities persist at
higher levels
0.4 0.6 0.8 1.2 1.41.0
Gender parity index* for gross enrolment ratios in primary,
secondary and tertiary education in developing regions,
1990, 2000 and 2015
2015
2000
1990
Developing regions
2015
2000
1990
Southern Asia
2015
2000
1990
South-Eastern Asia
2015
2000
1990
Eastern Asia
2015
2000
1990
Caucasus and Central Asia
2015
2000
1990
Latin America and the Caribbean
2015
2000
1990
Northern Africa
2015
2000
1990
Western Asia
2015
2000
1990
Sub-Saharan Africa
2015
2000
1990
Oceania
SecondaryPrimary Tertiary
2015 Target = Gender parity index between 0.97 and 1.03
* The gender parity index is defined as the ratio of the female gross enrolment ratio to
the male gross enrolment ratio for each level of education.
Notes: Data for 2015 are projections. Data for 1990 for the Caucasus and Central Asia
refer to 1993. Projections for 2015 for primary and tertiary education in Oceania are
not available. For primary education, 2012 data are used.
XX About two thirds of countries
in the developing regions have
achieved gender parity in primary
education.
XX Globally, about three quarters
of working-age men participate
in the labour force, compared to
half of working-age women.
XX Today, women make up 41 per
cent of paid workers outside of
agriculture, an increase from 35
per cent in 1990.
XX The average proportion of
women in parliament has nearly
doubled over the past 20 years,
but still only one in five members
are women.
Key facts
Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women  | 29
The education of women and girls has a positive
multiplier effect on progress across all development
areas. Driven by national and international efforts and
the MDG campaign, many more girls are now in school
compared with 15 years ago. Gender disparity has
narrowed substantially at all levels of education since
2000. The developing regions as a whole have achieved
the target to eliminate gender disparity at all levels of
education, with a gender parity index of 0.98 in primary
and secondary education and 1.01 in tertiary education in
2015 (the accepted measure of gender parity is between
0.97 and 1.03). However, significant differences remain
across regions and countries, as disparities favouring
either sex can cancel each other out when aggregated.
The greatest improvements have been made in primary
education. Today, five of the nine developing regions have
achieved parity: the Caucasus and Central Asia, Eastern
Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, South-Eastern
Asia and Southern Asia. The most substantial progress
has been made in Southern Asia, where the gender parity
index has increased from 0.74—the lowest starting point
of all regions in 1990—to 1.03 in 2015. The gap between
girls and boys has also narrowed considerably in North
Africa, sub-Saharan Africa and Western Asia. Overall, 64
per cent of countries in the developing regions reporting
data by sex had achieved gender parity in primary
education in 2012. More than half of the countries with
gender disparity in primary education in 2012 (56 per
cent) were in sub-Saharan Africa.
In secondary education, gender parity has been achieved
in 2015 in the Caucasus and Central Asia, Eastern Asia,
Northern Africa, South-Eastern Asia and Southern Asia.
In Oceania, sub-Saharan Africa and Western Asia, girls
remain at a disadvantage, while in Latin America and the
Caribbean, boys are at a disadvantage. Gender parity in
secondary education had been achieved in 36 per cent
of countries with available data in the developing regions
in 2012.
The largest gender disparities in enrolment ratios are
found in tertiary education, with only one developing
region, Western Asia, achieving the target. The most
extreme disparities are those at the expense of women
in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia and at the
expense of men in Eastern Asia, Northern Africa and
Latin America and the Caribbean. Only 4 per cent of
countries with available data in the developing regions
had achieved the target for tertiary education in 2012.
Distribution of countries* in the developing regions
by status of gender parity target achievement in primary,
secondary and tertiary education, 2000 and 2012
(percentage)
0 20 40 60 80 100
Target reached
Target not reached (disparities against females)
Target not reached (disparities against males)
* Based on available data for 164 countries or territories for primary
education, 148 countries or territories for secondary education,
and 122 countries or territories for tertiary education.
2000 45 52 4
2012 29 64 7
Primary education
2000 35 3926
2012 30 3436
Secondary education
2000 40 573
2012 31 654
Tertiary education
30  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
Women’s access to paid employment
continues to expand, but remains low
in some regions
Share of women  in wage employment in the non-agricultural
sector, 1990, 2000 and 2015 (percentage)
Southern Asia
17
14
21
Northern Africa
19
19
19
Western Asia
17
21
15
Sub-Saharan Africa
24
28
34
Oceania
39
33
36
South-Eastern Asia
39
35
37
Eastern Asia
38
40
43
Caucasus and Central Asia
4343
43
44
Latin America and the Caribbean
38
42
45
Developed regions
45
46
48
World
35
38
41
0 10 20 30 40 50
1990 2000 2015 projection
Over the last 25 years, women’s share of wage
employment has continued to grow, though at a slow
pace. The proportion of women in paid employment
outside the agriculture sector has increased from
35 per cent in 1990 to 41 per cent in 2015. Over the
period 1991–2015, the proportion of women in vulnerable
employment (being a contributing family worker or
an own-account worker) as a share of total female
employment has declined 13 percentage points, from
59 per cent to 46 per cent. In contrast, vulnerable
employment among men has fallen by 9 percentage
points, from 53 per cent to 44 per cent.
Women remain at a disadvantage in
the labour market
MenWomen
Distribution of working-age women and men (aged 15
and above) by labour force participation and employed
women and men by status in employment, 2015
(percentage)
Working-age women and men Employed women and men
0
20
40
60
80
100
MenWomen
0
20
40
60
80
100
50
23
4
3
47
72
18
7
29
37
2 4
5252
Unemployed
Employed
Economically inactive
Own-account workers
Contributing family workers
Employers
Wage and salaried workers
Note: Data for 2015 are projections.
Percentages in charts may not always add to 100 because of rounding.
Despite notable gains by women, significant gaps remain
between women and men in the labour market. Women
are still less likely to participate in the labour force than
men. As of 2015, about 50 per cent of all working-age
women (aged 15 and above) are in the labour force,
compared to 77 per cent of men.
Despite their progress in education, women face a
more difficult transition to paid work and receive lower
earnings than men. Globally women earn 24 per cent
less than men, with the largest disparities found in
Southern Asia (33 per cent) and sub-Saharan Africa (30
per cent). Of 92 countries with data on unemployment
rates by level of education for 2012–2013, in 78 countries
women with advanced education have higher rates of
unemployment than men with similar levels of education.
Female participation in the labour force remains especially
low in Northern Africa, Southern Asia and Western Asia,
where women’s participation rate is one quarter to one
third of men’s rate. Barriers to women’s employment
include household responsibilities and cultural constraints.
These factors contribute to limiting women’s earnings.
Women are more likely than men to work as contributing
family workers, who have little or no financial security
or social benefits. In 2015, the proportion of employed
women working as contributing family workers is 18 per
cent, compared to 7 per cent of employed men. Women
are less likely to work as own-account workers.
Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women  | 31
Women’s political representation
has increased, but parity remains
a distant goal
Proportion of seats held by women in single or lower
houses of national parliament, 2000 and 2015
(percentage)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
World
Developing regions
Developed regions
Latin America and the Caribbean
Sub-Saharan Africa
Eastern Asia
Southern Asia
South-Eastern Asia
Caucasus and Central Asia
Western Asia
Northern Africa
Oceania
2000 2015 projection
3.6
4
7
4
7
12
12
20
13
15
16
14
4.4
12
18
18
18
22
22
23
25
27
26
21
Since 1995, when the Beijing Platform for Action on
women’s empowerment was adopted, the global average
proportion of women in parliament has nearly doubled,
growing from 11 per cent in 1995 to 22 per cent in
January 2015. Women in parliament have gained ground
in nearly 90 per cent of the 174 countries for which data
are available for 1995–2015. The number of single or
lower houses of parliament where women occupy more
than 30 per cent of the seats has increased from 5 to 42,
while those with more than 40 per cent have jumped
from 1 to 13. In January 2015, there were four countries
with more than 50 per cent of parliamentary seats held
by women, and in Rwanda, women hold more than 60
per cent of such posts.
These successes are also now shared more evenly across
regions. In 1995, Europe dominated the top 10 spots in
world rankings of women in parliament. As of January
2015, 4 of the top 10 countries are in sub-Saharan Africa,
while the Americas and Europe each have 3 countries in
the top 10. The biggest gains in women’s representation
during the last 20 years have been made in Rwanda,
with an increase of 60 percentage points; Andorra, 46
percentage points; and Bolivia, 42 percentage points.
The number of male-only parliaments has also dropped,
from 10 to 5.
Electoral quotas in more than 120 countries have
underpinned this success. However, a significant
slowdown in progress since 2014 could be an indicator
that the ‘fast-track’ impact of gender quotas has reached
its peak. This calls for additional measures to advance
women’s political empowerment.
Progress in leadership positions has been slow. Just
16 per cent of parliamentary leaders (speakers of
parliament) are women, while women represent
18 per cent of all government ministers in the world, an
increase of only 4 percentage points since 2005.
The fundamental causes of inequality
between women and men must be
rectified
While much progress has been made towards women’s
and girls’ equality in education, employment and political
representation over the last two decades, many gaps
remain, particularly in areas that were not addressed in
the MDGs. To achieve universal realization of gender
equality and empowerment of women, it is critical to
address the key areas of gender inequality, including
gender-based discrimination in law and in practice;
violence against women and girls; women’s and men’s
unequal opportunities in the labour market; the unequal
division of unpaid care and domestic work; women’s
limited control over assets and property; and women’s
unequal participation in private and public decisionmaking.
Gender perspectives should be integrated fully
into all goals of the post-2015 development agenda.
32  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
Goal 4
Reduce child
mortality
Target 4.A
Reduce by two thirds, between 1990 and 2015,
the under-five mortality rate
Substantial progress in reducing child mortality
has been made, but more children can be saved
from death due to preventable causes
XX The global under-five mortality
rate has declined by more than
half, dropping from 90 to 43
deaths per 1,000 live births
between 1990 and 2015.
XX The rate of reduction in underfive
mortality has more than
tripled globally since the early
1990s.
XX Measles vaccination helped
prevent nearly 15.6 million deaths
between 2000 and 2013.
XX About 84 per cent of children
worldwide received at least one
dose of measles-containing
vaccine in 2013.
XX Every day in 2015, 16,000
children under five continue to
die, mostly from preventable
causes. Child survival must
remain the focus of the post-2015
development agenda.
Key facts
Under-five mortality rate, 1990 and 2015
(deaths per 1,000 live births)
1990 2015 projection 2015 target
0 50 100 150 200
World
Developing regions
Developed regions
Eastern Asia
Latin America and the Caribbean
Western Asia
Northern Africa
South-Eastern Asia
Caucasus and Central Asia
Southern Asia
Oceania
Sub-Saharan Africa
179
86
74
126
73
73
71
65
54
53
15
100
90
51
50
33
27
24
23
17
11
47
43
6
Percentage change between 1990 and 2015
52%
31%
60%
55%
67%
65%
62%
69%
78%
61%
53%
53%
Note: Percentage change calculations are based on unrounded numbers.
Goal 4: Reduce child mortality  | 33
The dramatic decline in preventable child deaths over the
past quarter of a century is one of the most significant
achievements in human history. According to preliminary
estimates, the global under-five mortality rate has
declined by more than half, dropping from 90 to 43
deaths per 1,000 live births between 1990 and 2015.
This translates into almost 6 million deaths of children
under five in 2015, a decline from 12.7 million in 1990.
The under-five mortality rate has fallen by 50 per cent or
more in every region except Oceania.
Despite the impressive improvements in most regions,
current trends are not sufficient to meet the MDG target.
At today’s rate of progress, it will take about 10 more
years to reach the global target. The global advance in
child survival continues to elude many of the world’s
youngest children and children in the most vulnerable
situations. About 16,000 children under five continue
to die every day in 2015. Most of them will perish from
preventable causes, such as pneumonia, diarrhoea and
malaria.
