Population, Health, and Human Well-Being—Sources and Definitions Demographic
and Health Indicators Total Population refers to the de facto midyear population
of a country. The U.N. Population Division compiles and evaluates census and
survey results from all countries, adjusting data for the miscalculation of
certain age and sex groups, misreporting of age and sex distributions, and changes
in definitions, when necessary. These adjustments incorporate data from civil
registrations, population surveys, earlier censuses, and population models based
on information from socioeconomically similar countries. All projections assume
medium levels of fertility.
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Population Density is calculated by WRI as the number of persons per square
kilometer of land area. Population data are from the United Nations Population
division. Total land area is from FAOSTAT. Average Annual Population Growth
Rate refers to the percentage growth in the midyear population of each country.
The values are estimated using demographic models based on several kinds of
demographic parameters: a country's population size, age and sex distribution,
levels of internal and international migration, fertility and mortality rates
by age and sex groups, and growth rates of urban and rural populations. Information
collected through recent population censuses and surveys is used to calculate
or estimate these parameters.
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Urban and Rural areas are defined by parameters that vary slightly from country
to country. Many countries define an urban area by the total number of inhabitants
in a population agglomeration. Typically the threshold for considering a region
urban is between 1,000 and 10,000 inhabitants. Any person not inhabiting an
area classified as urban is counted in the rural population.
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Percentage of Population Under age 15 or Over age 65 refer to the de facto
population of a given country or region in the given age groups as of July 1
of a given year. All projections assume medium levels of fertility.
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Living in Urban Areas refers to the midyear population of areas defined as
urban in each country.
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Average Total Fertility Rate is an estimate of the number of children an average
woman would have if current age-specific fertility rates remained constant during
her reproductive years. All projections are for the medium-case fertility scenario,
which makes three assumptions. 1) Fertility in highfertility countries will
decline at an average pace of nearly one child per decade starting in 2005 or
later, so that some of these countries do not reach replacement level (2.1 children
per woman) by 2050. 2) Fertility in medium-fertility countries is assumed to
reach replacement level before 2050. 3) Fertility in low-fertility countries
is generally assumed to remain below replacement level during most of the projection
period, reaching by 2045-2050 the fertility of the cohort of women born in the
early 1960s or, if that information is lacking, reaching between 1.7 and 1.9
children per woman.
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Infant Mortality Rate is an approximation of the number of deaths per 1,000
live births per year who die within on year of birth. The data are based on
a review of all available national sources by the Population Division of the
UN Secretariat. In developing countries where civil registration data are deficient,
the most reliable sources are demographic surveys of households. Where these
are not available, other sources and general estimates are made which are necessarily
of limited reliability. Under-Five Mortality Rate is the probability of a child
dying between birth and age five expressed per 1,000 live births. The data is
reported by countries from their national civil registration systems. Some are
estimates prepared by national and international statistical services from population
surveys. The completeness and accuracy of the data which these systems produce
vary from one country or area to another.
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Female Life Expectancy at Birth and Male Life Expectancy at Birth is the average
number of years that a newborn baby is expected to live if the agespecific mortality
rates effective at the year of birth apply throughout his or her lifetime. The
Population Division of the UN Secretariat prepares estimates and projections
based on data from national statistical sources. When needed, other sources,
mainly population censuses and demographic surveys, are consulted. In countries
highly affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, estimates of the impact of the disease
are made explicitly by projecting the yearly incidence of HIV infection.
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Births Attended by Trained Personnel is the percentage of births attended by
physicians, nurses, midwives, or primary health care workers trained in midwifery
skills. Women are most in need of skilled care during delivery and the immediate
postpartum period, when roughly three-quarters of all maternal deaths occur.
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Adults and Children Infected with HIV/AIDS is the estimated number of people
with HIV infection, whether or not they have developed symptoms of AIDS, alive
at the end of 2001. The 1999 prevalence rate published by UNAIDS was applied
to the country’s 2001 population to produce these estimates. Children
are defined as those aged 0–14. Adults are defined as those aged 15-49.
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Percent of Adults Ages 15-49 infected with HIV/AIDS is the estimated percentage
of people aged 15-49 living with HIV/AIDS. These estimates include all people
with HIV infection, whether or not they have developed symptoms of AIDS, alive
at the end of 2001. To calculate the adult HIV prevalence rate, the estimated
number of adults living with HIV/AIDS at the end of 2001 was divided by the
2001 adult population (aged 15–49).
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Number of Children Orphaned by AIDS since the beginning of the epidemic is
the estimated number of children under 15 who have lost their mother or both
parents to AIDS since the beginning of the epidemic.
