About the data
Definitions
Data sources

About the data

The indicators in this table are intended to measure progress toward the development goals for the 21st century proposed by the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee and discussed in the introduction to this section. The net enrollment ratio, infant and child mortality rates, and the maternal mortality rate are included in the set of monitoring indicators identified in Strategy 21. For further discussion of the monitoring indicators, see the introduction to section 2 and About the data for the tables in which the indicators appear.

Estimates of the number of people living in poverty appear in table 2.7. The growth of private consumption per capita is included here as an indicator of the effect of economic development has on the welfare of individuals. Positive growth rates are generally associated with a reduction in poverty, but where the distribution of income or consumption is highly unequal, the poor may not share in the improvement. The relationship between the rate of poverty reduction and the distribution of income or consumption, as measured by an index such as the Gini index, is complicated. But Ravallion (1997) has found that the rate of poverty reduction is directly proportional to the "distribution-corrected rate of growth" of private consumption. The distribution-corrected rate of growth is calculated as (1–G)r, where G is the Gini index (0 = perfect equality, 1 = perfect inequality) and r is the rate of growth in mean private consumption. In empirical tests covering 23 developing countries, Ravallion estimated that factor of proportionality to be 4.4, implying a growth elasticity of poverty reduction of between 3.3 for a low Gini index of 0.25 and 1.8 for a high Gini index of 0.60.

Definitions

• Growth of private consumption per capita is the average annual rate of change in private consumption divided by the midyear population. See the definition of private consumption in table 4.9. • Distribution-corrected growth of private consumption per capita is 1 minus the Gini index multiplied by the annual rate of growth in private consumption. • Net enrollment ratio is the ratio of the number of children of official school age enrolled in school to the number of children of official school age in the population. • Infant mortality rate is the number of deaths of infants under one year of age during the indicated year per 1,000 live births in the same year. • Under-5 mortality rate is the probability of a child born in the indicated year dying before reaching the age of 5, if subject to current age-specific mortality rates. The probability is expressed as a rate per 1000. • Maternal mortality ratio is the number of women who die during pregnancy and childbirth, per 100,000 live births.

Data sources

The indicators here and throughout the rest of the book have been compiled by World Bank staff from primary and secondary sources. More information about the indicators and their sources can be found in the About the data, Definitions, and Data sources entries that accompany each table in subsequent sections.

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Size of the economy

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