Though sub-Saharan Africa has the world’s highest child
mortality rate, the absolute decline in child mortality
has been the largest over the past two decades. The
under-five mortality rate has fallen from 179 deaths per
1,000 live births in 1990 to 86 in 2015. Yet the region still
faces an urgent need to accelerate progress. Not only
does sub-Saharan Africa carry about half of the burden
of the world’s under-five deaths—3 million in 2015—but
it is also the only region where both the number of live
births and the under-five population are expected to rise
substantially over the next decades. This means that the
number of under-five deaths will increase unless progress
in reducing the under-five mortality rate is enough to
outpace population growth.
Southern Asia also continues to have both a high rate of
under-five mortality, at 50 deaths per 1,000 live births in
2015, and a large number of total deaths, at 1.8 million.
Focusing on newborns is critical to further
accelerating progress in child survival
Dayofbirth
Number of deaths by day in the first 28 days of life,
2013 (thousands)
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
Day27
Day24
Day22
Day20
Day18
Day16
Day14
Day12
Day10
Day8
Day6
Day4
Day2
1 million deaths on the first day of life = 36% of neonatal deaths
2 million deaths in the first week = 73% of neonatal deaths
The first day, week and month of life are the most critical
for the survival of children. Of the almost 6 million
children who die before their fifth birthday in 2015, about
1 million will take their first and final breath on the day
they are born. An additional 1 million will die in the first
week, and around 2.8 million will die during their first
28 days of life (the neonatal period).
Between 1990 and 2015, the worldwide neonatal
mortality rate has fallen from 33 deaths to 19 deaths per
1,000 live births. As the decline in neonatal mortality
has been slower than the decline in mortality for children
aged 1–59 months, neonatal deaths now represent a
larger share of total under-five deaths. Every region of
the world is experiencing an increase in the proportion of
under-five deaths that occur in the neonatal period.
The majority of neonatal deaths worldwide are caused by
preterm birth complications (35 per cent), complications
during labour and delivery (24 per cent) and sepsis (15
per cent). In sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia
many deaths are also due to preventable infectious
diseases. Many neonatal deaths could be avoided with
simple, cost-effective and high-impact interventions
that address the needs of women and newborns across
the continuum of care, with an emphasis on care around
the time of birth. However, analysis shows that too
many newborns and mothers miss out on these key
interventions.
34  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
Further improvements in child survival
require concerted efforts to reduce
socioeconomic disparities
Ratio of under-five mortality rate for children by residence,
wealth quintile and mother’s education, 2005¬2013
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0
Rural to urban
1.7
Poorest to richest households
1.9
Children born to mothers with no education
to children born to mothers with primary education
1.5
Children born to mothers with no education
to children born to mothers with secondary or higher education
2.8
Note: Data are based on the MICS and DHS survey that took place
between 2005 and July 2013. Data from most recent survey in that period
are used for countries with multiple surveys. Data by wealth quintile are
based on 55 surveys, data on education are based on 59 surveys, data on
residence are based on 60 surveys.
The dramatic improvement in child survival is welcome
news, but not every family is sharing equally in this
success. Household survey data suggest that children
from poorer households remain disproportionately
vulnerable compared with the wealthiest households.
On average, under-five mortality rates are almost twice
as high for children in the poorest households as for
children in the richest.
Mortality is also more likely to strike children in rural
areas. These children are about 1.7 times more likely
to die before their fifth birthday as those in urban
areas. Mother’s education remains the most powerful
determinant of inequality in survival. Children of mothers
with secondary or higher education are almost three
times as likely to survive as children of mothers with no
education.
Under-five mortality has been declining faster among the
poorest households in the most recent decade, a sign of
improving equity. As the pace of progress accelerates
among these households, the gap between the richest
and poorest households is narrowing in most regions.
The disparities in under-five mortality by mother’s
education and residence are also narrowing in some
countries. Sustaining this progress calls for strategies
that target the most vulnerable children from the poorest
households and from rural areas, and that support
women’s education and empowerment. Also needed are
continued efforts to monitor and report the inequities
that are often concealed by global or national averages.
Goal 4: Reduce child mortality  | 35
Child mortality rates are falling
faster than ever
Annual rate of reduction in the under-five mortality rate
in developing regions, 1990¬2013 (percentage)
-1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1990¬1995 1995¬2000 2000¬2005 2005¬2013
Eastern Asia
4.7
2.7
8.7
7.7
Western Asia
4.0
4.5
4.4
4.1
Caucasus and Central Asia
-0.4
3.0
5.0
4.3
Sub-Saharan Africa
0.8
1.9
3.8
4.2
Northern Africa
4.8
5.0
4.9
4.1
Southern Asia
2.9
3.4
3.9
4.1
South-Eastern Asia
4.0
3.8
4.3
3.7
Oceania
1.4
0.7
1.0
2.1
Latin America and the Caribbean
4.7
5.6
5.1
4.1
Under-five mortality is declining faster than at any other
time during the past two decades. The global annual
rate of reduction has more than tripled since the early
1990s. In sub-Saharan Africa, despite the relatively high
rate of under-five mortality, the rate of decline was over
five times faster during 2005–2013 than it was during
1990–1995, accelerating from 0.8 per cent per year to
4.2 per cent per year.
The annual rate of reduction in under-five mortality has
accelerated since 1995 in countries of all income levels
except in high-income countries. Although there is a
link between a country’s level of income and its child
mortality, the strong reductions in under-five mortality
rates in a number of low-income countries—notably,
Bangladesh, Cambodia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Liberia,
Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger,
Rwanda, Uganda and United Republic of Tanzania—
prove that low income need not be an impediment to
saving children’s lives.
36  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
Measles immunization has saved millions
of children’s lives, but progress towards
eliminating measles has stalled
Estimated child deaths due to measles (thousands) and
proportion of children in the appropriate age group who
received at least one dose of measles-containing vaccine
(percentage), 1990¬2013
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
201320102005200019951990
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
Child deaths in sub-Saharan Africa
Child deaths in Southern Asia
Child deaths in other regions
Global proportion of children who received vaccine
Thousands Percentage
Left axis:
Right axis:
Measles deaths have declined rapidly since 2000, from
544,200 deaths to 145,700 deaths in 2013, mostly
among children under five years of age. Compared
with estimated mortality in the absence of a measles
vaccination programme, nearly 15.6 million deaths were
averted by measles vaccination between 2000 and 2013.
Measles deaths in sub-Saharan Africa (96,000) and
Southern Asia (39,800) accounted for 93 per cent of the
estimated measles deaths worldwide during 2013.
Also, between 2000 and 2013, the number of annual
reported measles cases globally declined by 67 per cent,
from more than 853,000 in 2000 to under 279,000 in
2013. However, the number of measles cases in 2013
increased from the 2012 level of 227,700. Unfortunately,
continued outbreaks—due to weak routine immunization
systems and delayed implementation of accelerated
disease control—have stalled momentum towards
achievement of regional and global targets for measles
control and elimination.
Measles can be prevented with two doses of a safe,
effective and inexpensive vaccine. Between 2000 and
2009, global coverage with the first dose of measlescontaining
vaccine (MCV1) increased from 73 per cent
to 83 per cent, but it stagnated at 83–84 per cent from
2010 to 2013. The most impressive progress was made
in sub-Saharan Africa, where coverage increased from
53 per cent in 2000 to 74 per cent in 2013. Between
2000 and 2013, the number of countries providing a
second dose of the vaccine (MCV2) increased from
96 to 148, and global coverage of MCV2 increased from
15 to 53 per cent.
Impressive as these gains are, progress has stalled
since 2010 and remains fragile. An estimated 21.6
million infants did not receive MCV1 in 2013. Many
of them are from the poorest and most marginalized
communities, residing in especially hard-to-reach areas.
Ramping up progress will require countries and the
international community to continue to campaign for
measles elimination. Achieving equitable increases in
immunization coverage will also require substantial and
sustained investments in strengthening health systems.
Goal 4: Reduce child mortality  | 37
Child survival must remain at the heart of the post-2015 global development agenda
Reducing under-five mortality requires political will,
sound strategies and adequate resources. The MDGs
have led to dramatic and unprecedented progress
in reducing child deaths. Effective and affordable
treatments, improved service delivery and political
commitment have all contributed. Yet every minute
around the world, 11 children die before celebrating their
fifth birthday, mostly from preventable causes. More
work is needed to improve child survival rates.
Achievement of Goal 4 by a significant number of
countries, even very poor countries, shows that it can be
done. With millions of women and children still at risk
of dying of preventable causes, maternal, newborn and
child survival must remain at the heart of the post-2015
global development agenda.
38  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
Goal 5
Improve
maternal
health
Target 5.A
Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the
maternal mortality ratio
Southern Asia and Eastern Asia have made the
greatest progress in reducing maternal mortality
Maternal mortality ratio, 1990, 2000 and 2013
(maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, women aged 15¬49)
0 200 400 600 800 1000
1990 2000 2013
Percentage change between 1990 and 2013 (based on unrounded numbers)
2015 target
Sub-Saharan Africa
49%
990
830
510
Southern Asia
64%
190
360
530
Oceania
51%
190
290
390
Caribbean
36%
190
230
300
South-Eastern Asia
57%
140
220
320
Latin America
40%
77
98
130
Western Asia
43%
74
97
130
Northern Africa
57%
69
110
160
Caucasus and Central Asia
44%
39
65
70
Eastern Asia
65%
33
63
95
Developed regions
37%
16
17
26
Developing regions
46%
230
370
430
World
45%
210
330
380
XX Since 1990, the maternal
mortality ratio has been cut
nearly in half, and most of the
reduction has occurred since
2000.
XX More than 71 per cent of births
were assisted by skilled health
personnel globally in 2014, an
increase from 59 per cent in
1990.
XX In the developing regions, only
56 per cent of births in rural
areas are attended by skilled
health personnel, compared with
87 per cent in urban areas.
XX Only half of pregnant women in
the developing regions receive
the recommended minimum of
four antenatal care visits.
XX Just 51 per cent of countries have
data on maternal cause of death.
Key facts
Goal 5: Improve maternal health  | 39
Maternal survival has significantly improved since the
adoption of the MDGs. The maternal mortality ratio
dropped by 45 per cent worldwide between 1990 and
2013, from 380 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births
to 210. Many developing regions have made steady
progress in improving maternal health, including the
regions with the highest maternal mortality ratios.
For example, in Southern Asia the maternal mortality
ratio declined by 64 per cent between 1990 and 2013,
and in sub-Saharan Africa it fell by 49 per cent.
Despite this progress, every day hundreds of women
die during pregnancy or from childbirth-related
complications. In 2013, most of these deaths were in
the developing regions, where the maternal mortality
ratio is about 14 times higher than in the developed
regions. Globally, there were an estimated 289,000
maternal deaths in 2013, equivalent to about 800 women
dying each day. Maternal deaths are concentrated in
sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, which together
accounted for 86 per cent of such deaths globally in 2013.
Most of these deaths are preventable. Based on data from
2003–2009, haemorrhage was the cause of the greatest
number of maternal deaths. It accounted for more than
27 per cent of maternal deaths in the developing regions
and approximately 16 per cent in the developed regions.
Other major complications include infections, high blood
pressure during pregnancy, complications from delivery
and unsafe abortion. Proven health-care interventions
can prevent or manage these complications, including
antenatal care in pregnancy, skilled care during childbirth
and care and support in the weeks after childbirth.
One in four babies worldwide are
delivered without skilled care
A key strategy for reducing maternal morbidity and
mortality is ensuring that every birth occurs with the
assistance of skilled health personnel, meaning a
medical doctor, nurse or midwife. Progress in raising the
proportion of births delivered with skilled attendance has
been modest over the course of the MDG time frame,
reflecting lack of universal access to care.
Globally, the proportion of deliveries attended by skilled
health personnel increased from 59 per cent around
1990 to 71 per cent around 2014. Yet this leaves more
than one in four babies and their mothers without access
to crucial medical care during childbirth. Wide disparities
are found among regions in the coverage of skilled
attendance at birth. Coverage ranges from universal in
Eastern Asia and nearly universal (96 per cent) in the
Caucasus and Central Asia to a low of about 52 per cent
in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia. These two
regions have the highest rates of maternal and newborn
mortality in the world.