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Sources:
Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, 2002. World Population Prospects: The 2000 Revision. Dataset on CD-ROM. New York: United Nations. Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat (1998). World Urbanization Prospects: The 1999 Revision. Urban and Rural Areas Dataset (POP/DB/WUP/Rev.1999/Table A.3), dataset in digital form. United Nation's Children's Fund (UNICEF), State of the World's Children 2002 (New York 2001), available on-line at: http://www.unicef.org/sowc02/. Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), 2002. HIV/AIDS estimates of data, end 2001. Electronic table available at: http://www.unaids.org/barcelona/presskit/barcelona%20report/contents.html. Geneva, UNAIDS.
Improved Water and Sanitation
Access to Improved Sanitation. Improved Sanitation includes any of the following
excreta disposal facilities: connection to a public sewer, connection to a septic
tank, pour-flush latrine, simple pit latrine, and ventilated improved pit latrine.
The World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes that these data measure access
to an improved excreta disposal system--access to a sanitary system cannot be
adequately measured on a global scale. The dataset did not provide a standard
definition of Urban or Rural areas. The countries' own working definition of
urban and rural was used.
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Access to Improved Water. An improved water source includes any of the following
types of drinking water sources: household connections, public standpipes, boreholes,
protected dug wells, protected springs, and rainwater collection. At least 20
liters per person per day of this water must be available within one kilometer
of a user's dwelling. WHO emphasizes that these data measure access to an improved
water supply--access to a safe water supply cannot be adequately measured on
a global scale. The dataset did not provide a standard definition of Urban or
Rural areas. The countries' own working definition of urban and rural was used.
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Sources:
United Nation's Children's Fund (UNICEF). 2001. State of the World's Children
2002. Available on-line at http://www.unicef.org/sowc02/. New York: UNICEF.
Data were originally collected under the UNICEF- WHO Joint Monitoring Program.
School Enrollment and Literacy Net Primary School Enrollment is defined as the
enrollment of the official age-group for a primary level of education, expressed
as a percentage of the population from the same age group. If the value is below
100%, users should not assume that the remaining school-aged population is not
enrolled in any school; they could be enrolled in school at other grade levels.
Primary Education is defined by the International Standard Classification of
Education (ISCED) as the "beginning of systematic apprenticeship of reading,
writing and mathematics". Programs are typically six years long and represent
the beginning of compulsory education in many countries.
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Net Secondary School Enrollment is defined as the enrollment of the official
age-group for a secondary level of education, expressed as a percentage of the
population from the same age group. If the value is below 100%, users should
not assume that the remaining school-aged population is not enrolled in any
school; they could be enrolled in school at other grade levels. Secondary education
follows primary education, and is characterized as being subject-oriented with
specialized fields of learning. Programs may be vocational or technical in nature,
and students achieve a full implementation of basic skills.
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Gross Tertiary School Enrollment is defined as the total enrollment, regardless
of age, expressed as a percentage of the official school-age population for
a tertiary level of education. Gross enrollment ratio can be over 100% due to
the inclusion of over-aged and under-aged students. Such values indicate that
a country is, in principle, able to accommodate all of its school-age population.
Tertiary education provides the level of education required for entry into an
advanced research program or a profession with high skills requirements. Faculty
are typically required to have advanced research credentials.
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Literacy Rates are determined through census and survey data. If that information
is lacking, estimates are based on neighboring countries with similar characteristics,
including life expectancy at birth, enrollment ratio in secondary education,
and fertility rate. Adult Literacy Rate is defined as the population of women
or men aged 15 years and over who cannot both read and write with understanding
a short, simple statement on their everyday life. This indicator can be used
to measure gender parity in education, the achievement of literacy programs
and the effectiveness of primary education.
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Youth Literacy Rate is defined as the percentage of the population aged 15
to 24 years old who can both read and write with understanding a short, simple
statement on their everyday life. Youth illiteracy rates are increasingly used
to gauge the impact of primary education as well as the speed with which illiteracy
can be eradicated.
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Sources:
United Nations Educational Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics. 2002. World Education Indicators. Paris: UNESCO. United Nations Educational Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics, Literacy and Non Formal Education Sector. 2002. Special Estimates and Projections of Adult Illiteracy for Population Aged 15 Years Old and Above, By Country and By Gender. Paris: UNESCO. United Nations Educational Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics, Literacy and Non Formal Education Sector. 2002. Special Estimates and Projections of Adult Illiteracy for Countries With No Census Data. Paris: UNESCO. Data are provided to WRI directly from UNESCO.