Proportion of deliveries attended by skilled health
personnel, 1990, 2000 and 2014 (percentage)
0 20 40 60 80 100
World
59
61
71
Developing regions
57
60
70
Eastern Asia
94
97
100
Caucasus and Central Asia
97
89
96
Latin America and the Caribbean
81
88
92
Northern Africa
47
69
90
Western Asia
62
72
86
South-Eastern Asia
49
66
82
Sub-Saharan Africa
43
45
52
Southern Asia
32
38
52
1990 2000 2014
40  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
Inequalities in access to maternal health care persist across most regions
Proportion of deliveries attended by skilled health personnel in rural and urban areas, 2010–2014 (percentage)
*The composition of the subregions of Africa is shown on page 71.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Eastern
Asia
100
Rural Urban
Central
Africa*
84
32
Eastern
Africa*
81
40
North
Africa*
87
62
Southern
Africa*
86
58
West
Africa*
75
33
Sub-Saharan
Africa
77
38
Southern
Asia
75
42
Western
Asia
94
67
Latin
America
and the
Caribbean
96
78
Developing
regions
87
56
South-
Eastern
Asia
91
74
Profound inequalities in access to and use of
reproductive health services persist within and
across regions. In the developing regions, there is a
31 percentage-point gap between urban and rural areas
in the coverage of births attended by skilled health
personnel, but even this large disparity masks the range
of inequalities among regions. The largest difference
between rural and urban coverage is found in Central
Africa, at 52 percentage points. In contrast, Eastern
Asia has no gap—100 per cent of births are attended by
skilled health personnel in both urban and rural settings.
Goal 5: Improve maternal health  | 41
Target 5.B
Achieve, by 2015, universal access to
reproductive health
After years of slow progress, only
half of pregnant women receive the
recommended amount of antenatal care
Proportion of women aged 15–49 attended four or more
times by any provider during pregnancy, 1990, 2000
and 2014 (percentage)
0 20 40 60 80 100
Developing regions
35
42
52
South-Eastern Asia
45
71
84
Latin America and the Carribean
75
92
97
Sub-Saharan Africa
47
47
49
Southern Asia
23
27
36
1990 2000 2014
Northern Africa
50
58
89
The World Health Organization recommends a minimum
of four antenatal care visits during pregnancy to ensure
the well-being of mothers and newborns. At these visits,
women should receive at least a basic care package,
including nutritional advice. They should also be alerted
to warning signs indicating possible problems during
their pregnancy and get support in planning a safe
delivery. As of 2014, on average only 52 per cent of
pregnant women in the developing regions received the
recommended number of antenatal care visits during
pregnancy.
Progress has been slow over the past 25 years, with an
average increase in coverage of just 17 percentage points
since around 1990. In Southern Asia, just 36 per cent of
pregnant women received four or more antenatal visits
around 2014. In sub-Saharan Africa, coverage levels
have stagnated over the past two decades, with a small
increase from 47 to 49 per cent of pregnant women
receiving the recommended care.
Contraceptive use has risen, but the
unmet need is still high in some regions
Proportion of women aged 15–49 worldwide, married or
in union, who have an unmet need for family planning or
who are using any method of contraception,
1990 and 2015 (percentage)
0 20 40 60 80 100
Contraceptive prevalence
Unmet need for family planning
Total demand for family planning = sum of
contraceptive prevalence and unmet need for family planning
Sub-Saharan Africa
1990
2015
13 28
28 24
Oceania
1990
2015
29 28
39 25
Southern Asia
1990
2015
39 21
59 14
Northern Africa
1990
2015
44 22
61 12
South-Eastern Asia
1990
2015 64 12
49 19
Western Asia
1990
2015
44 21
1458
Caucasus and Central Asia
1990
2015
49 18
57 14
Latin America and the Caribbean
1990
2015
61 17
73 11
Eastern Asia
1990
2015
78 6
83 4
World
1990
2015
55 15
64 12
Use of contraception contributes to reducing the number
of unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions and
maternal deaths. Worldwide the proportion of women
aged 15 to 49, married or in a union, who were using any
method of contraception has increased from 55 per cent
in 1990 to 64 per cent in 2015. In sub-Saharan Africa,
this proportion more than doubled between 1990 and
2015, from 13 per cent to 28 per cent. In Southern Asia,
the proportion increased from 39 per cent to 59 per cent
during the same period.
42  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
Nine in ten contraceptive users were using effective
methods, including female and male sterilization,
oral hormonal pills, intrauterine devices, condoms,
injectables or an implant. Yet even in 2015, 12 per cent
of married or in-union women of reproductive age
worldwide want to delay or avoid pregnancy but are
not using any method of contraception. Women who
are sexually active but not married or in a union are not
included in this indicator, but they also need access to
pregnancy prevention information and services.
Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and
the Caribbean have made slow progress in
reducing adolescent childbearing
Adolescent childbearing can have harmful consequences
for the health of both adolescent girls and the children
they bear. Early childbearing also reflects broader
forms of social and economic marginalization of
girls. Intensified efforts are urgently needed to delay
childbearing and prevent unintended pregnancies among
this vulnerable age group. One part of the solution
is increasing their opportunities to go to school and
eventually engage in paid employment. These efforts
will not only improve maternal and child health, but will
contribute to reduced poverty, greater gender equality
and the empowerment of women.
Worldwide, the birth rate among adolescent girls aged
15 to 19 has declined from 59 births per 1,000 girls in
1990 to 51 births in 2015. This global trend masks wide
variations among regions and countries in the level of
adolescent childbearing and the speed of its decline over
time. In all regions, the adolescent birth rate fell between
1990 and 2015, with the most dramatic progress in
Eastern Asia, Oceania and Southern Asia. Adolescent
childbearing remains high in sub-Saharan Africa, at
116 births per 1,000 adolescent girls in 2015. This region
has made the least progress since 1990, in both relative
terms and absolute numbers.
Number of births to women aged 15–19,
1990, 2000 and 2015 (per 1,000 women)
0 30 60 90 120 150
World
Developing regions
Developed regions
Eastern Asia
Northern Africa
Caucasus and Central Asia
1990 2000 2015 projection
Sub-Saharan Africa
123
121
116
Latin America and the Caribbean
86
86
73
Oceania
84
65
53
Southern Asia
88
61
47
Western Asia
63
51
45
South-Eastern Asia
54
43
44
45
29
32
42
32
38
15
6
6
64
56
56
59
52
51
34
26
17
Goal 5: Improve maternal health  | 43
Lack of basic data on births, deaths and health hampers effective policymaking
Proportion of countries with data on maternal cause of death, 2003–2009 (percentage)
0 20 40 60 80 100
World
Developing regions
Developed regions
Southern Asia
Latin America
Western Asia
South-Eastern Asia
Caucasus and Central Asia
Northern Africa
Caribbean
Eastern Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
Oceania
No data Other data sources Civil registration
The MDGs helped spur improvements in the availability
and accessibility of basic data on births, deaths, cause
of death and health service coverage. Yet inequalities in
data availability on maternal health hamper efforts to
guide establishment of priorities on national, regional
and global health. Globally, only 51 per cent of countries
have some data on maternal causes of death. In the
developed regions these data are primarily from civil
registration, while in the developing regions data
primarily come from other sources. The availability of
data varies widely by region. More than 90 per cent of
countries in Latin America have nationally representative
data on maternal cause of death compared to less than
20 per cent of sub-Saharan African countries.
The disparity among countries in the production of
maternal cause-of-death statistics extends to data
on all causes of death for all people. While highincome
countries have been routinely generating such
information for many years, the majority of low- and
middle-income countries continue to struggle to produce
high-quality statistics on cause of death.
Improving maternal health is part of the unfinished agenda for the post-2015 period
Goal 5 brought a concentrated focus on efforts to
reduce maternal deaths and ensure universal access to
reproductive health. Significant progress has been made,
but it fell far short of the global goal and targets. This
leaves an unfinished agenda to ensure that all people
receive comprehensive sexual and reproductive health
services. In-depth analyses reveal insufficient and greatly
uneven progress.
Averages at the global, regional and even country level
mask what can be profound health disparities among
subgroups that are vulnerable, because of their level of
education, place of residence, economic status or age.
Large inequities remain in maternal health, along with
gaps in access to and use of sexual and reproductive
health services that must be consistently addressed
and monitored. In addition, country capacity needs to
be strengthened to help reduce inequalities in both the
availability and the quality of health-related data, as well
as registration of births and deaths. This information
is crucial for establishing informed policy priorities,
targeting resources more efficiently and measuring
improvements in maternal health and universal access to
sexual and reproductive health care.
44  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
Goal 6
Combat
HIV/AIDS,
malaria and
other diseases
Target 6.A
Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of
HIV/AIDS
The number of people newly infected with HIV
continues to decline in many regions of the world
Estimated number of new HIV infections, 2000 and 2013
(thousands)
* The composition of the subregions of Africa is shown on page 71.
2000 2013
0 1000 2000 3000 4000
Developing regions
Developed regions
Western Asia
Caucasus and Central Asia
Caribbean
Eastern Asia
Latin America
South-Eastern Asia and Oceania
Southern Asia
North Africa*
Central Africa*
West Africa*
Eastern Africa*
Southern Africa*
1,370
700
650
400
550
290
140
74
8
13
310
160
120
120
96
94
63
70
27
12
10
8.3
0.9
1.9
170
190
3,340
1,940
XX New HIV infections fell by
approximately 40 per cent
between 2000 and 2013, from
an estimated 3.5 million cases to
2.1 million.
XX By June 2014, 13.6 million people
living with HIV were receiving
antiretroviral therapy globally, an
increase from just 800,000 in
2003.
XX In sub-Saharan Africa still less
than 40 per cent of youth aged 15
to 24 years had comprehensive
correct knowledge of HIV in 2014.
XX Thanks to the expansion of antimalaria
interventions, over 6.2
million malaria deaths have been
averted between 2000 and 2015,
primarily of children under five
years of age in sub-Saharan Africa.
XX Tuberculosis prevention, diagnosis
and treatment saved an estimated
37 million lives from 2000 to 2013.
Key facts
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases  | 45
Globally, new HIV (human immunodeficiency virus)
infections declined by about 40 per cent between 2000
and 2013, falling from an estimated 3.5 million new
infections to 2.1 million. Among countries with sufficient
data, 10 countries had a decline of more than 75 per cent
in new HIV infections between 2000 and 2013,
and another 27 countries had a decline of more than
50 per cent.
More than 75 per cent of the new infections in 2013
occurred in 15 countries. Sub-Saharan Africa remains
the region most severely affected by the HIV epidemic,
with 1.5 million new infections in 2013. Of these, almost
half occurred in only three countries: Nigeria, South
Africa and Uganda. However, it is encouraging that
South Africa, the country with the largest number of
people living with HIV, recorded the largest decline in the
absolute number of new infections, with 98,000 fewer
new infections in 2013 than in 2010. In addition, the
number of new infections among young people aged 15
to 24 in the region has declined by 45 per cent between
2000 and 2013.
New HIV infections fell most rapidly in the Caribbean—a
decline of 56 per cent—followed by Southern Asia and
Southern Africa, both with a decrease of 49 per cent. In
contrast, Latin America and South-Eastern Asia showed
either a slow decline or stagnation in the number of new
infections. In Eastern Asia, North Africa and Western
Asia estimates suggest an increase.
AIDS-related deaths also showed a downward trend in
2013, with an estimated 1.5 million people dying of AIDSrelated
illnesses. This represents a 35 per cent decline
since the peak of 2.4 million deaths, recorded in 2005. In
just three years, from 2010 to 2013, deaths from AIDSrelated
illnesses fell by 19 per cent. AIDS-related deaths,
however, have not decreased among adolescents aged 10
to 19. This could be due to lack of access to testing and
treatment for this age group. AIDS remains the number
one killer of adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa.
Globally, an estimated 35 million people were still living
with HIV in 2013. This number is rising as more people
live longer due to increased use of antiretroviral therapy
(ART) and as the number of new HIV infections remains
high. Worldwide, an estimated 0.8 per cent of adults
aged 15 to 49 were living with HIV in 2013, although the
burden of the epidemic continues to vary considerably
across regions and countries.
Knowledge of HIV and HIV prevention
remains low among young people
Proportion of women and men aged 15¬24 in sub-Saharan
Africa with comprehensive correct knowledge of HIV
transmission and reporting condom use at last higher-risk
sex,* around 2000 and 2014 (percentage)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Women Men MenWomen
Comprehensive correct knowledge of HIV Condom use
Around 2000 Around 2014
21
28
23
42
30
37
40
59
* Higher-risk sex refers to sex with a non-marital, non-cohabiting partner.
Note: The values in the chart represent the regional aggregate for those
sub-Saharan African countries that have survey data in both periods—
around 2000 and around 2014. ‘Around 2000’ data refer to a survey
conducted during 1996–2006. ‘Around 2014’ data refer to a survey
conducted during 2007–2014.
Since 2000, there has been moderate progress in HIV
prevention efforts targeting young people aged 15 to
24. However, risky sexual behaviour and insufficient
knowledge about HIV remain at high levels among youth
in many countries.
In sub-Saharan African countries with available data,
only 30 per cent of young women and 37 per cent of
young men had comprehensive correct knowledge of
HIV in 2014. This represents an increase of less than
10 percentage points since 2000 for both groups. Data
indicate modest progress between 2000 and 2014
in condom use with higher-risk sex among the same
populations. The 19 percentage-point gap in condom
use between young women and young men highlights
the inadequacy of prevention efforts in addressing the
unique vulnerability of young women.
Furthermore, disparities in the level of comprehensive
correct knowledge about HIV among women and men
aged 15 to 24 persist by income and location. The
disparity in knowledge between those living in the
poorest and those in the richest households is 17 per cent
versus 35 per cent for young women, and 25 per cent
versus 48 per cent for young men. Similarly, the disparity
in knowledge between those living in rural and urban
areas is 23 per cent versus 36 per cent for young women
and 32 per cent versus 46 per cent for young men.
46  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
The number of children orphaned by AIDS
is beginning to fall, but millions still need
protection and care
Estimated number of AIDS-related orphans worldwide,
2000¬2013 (millions)
10
12
14
16
18
20
2013201020082006200420022000
10.5
13.2
15.7
17.717.6
18.5 18.5
18.1
In 2013, approximately 17.7 million children worldwide
under age 18 had lost one or both parents due to AIDSrelated
causes. The number rose from 10.5 million in
2000 to a peak of 18.5 million in 2009 and has been
falling gradually in recent years. Investment in economic
support and social protection will be needed for years
to come to mitigate the impact of HIV on these children.
An encouraging sign is that almost equal numbers of
orphaned and non-orphaned children aged 10 to 14 are
attending school, which can be an important source
of protection and stability for vulnerable children. The
school attendance ratio between orphaned and nonorphaned
children increased from 0.80 around 2000 to
0.96 around 2014.
Target 6.B
Achieve, by 2010, universal access
to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those
who need it
A massive global expansion of access
to antiretroviral therapy has averted
millions of deaths
Number of people receiving antiretroviral therapy,
2003¬2015, number of deaths from AIDS-related
causes and number of people newly infected with HIV,
2001¬2013 (millions)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
2015
(projection)
2013201120092007200520032001
People receiving ART
UN Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS ART target (15 million)
People newly infected with HIV
People dying from HIV-related causes
Number of people receiving antiretroviral therapy,
2003¬2015, number of deaths from AIDS-related
causes and number of people newly infected with HIV,
2001¬2013 (millions)
10
12
14
16
18
Access to antiretroviral therapy has continued to
increase at a remarkable pace. By June 2014, 13.6 million
people living with HIV were receiving ART globally. Of
those, 12.1 million were living in the developing regions,
a massive increase from just 375,000 in 2003. In 2013
alone, the number of people receiving ART rose by 1.9
million in the developing regions. This was 20 per cent
more than in 2012 and the largest annual increase ever.
The world remains on track to have 15 million people
receiving ART by 2015, a target set out in the United
Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV and
AIDS in 2011. This accomplishment shows the political
resolve of leaders, the power of community mobilization,
the commitment of health care workers and managers,
and the results of technical innovation and domestic
and international funding that continue to fuel the global
scaling-up of ART.
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases  | 47
Since 1995, ART has averted 7.6 million deaths globally,
including 4.8 million deaths in sub-Saharan Africa. While
this is good news, only an estimated 36 per cent of the
31.5 million people living with HIV in developing regions
were receiving ART in 2013, with coverage varying
significantly across regions. For example, sub-Saharan
Africa had both the largest share of people living with
HIV and the largest increase in the number of people
receiving ART. Yet despite this progress, the region is
also home to 78 per cent of the people living with HIV in
developing regions who are not receiving ART.
The overall number of people receiving ART masks
important disparities in access across populations.
Expanded programmes are necessary to adequately
reach all groups of the population, including children
and adolescents, as well as high-risk groups such as sex
workers, people who inject drugs and men who have sex
with men.
Target 6.C
Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases
Increased global attention to the devastating effects of malaria has produced
significant results
Estimated change in malaria incidence rate (cases per
1,000 population at risk) and malaria mortality rate
(deaths per 100,000 persons at risk), 2000¬2015
0
50
100
150
200
2015
(projection)
20122009200620032000
Range of estimates
Estimated malaria incidence rate
Estimated malaria mortality rate
147
92
104
117
128
144
48
44
36
30
24 20
Estimated malaria incidence projection
Estimated malaria mortality projection
Between 2000 and 2015, the global malaria incidence
rate has fallen by an estimated 37 per cent, and the
global malaria mortality rate has decreased by 58 per
cent. As a result, the global MDG malaria target has been
achieved. Increased worldwide attention and substantial
expansion of anti-malaria efforts have helped avert over
6.2 million malaria deaths during this period, primarily
in children under five years of age in sub-Saharan Africa.
The estimated 69 per cent reduction in malaria mortality
in the under-five age group in this region also helped
improve child survival rates, directly contributing to
MDG4, the reduction of child mortality by two-thirds.
As of 2015, 98 malaria-endemic countries have reversed
the incidence of malaria nationally compared to 2000.
Yet malaria continues to pose a major public health
challenge, with an estimated 214 million cases and
472,000 deaths globally in 2015. The disease is still
endemic in 97 countries and territories around the
world—3.3 billion people are at risk of infection—and
it accounts for a large proportion of health spending in
low-income countries. Eighty per cent of global malaria
deaths occur in just 17 countries, mostly in Africa.
The massive gains over the past 15 years have been due
largely to a tenfold increase in international financing for
malaria since 2000, along with strengthened political
commitment and the availability of new and more
effective tools. This has substantially increased access
to malaria prevention and treatment interventions.
These include long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito
nets, indoor residual spraying, diagnostic testing and
artemisinin-based combination therapies.
48  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
Access to malaria prevention interventions has expanded dramatically since 2000
RwandaUnited
Republic
of Tanzania
BeninMada-
gascar
Dem.
Rep.
of the Congo
BurundiSierra
Leone
GambiaSenegalTogoComorosZambiaCôte
d'Ivoire
NigerNigeria
Proportion of children under age five sleeping under insecticide-treated mosquito nets for selected countries
in sub-Saharan Africa, around 2001 and 2013 (percentage)
Note: ‘Around 2001’ refers to a survey conducted during 1999–2003. ‘Around 2013’ refers to a survey conducted during 2012–2014.
0
25
50
75
100
Malawi
1 1 1 1 1 1 0
2 2 2 23 4
7
15
917
20
37
41 41
43
46 47
49
54
56
62
66
70
72
74
Around 2001 Around 2013
Between 2004 and 2014, more than 900 million
insecticide-treated nets were delivered to endemic
countries in sub-Saharan Africa, significantly increasing
household use of mosquito nets. Indoor residual spraying
programmes were also expanded significantly across the
region, but progress slowed between 2011 and 2013 due
to funding constraints.
Access to prompt diagnosis has increased appreciably
since 2000, contributing to more rational use of
antimalarial medicines. Nonetheless, only approximately
20 per cent of children with fever in sub-Saharan Africa
receive a malaria diagnostic test, according to household
surveys from 2012 to 2014.
Artemisinin-based combination therapies have
progressively replaced other antimalarial medicines as
the treatment of choice, and they have been critical in
preventing deaths. In addition, preventive treatments,
such as intermittent preventive therapy in pregnancy
to reduce the risk of malaria infection, are highly
cost-effective and have the potential to save tens of
thousands of lives each year.
The past 15 years have shown how effective public health
interventions can be in reducing malaria cases and
saving lives. However, the roll-out of some interventions,
such as diagnostic testing and treatment, has been
slower than expected, and robust efforts will be needed
to scale up measures in the post-2015 period. Sustained
political commitment, predictable financing and strategic
investments in health systems, disease surveillance and
new tools are necessary to reduce resurgences and the
malaria disease burden in the years ahead.
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases  | 49
Through effective prevention, diagnosis and treatment, the burden of tuberculosis
has decreased
Tuberculosis incidence, mortality and prevalence rates, 1990¬2015 (estimated numbers per 100,000 population)
Note: In both panels, the green box marks the Stop TB target of a 50 per cent reduction by 2015 compared with 1990. Incidence rate refers to new cases
per 100,000 population including people who are HIV-positive. Mortality rate refers to deaths due to tuberculosis per 100,000 population excluding people
who are HIV-positive.
201520102005200019951990
0
50
100
150
200
Incidence trend
Incidence projection
Mortality trend
Mortality projection
Mortality target
Range of estimates
201520102005200019951990
0
50
100
150
250
200
300
Prevalence trend
Prevalence projection
Prevalence target
Range of estimates
The tuberculosis (TB) incidence rate has been falling in
all regions since 2000, declining by about 1.5 per cent
per year on average. This corresponds to an estimated
9 million new cases in 2013. The rate of decline is slow,
but based on current trends, all regions are expected
to achieve the MDG target of halting the spread and
reversing the incidence of TB by 2015. The slow decline
is due in part to lack of effective strategies (such as
a post-exposure vaccine or treatment for latent TB
infection) to prevent the reactivation of disease in the
2 billion-plus people who are estimated to have been
infected by mycobacterium tuberculosis. This limits the
impact of current efforts to control TB incidence.
Globally, the TB mortality rate fell by 45 per cent
between 1990 and 2013. In 2013, there were 1.1 million
deaths from TB among HIV-negative people, and an
additional estimated 360,000 deaths among HIVpositive
people. At the same time, 11 million people
were living with the disease, representing a 41 per cent
decline in prevalence since 1990. Of those, 13 per cent
were HIV-positive. Current projections suggest the rate
of decline in both mortality and prevalence rates is close
to reaching the global Stop TB Partnership target of a 50
per cent reduction by 2015 compared with 1990.
Reductions in disease burden follow 20 years
(1995–2005) of intensive efforts to implement the
DOTS strategy and its successor, the Stop TB Strategy
(2006–2015). Between 2000 and 2013, an estimated 37
million lives were saved by TB prevention, diagnosis and
treatment interventions.
Also in 2013, 6.1 million people diagnosed with TB were
officially reported to public health authorities. Of these,
5.7 million were people newly diagnosed, equivalent to
approximately 64 per cent of estimated incident cases,
and 400,000 were people already on treatment. China
and India accounted for 35 per cent of those notified
cases.
50  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
In the developing regions, more than
85 per cent of newly diagnosed TB cases
have been successfully treated for six
consecutive years
Tuberculosis treatment success rate, developed and
developing regions, 1995¬2012 (percentage)
Note: The green line denotes an 85 per cent success rate target.
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
201220092007200520032001199919971995
Developed regions
Developing regions
Target
Globally, the number of people receiving tuberculosis
treatment grew from 2.9 million in 1995 to 5.8 million
in 2012, with treatment success improving each year.
Among patients newly diagnosed in 2012, 86 per cent
were successfully treated globally. The developing
regions exceeded for the sixth year in succession the
target of 85 per cent, set in 1991. The lower rate of
success for treatment in developed regions is primarily
due to a failure to report treatment outcomes for all
cases.
Strategic efforts on health must be
expanded in the post-2015 era
Health is a precondition, an indicator and an outcome
of sustainable development. As part of the post-2015
development agenda, robust efforts are needed to
sustain gains made to date and integrate additional
health issues into a broad health and development
agenda. Vigorous efforts are needed to scale up care,
intensify services and research, ensure bold policies
and supportive systems, and improve prevention. This
new health agenda also requires expanding the scope
of health efforts to ensure access to services, prevent
exclusion and protect people through the extension
of universal health coverage. All of these are needed
to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all
people of all ages.
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases  | 51
A new Ebola outbreak teaches many lessons for health and development
Over the past 40 years, sporadic outbreaks of Ebola
virus disease across equatorial Africa have resulted
in a few hundred deaths on average, with the virus
primarily confined to rural areas and contained
within a few weeks or months. In total between
1976 and 2012, Ebola outbreaks infected about
2,400 people and caused around 1,600 deaths. In
December 2013, another outbreak began in rural
Guinea, near the border with Sierra Leone and
Liberia. Formal identification of the disease followed
in March 2014, at which point cases were already
occurring in neighbouring countries.
This latest outbreak has been the most severe,
largest and longest lasting of any outbreak of the
virus since its discovery. It has affected thousands
more than all previous outbreaks combined and
still continues in some of the affected countries
over a year later. As of late May 2015, over 27,000
confirmed, probable and suspected cases and over
11,000 deaths had been reported, according to
WHO. UNICEF estimates that more than 5,000
children had been infected and 16,000 children had
lost one or both parents or their primary caregiver.
Rapid, intense transmission of the disease has
raised risks beyond Africa
Unlike during past outbreaks, in 2014 Ebola spread
to urban areas and cities, causing rapid, intense
transmission in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
High transmission of the disease rested on multiple
factors, including unfamiliarity with the disease,
poor health infrastructure, the rapid spread to urban
centres, high population mobility and cultural beliefs
and behavioural practices. Additional countries
dealt with cases or localized transmission. This was
the first time the disease was carried abroad by air
travellers, highlighting the potential global risk of the
disease. In late 2014, Ebola was declared a public
health emergency of international concern.
The outbreak has affected many aspects
of development beyond health
Closed schools, threats to past health gains and
economic declines are among the many impacts of
the Ebola outbreak. According to UNICEF, 5 million
children were deprived of education in the three
high-transmission countries, where schools were
closed for months.
Health facilities and services collapsed under the
strain of the crisis, and patients avoided health
services for fear of Ebola contagion. Sierra Leone
reported a 39 per cent decline in the number of
under-five children receiving treatment for malaria
between May and September 2014. A report from
Liberia indicated that the proportion of women
delivering babies with a skilled health care provider
declined from 52 per cent in 2013 to only 37 per
cent between May and August 2014.
According to the World Bank, the high-transmission
countries felt a total fiscal impact of over $500
million in 2014, nearly 5 per cent of their combined
gross domestic product (GDP). For 2015, lost output
is estimated to be more than 12 per cent of GDP. In
addition, the countries have suffered from reduced
agricultural production, possible food insecurity,
reduced wages and pauses in investment plans by
international companies, among other losses.
The Ebola outbreak provides global lessons
for stopping future epidemics
The Ebola crisis showed the vulnerability of countries
that lack basic health services and the capacity for
early detection, comprehensive reporting and a
rapid response system for public health outbreaks.
For countries without these basic health provisions,
shocks created by emerging or re-emerging diseases
or other events, such as climate change, can lead to
even bigger crises. As the outbreak demonstrated,
effective future responses will require country and
global preparedness to avoid the reversal of gains in
many aspects of development.
52  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
Goal 7
Ensure
environmental
sustainability
Target 7.A
Integrate the principles of sustainable development into
country policies and programmes and reverse the loss
of environmental resources
Deforestation has slowed, but it continues
to jeopardize species and the livelihoods
of millions of people
About 30 per cent of the land area on the planet is covered by
forests. At least 1.6 billion people depend directly on forests for their
livelihoods, and they provide additional benefits that are enjoyed
by all, such as clean air and water. In addition, forests provide a
home to millions of animals and plants as well as catchment for
three-fourths of fresh water. They also play an important role in
adaptation to and mitigation of climate change. However, forests are
under threat from deforestation around the world.
In recent years, the net loss of forest area has slowed, due to both
a slight decrease in deforestation and an increase in afforestation,
as well as the natural expansion of forests in some countries and
regions. Net loss in forest area declined from 8.3 million hectares
annually in the 1990s to an estimated 5.2 million hectares (an area
about the size of Costa Rica) each year from 2000 to 2010. In
spite of this improvement, deforestation remains alarmingly high
in many countries.
South America and Africa experienced the largest net losses of
forest area in the first decade of the new millennium. Oceania
also reported a net loss, largely due to severe drought and forest
fires in Australia. Asia, on the other hand, registered a net gain
of around 2.2 million hectares annually between 2000 and 2010
following a net loss in the 1990s. This gain, mostly due to largescale
afforestation programmes in China, offsets continued high
rates of net loss in many countries in Southern and South-Eastern
Asia.
Deforestation, forest degradation and poor forest management
release carbon into the atmosphere, contributing to climate
change. Since 1990, global forests have lost carbon stored in their
biomass in almost all regions, adding to global carbon emissions.
The total carbon stock held in forest biomass fell by an estimated
0.5 gigatonnes annually from 2005 to 2010, primarily due to a
reduction in global forest area. Stemming these damaging releases
of carbon requires sustainable forest management worldwide to
limit deforestation and allow forests to maintain their crucial role
in ecosystem health.
XX Ozone-depleting substances
have been virtually eliminated,
and the ozone layer is expected
to recover by the middle of this
century.
XX Global emissions of carbon
dioxide have increased by over
50 per cent since 1990.
XX In 2015, 91 per cent of the global
population uses an improved
drinking water source, compared
to 76 per cent in 1990.
XX Since 1990, 2.1 billion people
have gained access to improved
sanitation, and the proportion
of people practising open
defecation globally has fallen
almost by half.
XX The proportion of urban
population living in slums in the
developing regions fell from
39.4 per cent to 29.7 per cent
between 2000 and 2014.
Key facts
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability  | 53
Global greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise and are now more than 50 per cent
higher than their 1990 level
Emissions of carbon dioxide, 1990, 2000 and 2012*
(billions of metric tons)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
World
Developing regions
Developed regions
Africa
Latin America and the Caribbean
Southern Asia
Eastern Asia
1990 2000 2012
3.0
4.0
1.0
1.7
1.0
1.3
0.7
0.9
14.9
13.9
6.7
9.9
21.6
23.8
33.0
19.8
13.1
1.2
1.8
3.1
10.3
* Data for 2012 are preliminary estimates and the breakdown for some
MDG regions is not available. Therefore, the regional estimates do not
add up to the total.
A continual rise in greenhouse gas emissions is projected
to further warm the planet and cause long-lasting
changes in the climate system, threatening severe and
irreversible consequences for people and ecosystems.
Impacts on natural and human systems are projected
to span the globe, with varying effects region to
region. They include altered ecosystems and habitats;
detrimental impacts on agriculture, potentially leading
to food shortages; and more and longer lasting weather
extremes and natural disasters, along with numerous
risks to society.
Between 1990 and 2012, global emissions of carbon
dioxide increased by over 50 per cent. Data collected
over two decades show that the growth in global
emissions has accelerated, rising 10 per cent from 1990
to 2000 and 38 per cent from 2000 to 2012, driven
mostly by growth in the developing regions.
Average rates of emissions differ considerably between
the developed and the developing regions. In 2012,
average emissions from the developed regions were
about 10 metric tons of carbon dioxide per person per
year, compared to about 3 metric tons in the developing
regions. Emissions per unit of economic output were
slightly higher in the developing regions (0.4 kilograms of
carbon dioxide per dollar of economic output) compared
to developed regions (0.3 kilograms).
Addressing the unabated rise in greenhouse gas
emissions and the resulting likely impacts of climate
change remains an urgent, critical challenge for the
global community. At the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change conference in Paris
in December 2015, participants will work to forge an
agreement on a protocol, another legal instrument
or an agreed outcome with legal force that will apply
to all Parties to the Convention. This would provide a
framework for strengthening international action to
mitigate climate change.
54  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
The ozone layer is expected to recover
by mid-century, thanks to concerted
global efforts to eliminate ozone-depleting
substances
Consumption of ozone-depleting substances, 1986¬2013
(thousands of metric tons)
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
1,600
2013200820042000199619921986
World
Developed regions
The virtual elimination of ozone-depleting substances
represents an unequivocal success of an
intergovernmental effort. It reflects achievements in
both integrating sustainable development principles into
national policies and developing global partnerships for
development.
The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete
the Ozone Layer, agreed in 1987, has been universally
ratified. Under the Protocol, all signatories are required
to develop management policies for ozone-depleting
substances and licensing systems to control their
consumption and production. To date, 197 parties have
phased out 98 per cent of all major ozone-depleting
substances globally compared to 1990 levels. The
remaining substances will be phased out over the next 15
years. As a result, the ozone layer is projected to recover
by the middle of this century.
Another potential benefit of this achievement is the
prevention of up to 2 million cases of skin cancer
annually by 2030. In addition, because many ozonedepleting
substances are also potent greenhouse gases,
ozone protection efforts have significantly helped to
mitigate climate change by averting more than 135 billion
tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions.
One of the foremost remaining challenges is phasing
out the last of the ozone-depleting chemicals,
hydrochlorofluorocarbons, while avoiding the use of
alternatives with high potential for global warming, such
as hydrofluorocarbons. Other important continuing
issues include prevention of illegal trade in ozonedepleting
substances and the sound management of
those substances still in use, such as in refrigerators,
air conditioners and firefighting equipment. Continuing
momentum and funding for the final phase-out is crucial
to maintaining this unprecedented international success
story.
Overexploitation of marine fisheries
is rising, threatening ecosystems
and livelihoods
Proportion of fish stocks within their safe biological limits,
1974¬2011 (percentage) and fish landings,
1970¬2013 (millions of metric tons)
50
60
90
100
80
70
201320052000199519901985198019751970
50
60
90
100
80
70
Right axis: fish stock within their safe biological limits
Left axis: fish landings (catch that is brought ashore)
PercentageMillions
The world’s fisheries make significant contributions
to global food security, livelihoods and economies.
However, depletion of fish stocks below sustainable-yield
levels is also a major driver of ecological and evolutionary
harm to marine ecosystems. The percentage of
overfished stocks that remain within safe biological
limits has been falling over time.
Between 1974 and 2011, the proportion of marine fish
stocks within safe biological limits fell 19 percentage
points, from 90 per cent in 1974 to 71 per cent. As a
result of this 40-year deterioration in the condition of
global fisheries, fish stocks are now below the level
at which they can produce maximum sustainable
yields. This is taking place despite fisheries policy and
management actions taken by coastal States and the
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability  | 55
international community. On the other hand, numerous
successes have been reported in rebuilding overfished
stocks, most notably in Europe, North America and
Oceania.
Overfishing not only reduces the productivity of fish
stocks but also impairs ecosystem functions and
biological diversity. Ultimately, this will hinder social
and economic development. The total marine catch
brought ashore globally has fallen from a peak of 88
million metric tons in 1996 to approximately 82 million
metric tons in 2013. This demonstrates the impact of
overfishing, among other factors, on fish production.
Turning this situation around calls for strong political will
and strict management plans to restore the sustainability
and productivity of global fisheries.
Water scarcity affects more than 40 per cent of the global population
and is projected to rise
Proportion of renewable water resources withdrawn,
around 2011 (percentage)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
25 per cent to 60 per cent: Water stressed
At 25 per cent: Abundant water resources
Above 75 per cent: Severe water scarcity
60 per cent to 75 per cent: Water scarcity
Northern Africa
78
Western Asia
54
Caucasus and Central Asia
50
Southern Asia
48
Eastern Asia
20
South-Eastern Asia
8
Sub-Saharan Africa
3
Latin America and the Caribbean
2
Oceania
0.06
Developed regions
7
Developing regions
9
World
9
The proportion of water resources a country uses is
affected by national water policies and water scarcity.
Scarcity can be physical (lack of water of sufficient
quality), economic (lack of adequate infrastructure,
due to financial, technical or other constraints) or
institutional (lack of institutions for a reliable, secure and
equitable supply of water). Major sectors that withdraw
water include agriculture (irrigation, livestock and
aquaculture), industries and municipalities. At present,
municipalities account for 12 per cent of total freshwater
withdrawal globally and industries for 19 per cent, while
agriculture takes up the remaining 69 per cent, mostly
through irrigation.
Worldwide, only 9 per cent of renewable freshwater
resources are withdrawn for use by agriculture,
municipalities and industries. This is below the 25 per
cent withdrawal threshold that defines the start of
physical water stress, but this global figure masks large
differences between regions and within countries. In
2011, 41 countries experienced water stress, up from
36 in 1998. Of these, 10 countries—from the Arabian
Peninsula, Northern Africa and Central Asia—withdrew
more than 100 per cent of renewable freshwater
resources. Once a country reaches a withdrawal level
above 100 per cent, it starts depleting its renewable
groundwater resources, relying on non-renewable fossil
groundwater or non-conventional sources of water,
such as desalinated water, wastewater and agricultural
drainage water.
Currently, water scarcity affects more than 40 per
cent of people around the world, and it is projected to
increase. Water scarcity already affects every continent
and hinders the sustainability of natural resources as well
as economic and social development.
56  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
Target 7.B
Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss
Latin America and the Caribbean, Oceania and Western Asia lead the way in protecting
land and marine areas
Terrestrial areas protected, 1990, 2000 and 2014
(percentage)
0 5 10 15 20 25
World
Developing regions
Developed regions
Latin America and the Caribbean
Eastern Asia
Western Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
South-Eastern Asia
Northern Africa
Southern Asia
Oceania
Caucasus and Central Asia
2.7
3.5
3.16
2.7
3.4
2.0
5.4
6.1
8.4
12.6
10.6
11.3
3.7
15.2
12.0
14.9
8.8
14.4
9.1
12.2
8.4
11.4
8.7
11.8
4.6
5.0
6.8
7.7
14.0
15.3
15.4
16.8
23.4
14.4
15.7
15.2
1990 2000 2014
Terrestrial and marine protected areas help to prevent
loss of biodiversity, maintain food security and water
supplies, strengthen climate resilience and improve
human health and well-being. Protecting these areas
aims to conserve and nurture biological diversity,
ensuring areas are safeguarded and maintained for
future generations.
In 2014, 15.2 per cent of terrestrial and inland water
areas and 8.4 per cent of coastal marine areas (up
to 200 nautical miles from shore) were protected.
Only 0.25 per cent of marine areas beyond national
jurisdiction (extending beyond 200 nautical miles) were
protected, which highlights the urgent need for action in
this area.
Many regions have substantially increased their
terrestrial protected areas since 1990. In Latin America
and the Caribbean, coverage of terrestrial protected
areas rose from 8.8 per cent to 23.4 per cent between
1990 and 2014. In Western Asia, the terrestrial area
under protection has more than quadrupled, from 3.7 per
cent in 1990 to 15.4 per cent in 2014.
Some regions of the world have also increased their
protected marine areas substantially. In Oceania, there
were no coastal or marine protected areas in 1990, but
7.4 per cent of such areas were protected in 2014.
Global coverage of protected areas has expanded
since 1990, and protected areas are projected to
reach at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland
waters and 10 per cent of marine and coastal areas by
2020. However, other aspects of protection also need
improvement. These include effective and equitable
management and connectivity, and protection of areas
important for biodiversity and ecosystem services,
especially ecologically representative protected area
networks. Monitoring progress in protected areas will be
fundamental to assessing progress towards achievement
of the post-2015 development agenda and its goals and
targets.
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability  | 57
Conservation efforts are in a race against
time to save animals and plants from
extinction
IUCN Red List Index* of species survival for birds,
1988¬2012, mammals, 1996¬2008, corals, 1996¬2008,
amphibians, 1980¬2004, and cycads, 2003¬2014
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.0
20152010200520001995199019851980
BetterWorse
Mammals
Corals
AmphibiansBirds
Cycads
* The Red List Index, compiled by the International Union for Conservation
of Nature and 10 Red List Partner institutions, measures trends in species’
risk of extinction based on genuine changes in risk.
Note: A Red List Index value of 1.0 means that all species are categorized
as ‘Least Concern’, and hence none are expected to go extinct in the near
future. A value of zero indicates that all species have gone Extinct.
The Red List Index, which measures trends in species’
risk of extinction, shows that a substantial proportion
of species in all taxonomic groups examined to date are
declining overall in population and distribution. This
means they are increasingly threatened with extinction.
Over the past 50 years, the conservation status of many
taxonomic groups has been comprehensively assessed.
Considered at risk of extinction are 26 per cent of 5,500
mammals, 13 per cent of 10,400 birds, 41 per cent of
6,000 amphibians, 33 per cent of 845 reef-building
corals and 63 per cent of 340 cycads. The extinction risk
of coral species is increasing most rapidly, while more
cycad species are threatened on average. In those groups
for which trends in extinction risk can be quantified,
many more species are deteriorating in status than are
improving.
Cycads, the first major plant group for which a Red
List Index has been produced, are the oldest living
plants on earth. Unchanged for millions of years, they
are particularly vulnerable to extinction from habitat
loss and trade that targets specimens harvested in the
wild. Cycads continue to decline across all regions, and
nearly two-thirds are documented as threatened with
extinction.
As past experience has shown, species can recover.
Concerted conservation interventions can make a vital
difference in biodiversity trends. An estimated 16 bird
species would have gone extinct between 1994 and
2004 without conservation action, while the trends
in extinction risk for mammals, birds and amphibians
would be at least one-fifth worse. Such conservation
efforts will need to be scaled up to avoid substantial
loss of biodiversity in the future. Without these efforts,
biodiversity will diminish, with serious consequences for
the ecosystem services upon which all people depend.
58  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
Target 7.C
Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the
population without sustainable access to safe
drinking water and basic sanitation
The global MDG target for drinking water
has been met five years ahead of schedule
Proportion of population using an improved drinking
water source, 1990 and 2015 (percentage)
Oceania
50
56
Sub-Saharan Africa
48
68
Caucasus and Central Asia
87
89
South-Eastern Asia
72
90
Northern Africa
87
93
Southern Asia
73
93
Latin America and the Caribbean
85
95
Western Asia
85
95
Eastern Asia
68
96
Developed regions
98
99
Developing regions
70
89
World
76
91
0 20 40 60 80 100
1990 2015 projection 2015 target
Between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of the global
population using an improved drinking water source has
increased from 76 per cent to 91 per cent, surpassing the
MDG target, which was met in 2010. Of the 2.6 billion
people who have gained access since 1990, 1.9 billion
use a piped drinking water supply on premises. Over
half of the global population (58 per cent) now enjoys
this higher level of service. During the same period, the
number of people using surface water fell by more than
half, from 346 million to 159 million.
Since 1990, the proportion of the population without
access to improved drinking water has been cut in
half in Eastern Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean,
South-Eastern Asia, Southern Asia and Western Asia.
Sub-Saharan Africa fell short of the MDG target but
still achieved a 20 percentage point increase in the
use of improved sources of drinking water. In 2015, it
is estimated that 663 million people worldwide still
use unimproved drinking water sources, including
unprotected wells and springs and surface water. Nearly
half of all people using unimproved sources live in subSaharan
Africa, while one-fifth live in South Asia.
Since 1990, 2.1 billion people have gained
access to improved sanitation, but the
world has missed the MDG target
Between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of the global
population using an improved sanitation facility has
increased from 54 per cent to 68 per cent. This means
that 2.1 billion people have gained access to improved
sanitation since 1990, and the proportion of people
practising open defecation globally has fallen almost by
half, from 24 per cent to 13 per cent. However, in 2015,
2.4 billion people are still using unimproved sanitation
facilities, including 946 million people who are still
practising open defecation.
Caucasus and Central Asia, Eastern Asia, Northern
Africa and Western Asia have cut in half the proportion
of the population without access to improved sanitation.
Southern Asia had the lowest baseline coverage in 1990,
at 22 per cent, and recorded the largest increase in the
proportion using improved sanitation, reaching 47 per
cent in 2015.
While global progress on these targets varies, 147
countries have met the drinking water target, 95
countries have met the sanitation target and 77 countries
have met both.
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability  | 59
Proportion of population using an improved sanitation
facility, 1990 and 2015 (percentage)
1990 2015 projection 2015 target
0 20 40 60 80 100
Sub-Saharan Africa
24
30
Oceania
35
35
Southern Asia
22
47
South-Eastern Asia
48
72
Eastern Asia
50
77
Latin America and the Caribbean
67
83
Northern Africa
71
89
Western Asia
80
94
Caucasus and Central Asia
90
96
Developed regions
94
96
Developing regions
43
62
World
54
68
Global rural-urban disparities have
decreased but large gaps remain
Proportion of population using improved and unimproved
drinking water sources and sanitation facilities, urban,
rural and world, 1990 and 2015 projection (percentage)
79 79
16 17
4 4
1 0
18
33
44
51
27
12
11
4
44
58
32
33
17
7
7
2
35
51
4
7
23
17
38 25
54
68
5
917
10
24 13
82
7
10
8
66
2
79
1990
2015
1990
2015
1990
2015
1990
2015
1990
2015
1990
2015
Urban Rural World Urban Rural World
Unimproved
Surface water
Piped on premises
Other improved
Unimproved
Open defecation
Improved
Shared
The proportion of the global rural population without
access to improved drinking water has declined by more
than half since 1990, from 38 per cent to 16 per cent in
2015. Currently, 96 per cent of urban populations use
improved drinking water sources, compared with 84 per
cent of rural populations. Similarly, four out of five people
living in urban areas have access to piped drinking water
compared with just one in three people in rural areas.
Since 1990, the proportion of the global rural population
without access to improved sanitation has declined by
nearly a quarter, and open defecation rates in rural areas
have fallen from 38 per cent to 25 per cent in 2015.
Still, nearly half of people living in rural areas do not
have improved sanitation facilities, and one in four still
practise open defecation. By contrast, only 18 per cent of
people in urban areas lack access to improved sanitation.
People living in rural areas and those from poor and
marginalized groups are less likely to have access to
improved water and sanitation facilities and less likely to
enjoy piped water on premises. Progressive elimination
of inequalities in access and service levels will continue
to be an important focus for the post-2015 agenda.
60  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
Target 7.D
By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers
Fewer urban residents are living in slums
in almost all regions
Proportion of urban population living in slums,
2000 and 2014 (percentage)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Developing regions
Northern Africa
Latin America and the Caribbean
Oceania
Western Asia
Eastern Asia
South-Eastern Asia
Southern Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
2000 2014
55
65
31
46
27
40
25
37
25
21
24
24
20
29
11
20
30
39
The lives of those living in slums have improved
significantly in the last 15 years. Between 2000 and
2014, more than 320 million people gained access to
either improved water, improved sanitation, durable
housing or less crowded housing conditions, which
means that the MDG target was largely surpassed. The
proportion of urban population living in slums in the
developing regions fell from approximately 39 per cent
in 2000 to 30 per cent in 2014. Although the target was
met, absolute numbers of urban residents living in slums
continue to grow, partly due to accelerating urbanization,
population growth and the lack of appropriate land and
housing policies. Over 880 million urban residents are
estimated to live in slum conditions today, compared to
792 million reported in 2000 and 689 million in 1990.
The proportion of urban population living in slums has
fallen significantly in almost all regions. The largest
declines have taken place in Eastern Asia, South-Eastern
Asia and Southern Asia (at least a 12 percentage point
drop). In 2015, the regions with the lowest prevalence
of slum conditions are Latin America and the Caribbean
and Northern Africa. In Northern Africa the proportion of
urban slum population declined almost by half, to 11 per
cent in 2014 from 20 per cent in 2000. In Latin America
and the Caribbean it fell to 20 per cent in 2014 from 29
per cent in 2000.
Sub-Saharan Africa continues to have the highest
prevalence of slum conditions of all regions, estimated at
55 per cent in 2014. However, this represents a decline
of almost 10 percentage points in prevalence since
2000. On the other hand, the proportion of the urban
population living in slums continues to grow in countries
affected by or emerging from conflict. Iraq, for example,
experienced an increase of more than 60 per cent
between 2000 and 2014.
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability  | 61
The proportion of population living
in slums in developing world cities is
declining, but their numbers remain high
Urban population living in slums (millions)
and proportion of urban population living in slums
(percentage), developing regions, 1990¬2014
0
10
20
30
40
50
0
500
600
700
800
900
1000
400
300
200
100
46.2
689
42.9
749
39.4
792
35.6
830
34.3
845
32.6
872
32.7
923
29.7
881
PercentageMillions
Left axis: slum populations
Right axis: proportion of urban population living in slums
2012201020072005200019951990 2014
Although the MDG target has been reached globally,
additional efforts are needed to improve conditions for
the growing numbers of slum residents, especially in
the many countries that still lag behind. Some lessons
can be drawn from successful experiences over the
last 15 years. They include bold policy reforms and
implementation of equitable planning and economic
policies to prevent future slum growth. Evidence
collected from 44 countries shows that slum reduction
requires a combination of complementary approaches,
from raising awareness to increasing funding to provide
basic services, along with policy reforms and institutional
strengthening.
Environmental sustainability is a core
pillar of the post-2015 development
agenda
Efforts to ensure global environmental sustainability
have shown mixed results throughout the last 15 years.
Much work remains for the post-2015 period, particularly
given the acute environmental challenges the world
is facing, such as climate change, food and water
insecurity, and natural disasters.
One theme emerging from the debate on the
successor agenda to the MDGs is the importance
of true integration of environment into development
ambitions. Environmental sustainability is a core pillar
of the post-2015 agenda and a prerequisite for lasting
socioeconomic development and poverty eradication.
Healthy, well-managed and diverse ecosystems and
resources can play a strong role in mitigating future
environmental challenges and improving livelihoods
everywhere. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that
the development agenda for the future reflects the
links between socioeconomic and environmental
sustainability and protects and reinforces the
environmental pillar.
62  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
Goal 8
Develop
a global
partnership for
development
Official development assistance has plateaued in
recent years, after increasing significantly in the
first decade of the new millennium
Official development assistance (ODA) from OECD-DAC countries,
2000¬2014 (constant 2013 US$ billions)
0
30
60
90
120
150
Net debt relief grants
Humanitarian aid
Multilateral ODA
Bilateral development projects,
programmes and technical cooperation
2014
(preliminary)
2012201020082006200420022000
A decline in aid flows during the last years of the 20th century
reversed early in the new millennium. Net official development
assistance (ODA) from member countries of the Development
Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD) increased by 66 per cent
between 2000 and 2014. However, after reaching an all-time high
in 2013, net ODA flows from DAC members totalled $135.2 billion
in 2014, marking a slight decline, of 0.5 per cent, in real terms.
ODA in the form of net aid for core bilateral projects and
programmes, which represents about 60 per cent of the total,
remained virtually unchanged between 2013 and 2014. In contrast,
debt relief grants fell by 87 per cent in real terms, from $3.6 billion
to $476 million. Humanitarian aid rose by 22 per cent in real terms,
from $11 billion to $13 billion.
Total ODA from DAC member countries represented 0.29 per cent
of their gross national income (GNI) in 2014. The top five donor
countries by volume were the United States, the United Kingdom,
Germany, France and Japan. Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway,
Sweden and the United Kingdom continued to exceed the United
Nations’ ODA target of 0.7 per cent of GNI. In 2014, the Group of
7 industrialized countries provided 71 per cent of all the net ODA
from DAC members, while European Union countries provided 55
per cent.
XX Official development assistance
from developed countries
increased by 66 per cent in real
terms between 2000 and 2014.
XX In 2014, 79 per cent of imports
from developing to developed
countries were admitted duty
free.
XX The proportion of external debt
service to export revenue in
developing countries fell from 12
per cent in 2000 to 3 per cent in
2013.
XX As of 2015, 95 per cent of the
world’s population is covered by
a mobile-cellular signal.
XX Only one third of the population
in the developing regions use the
Internet, compared to 82 per cent
in the developed regions.
Key facts
Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development  | 63
Aid has also increased from non-DAC countries.
Although precise figures are not yet available for all
countries for 2014, preliminary data show that the United
Arab Emirates reached the highest ratio of ODA to GNI
of any country, at 1.17 per cent. Hungary, Estonia and
Turkey increased their aid in real terms with respect to
the previous year by 24.4 per cent, 19.2 per cent and 8.2
per cent, respectively.
On average, aid focusing on the achievement of the goal
of gender equality and women’s empowerment in 2012
and 2013 was approximately 26 per cent of all aid that
could be allocated by sector.
Targets 8.B and 8.C
Address the special needs of the least
developed countries, landlocked developing
countries and small island developing States
Official development assistance to
least developed countries increased
significantly over the MDG period
Net official development assistance from OECD-DAC
countries as a proportion of donors’ gross national income,
1990¬2014 (percentage)
0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
0.30
0.35
0.40
ODA to least developed countries
Total ODA
2014
(preliminary)
201020062002199819941990
In 2014, bilateral aid to least developed countries (LDCs)
fell 16 per cent in real terms, reaching $25 billion at
constant prices of the previous year. However, much of
this decrease can be attributed to a relatively high level
of debt relief assistance granted to Myanmar in 2013.
Preliminary data for 2014 show that bilateral ODA to
sub-Saharan Africa (where the majority of LDCs are
located) decreased by 5 per cent in real terms from the
previous year, reaching $25 billion at constant 2013
prices. However, the decrease was only 2 per cent if debt
relief is excluded.
Preliminary results from the 2015 DAC Survey on
Donors’ Forward Spending Plans project a 2.5 per cent
real increase in country programmable aid in 2015. This
will come mainly through disbursements by multilateral
agencies. Least developed and other low-income
countries will benefit most from this increase; their aid
levels are expected to grow by 5.7 per cent in real terms.
The report also projects that allocations for the least
developed countries will continue to increase through
2018. Allocations to lower-middle-income and uppermiddle-income
countries are expected to remain at
current levels.
64  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
Target 8.A
Develop further an open, rule-based,
predictable, non-discriminatory trading and
financial system
Imports from developing countries,
especially from least developed countries,
increasingly receive preferential treatment
from developed countries
Proportion of developed country imports (excluding oil
and arms) from developing countries and LDCs admitted
duty free, 1996¬2014 (percentage)
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
2014201220102008200620042002200019981996
LDCs
Developing countries
The proportion of developed country imports (excluding
oil and arms) originating from developing countries that
are admitted duty free has significantly increased over
the last 15 years. Despite a slight decrease from 2013 to
2014, 84 per cent of imports from LDCs were admitted
duty free in 2014, along with 79 per cent of imports from
developing countries. The share of exports from LDCs
that received preferential treatment (beyond mostfavoured-nation
status) reached approximately 60 per
cent in 2014, up from 53 per cent in 2011.
Agricultural products from LDCs continue
to receive the greatest trade preferences
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Average tariffs levied by developed countries on key
products exported by developing countries and LDCs,
selected years (percentage ad valorem)
LDCsDeveloping
countries
LDCsDeveloping
countries
LDCsDeveloping
countries
Agricultural
products
Clothing Textiles
1996 2000 2005 2010 2014
Note: Based on a fixed 1999–2001 export structure.
Within each product category, the average tariffs
imposed by developed countries on imports from
developing countries declined rapidly between 1996
and 2005. The decline was slower after 2005, and in a
few categories, the trend reversed. Agricultural tariffs
imposed on LDCs, however, continued their sharply
decreasing trend well into 2010 in most developed
countries.
Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development  | 65
The margin of trade preference varies widely across exporting developing regions
Preferential margin by exporting developing region
and product category, 2014 (percentage)
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Least developed countries
Western Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
Southern Asia
South-Eastern Asia
Oceania
Northern Africa
Latin America and the Caribbean
Eastern Asia
Caucasus and Central Asia
0.6
1.2
0.4
2.0
1.4
1.7
4.8
3.7
3.6
2.1
2.6
2.5
3.4
3.0
10.4
6.2
12.0
3.5
4.5
3.3
2.7
2.2
3.4
1.2
10.4
6.1
3.5
3.5
5.8
5.5
Textiles Clothing Agricultural goods
There is variation by product and region in the average
margin of preference (beyond most-favoured-nation
status) granted by developed countries on imports from
developing countries. On average, LDCs benefit from
a wider margin of preference. For instance, agricultural
exports to developed countries originating from
developing countries in Oceania and sub-Saharan Africa,
where the majority of LDCs are located, receive highly
preferential treatment compared to other regions.
However, tariff preferences are not always linked to the
development status of the exporting countries. Some
result from regional trade agreements, as is the case
for Latin America and North Africa. Similarly, although
exports from countries in sub-Saharan Africa receive
highly preferential treatment in developed countries, the
largest LDC exporters of apparel are located in Asia and
do not benefit from duty-free access to the United States
market.
The margin of preference for agricultural exports from
LDCs relative to those from developing countries in
general reached 7 percentage points in 2014. In contrast,
the margin of preference for textiles and clothing was
just above 1 percentage point. This largely reflects the
exclusion of some Asian exporters from preferential
tariff treatment by the United States.
66  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
Target 8.D
Deal comprehensively with the debt
of developing countries
The debt burden of developing countries
fell dramatically over the first decade
of the new millennium but has stabilized
and is expected to rise
External debt service payments as proportion of export
revenues, all developing countries, 2000¬2013
(percentage)
2
4
6
8
10
12
0
2013201020082006200420022000
12.0
11.2
11.4
11.0
7.7
7.7
6.7
4.1
3.6 3.8
3.0
2.9
3.0
3.1
Note: Data cover only the developing countries that report to
the World Bank’s Debtor Reporting System.
A country’s external debt burden affects its
creditworthiness and vulnerability to economic shocks.
In 2013, the debt burden of developing countries was
3.1 per cent, measured as a proportion of external debt
service to export revenue. This was a major improvement
over the 2000 figure of 12.0 per cent. The falling burden
of debt service resulted from better debt management,
expansion of trade and substantial debt relief for the
poorest countries. More recently an additional factor
has been attractive borrowing conditions in international
capital markets.
Debt service as a proportion of exports
has recently increased in some regions
Debt service as percentage of exports of goods and
services and income from abroad, 2011¬2013 (percentage)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Least developed countries
Small island developing States
Developing regions
Eastern Asia
Oceania
Caucasus and Central Asia
South-Eastern Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
Southern Asia
Northern Africa
Western Asia
Latin America and the Caribbean
Note: Data cover only the developing countries that report to
the World Bank’s Debtor Reporting System.
6.1
6.5
7.8
6.7
4.5
4.4
2.3
2.4
2.4
3.4
2.4
2.3
2.7
1.1
1.1
2.9
1.5
0.7
0.4
0.4
2.9
3.0
7.4
6.5
3.6
4.4
6.4
5.7
3.8
3.7
3.6
2.1
2.0
3.1
7.5
5.0
2011 2012 2013
Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development  | 67
Since 2010, several regions’ debt ratios have changed
little. In the future the debt ratio of developing countries
is likely to rise in light of a fragile global outlook,
soft commodity prices and a 33 per cent increase in
developing countries’ combined external debt stock since
2010. In particular, increasing short-term debt levels and
debt-servicing burdens indicate growing vulnerability.
In 2013, the debt-service-to-export-revenue ratio
jumped 88 per cent from the previous year for the
Caucasus and Central Asia. This was mainly due to early
repayment by Armenia of a $500 million loan to the
Russian Federation while the country’s exports remained
relatively unchanged. In the small island developing
States, debt-service-to-export-revenue ratios increased
from 6.5 per cent in 2012 to 7.5 per cent in 2013. This
can be largely explained by Grenada’s repayment of a
$14 million loan in 2013, accounting for almost half of the
country’s principal repayments that year, which totalled
$29.4 million.
Thirty-nine countries are eligible for debt relief under the
Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative. Of these, 36
countries have reached their ‘decision points’, meaning
they have made sufficient progress in fulfilling conditions
for relief, and have had future debt payments reduced
by $57.8 billion (in end-2013 net present value terms).
Of these 36 countries, 1 is between decision point and
completion point, while 35 have fulfilled all conditions
and are receiving full debt relief under the Multilateral
Debt Relief Initiative.
Target 8.E
In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies,
provide access to affordable essential drugs in
developing countries
Data on sustainable access to affordable
essential drugs are limited, but recent
evidence suggests improvement
Global and regional data are lacking, but a limited
number of surveys undertaken at different times from
2007 to 2014 in low-income and lower-middle-income
countries indicate that, on average, generic medicines
were available in 58 per cent of public health facilities.
By contrast, an average of 67 per cent of private sector
facilities had such medicines available. However,
availability varies widely across the countries surveyed.
Expanding access to essential drugs requires better
monitoring of availability of essential drugs and their
patient prices in all developing countries.
Target 8.F
In cooperation with the private sector, make
available the benefits of new technologies,
especially information and communications
Mobile-cellular and Internet penetration
rates have grown strongly,
but the digital divide between the rich
and the poor is growing
Estimated number of mobile-cellular subscriptions,
Internet users and fixed-telephone subscriptions,
2000¬2015 (billions)
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Fixed-telephone subscriptions
Internet users
Mobile-cellular subscriptions
Population
2015
(preliminary)
20122009200620032000
Information and communication technologies (ICTs)
have completely transformed the way people live, work
and communicate. Their role and importance continue
to expand thanks to technological progress, expanding
networks, falling prices and growth in applications and
content. For instance, the proportion of the population
covered by a 2G mobile-cellular network grew from 58
per cent in 2001 to 95 per cent in 2015. The number of
mobile-cellular subscriptions has grown almost tenfold
in the last 15 years, from 738 million in 2000 to over 7
billion in 2015. Since 2002, the number of mobile-cellular
subscriptions has exceeded the number of fixedtelephone
subscriptions.
Internet penetration has grown from just over 6 per
cent of the world’s population in 2000 to 43 per cent in
2015. As a result, 3.2 billion people are linked to a global
network of content and applications, including usergenerated
content and social media. Rapid advances
in fixed- and mobile-broadband technologies are
continuously improving the type and quality of services
available. Mobile broadband has overcome infrastructure
challenges, enabling more areas to connect to the
Internet. Its penetration rate increased fourfold between
2010 and 2015, reaching 47 per cent.
68  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
Smartphones continue to become cheaper and more
widespread. Their growing processing power supports
the seamless delivery of services to an increasing
number of people in every imaginable sector, including
banking, retail trade, transport, health and education.
ICT access and use are unequally
distributed within and between countries
Number of Internet users per 100 inhabitants, 2000¬2015
2015
(preliminary)
20122009200620032000
0
20
40
60
80
100
Least developed countries
Developing regions
World
Developed regions
The digital divide is particularly pronounced with respect
to Internet use and quality of access. For instance, just
over one third of the population in developing countries
uses the Internet, compared to 82 per cent in developed
countries. The contrast is even more dramatic in
sub-Saharan Africa, where less than 21 per cent of the
population uses the Internet, and in LDCs, where the
figure is less than 10 per cent.
Internet bandwidth and national backbone capacities are
important building blocks for providing affordable highspeed
Internet access. They remain a major challenge
in many lower-income countries, particularly small
island and landlocked developing States. There are also
major inequalities across countries in terms of costs of
ICT services, availability of ICT skills and availability of
relevant and local content.
Also, while the global mobile-cellular penetration rate
was 97 per cent in 2015, it reached only 64 per cent in
LDCs. An estimated 450 million people living in rural
areas still live out of reach of a mobile signal.
Greater funding and innovation are crucial
to the implementation of the post-2015
development agenda
As the post-2015 development agenda is being prepared
for launching, its breadth and ambition need to be
matched by adequate funding and renewed efforts
to mobilize innovation, science and technology for
sustainable development.
ODA remains critically important for countries with
limited capacity to raise public resources domestically.
It is important to pay greater attention to the potential of
ODA to attract other financial flows, both by blending it
with non-concessional public finance and by leveraging
private finance and investments. Such market-like
instruments may play an important role in financing the
post-2015 development agenda.
The changing trade landscape will also demand
innovative ways to improve market access and address
non-tariff barriers, particularly as trade in services
expands. Also, it will be crucial to strengthen the
integration of developing countries into the multilateral
trade system, as measured by their trade diversification
and share in value-added.
Similarly, it will be essential to address the widening
digital divide. Only then will the transformative power
of ICTs and the data revolution be harnessed to deliver
sustainable development for all.
More detailed information and analysis
is available from the
MDG Gap Task Force Report 2015.
The Task Force is an inter-agency initiative
that includes more than 30 organizations with
specialized competence in the five core domains
of the Global Partnership for Development,
namely official development assistance,
market access (trade), debt sustainability,
access to affordable essential medicines and
access to new technologies.
Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development  | 69
70  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
A note to the reader
Measuring progress towards the MDGs
Progress towards the eight Millennium Development
Goals is measured through 21 targets and 60 official
indicators.1 This report presents an accounting to date
of how far the world has come in meeting the goals using
data available as of June 2015.2
Most of the MDG targets have a deadline of 2015, using
1990 as the baseline against which progress is gauged.
Country data are aggregated at the subregional and
regional levels to show overall advances over time. The
composition of MDG regions and subregions is based
on UN geographical divisions, with some modifications
necessary to create—to the extent possible—groups
of countries for which a meaningful analysis can be
carried out. In addition to the MDG regional groupings,
the report also shows data for subregions in Africa,
based on the classification adopted by the United
Nations Economic Commission for Africa.3 Although the
aggregate figures are a convenient way to track progress,
the situation of individual countries within a given region
may vary significantly from regional averages. Data for
individual countries, along with the composition of all
regions and subregions, are available at http://mdgs.
un.org.
1	 The complete list of goals, targets and indicators is available
at http://mdgs.un.org.
2	 Given the time lag between collecting data and analysing
them, few indicators can be compiled for the current year.
In this report, 2015 projections are used for most indicators.
Other indicators are based on data from earlier years—
generally up to 2013 or 2014.
3	 The composition of these subregions is shown in the next
section ‘Regional groupings’.
The basis for this analysis
Regional and subregional figures presented in this report
are compiled by members of the United Nations InterAgency
and Expert Group on MDG Indicators (IAEG).
In general, the figures are weighted averages of country
data, using the population of reference as a weight. For
each indicator, individual agencies were designated as
official providers of data and as leaders in developing
methodologies for data collection and analysis (see
page 72 for a list of contributing organizations).Data
are typically drawn from official statistics provided by
governments to the international agencies responsible
for the indicator. To fill data gaps, data for many of the
indicators are supplemented by or derived exclusively
from data collected through surveys sponsored and
carried out by international agencies.
These include many of the health indicators, which are
compiled, for the most part, from Multiple Indicator
Cluster Surveys (MICS) and Demographic and Health
Surveys (DHS). In some cases, countries may have
more recent data that have not yet become available
to the relevant specialized agency. In other cases,
countries do not produce the data required to compile
the indicator, and the responsible international agencies
estimate the missing values. Even when national data
are available, adjustments are often needed to ensure
international comparability. Data from international
sources, therefore, often differ from those available
within countries. The United Nations Statistics Division
maintains the official website of the IAEG and its
database (http://mdgs.un.org). In an effort to improve
transparency, the country data series in the database are
given colour codes to indicate whether the figures are
estimated or provided by national agencies; they are also
accompanied by metadata with a detailed description of
how the indicators are produced and the methodologies
used for regional aggregations.
Regional Groupings  | 71
Regional groupings
Developed regions
Northern Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
South-Eastern Asia
Eastern Asia
Southern Asia
Western Asia
Caucasus and Central Asia
Oceania
Latin America and the Caribbean
This report presents data on progress towards the
Millennium Development Goals for the world as a whole
and for various country groupings. These are classified
as “developing” regions and “developed” regions.* The
developing regions are further broken down into the
subregions shown on the map above. These regional
groupings are based on United Nations geographical
divisions, with some modifications necessary to create,
to the extent possible, groups of countries for which a
meaningful analysis can be carried out. A complete list
of countries included in each region and subregion is
available at mdgs.un.org.
The designations employed and the presentation of the
material in this publication do not imply the expression
of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat
of the United Nations concerning the legal status of
any country, territory, city or area of its authorities, or
concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
*	 Since there is no established convention for the designation
of “developed” and “developing” countries or areas in the
United Nations system, this distinction is made for the
purposes of statistical analysis only.
African subregions
For some MDG indicators, data are presented
separately for smaller subregions in Africa,
based on the classification adopted by the United
Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
North Africa
West Africa
Central Africa
Eastern Africa
Southern Africa
72  |  The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015
Contributing agencies
Contributions on data and analysis for each target
presented under the eight goals were provided by
individual agencies as indicated below:
•• Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Target 1.A: World Bank and UN-Women
Target 1.B: ILO
Target 1.C: FAO and UNICEF
Additional contribution: UNHCR
•• Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
Target 2.A: UNESCO
•• Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower
women
Target 3.A: ILO, IPU, UNESCO and UN-Women
•• Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
Target 4.A: UNICEF, United Nations Population Division,
World Bank and WHO
•• Goal 5: Improve maternal health
Target 5.A: UNFPA, UNICEF, United Nations
Population Division, World Bank and WHO
Target 5.B: UNFPA, UNICEF and United Nations
Population Division
•• Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other
diseases
Target 6.A: UNAIDS, UNICEF and WHO
Target 6.B: UNAIDS and WHO
Target 6.C: UNICEF and WHO
•• Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
Target 7.A: CDIAC, FAO, UNEP and UNFCCC
Target 7.B: IUCN and UNEP-WCMC
Target 7.C: UNICEF
Target 7.D: UN-Habitat
•• Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development
Target 8.A: ITC, UNCTAD and WTO
Target 8.B and 8.C: OECD
Target 8.D: World Bank
Target 8.E: WHO
Target 8.F: ITU
Copyright © United Nations, 2015
All rights reserved.
For more information visit the UN Statistics Division
Millennium Development Goals website at
http://mdgs.un.org.
Visit the UN Millennium Development Goals website at
www.un.org/millenniumgoals.
Visit the UN Millennium Campaign Office website at
www.endpoverty2015.org.
Photo credits:
Cover	 © UNICEF/Syed Altaf Ahmad
Page 2	 © Virginia Hooper
Page 15	 © UNICEF/Bindra
Page 19	 © Nonie Reyes / World Bank
Page 20	 © Curt Carnemark / World Bank
Page 25	 © UNICEF/Richter
Page 29	 © Nafise Motlaq /World Bank
Page 34	 © UNICEF/Bindra
Page 35	 © UNICEF/Esiebo
Page 37	 © UNICEF/Romenzi
Page 40	 © UNICEF/Biswas
Page 50	 © UNICEF/Irwin
Page 53	 © John Hogg/World Bank
Page 57	 © UN Photo/Ky Chung
Page 61	 © Boris Balabanov / World Bank
Page 63	 © Chhor Sokunthea/ World Bank
Page 65	 © Scott Wallace / World Bank
Page 69	 © UNICEF/Esteve
Icon credit:
All icons used are in the public domain, with the
exception of the “Mosquito net” symbol on page 6,
which was created by Luis Prado and is taken from
thenounproject.com.
Editor: 	 Catharine Way
2  |  The Millennium Development Goals: Report 2010
“2015 is a milestone year. We will complete
the Millennium Development Goals.
We are forging a bold vision for sustainable
development, including a set of sustainable
development goals. And we are aiming for
a new, universal climate agreement.”
— UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
ISBN 978-92-1-101320-7
15-04513