This report is devoted to the role and effectiveness of the state: what the state should do, how it should do it, and how it can do it better in a rapidly changing world. The pathways to an effective state are many and varied. The report provides a framework for guiding these efforts, in the form of a two-part strategy. The first part of the…

Demography is the scientific study of populations. Population change has an impact on every facet of life. This revised handbook contains additional information on how to calculate the total fertility rate and life tables. The purpose of the handbook is to clarify and explain demographic terminology, to aid public understanding, and to assist…

This statistical handbook is a user-friendly, up-to-date resource, and provides a thorough examination of the causes, effects, and ramifications of poverty throughout the developing world. The handbook contains more than 400 tables, graphs, and charts. In addition, it includes two special sections which contain information not consistently…

Worldwide enrollment in primary education has grown from 332 million in 1960 to 593 million in 1988. Despite this increase, a sizable proportion of primary school-age children in developing countries are not enrolled in school. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 56 million students are enrolled in primary education, but 38 million (49%) of the region's…

This document provides a preliminary set of environmental indicators by which to measure environmental performance. The indicators are patterned on the outline of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) "Report on the State of the Environment," a companion volume published in the same year. This volume is…

Using a data set of 123 countries, the status of youth was analyzed on a global scale. The relative proportions of youth and adult populations and the opportunities nations provided their young people were evaluated. The implications of inter-age and intra-age stratification throughout the world are discussed. (SLD)

Worldwide educational indicators are presented in tables and graphs by region. The indicators are selected to highlight the International Literacy Year and Education for All, two programs of particular importance to the United Nations. Data are presented for the school years beginning in 1970, 1975, 1980, and select years up to 1987. The terms…

Profiling the lives of children around the world at the end of the 20th century, this report calls on the international community to undertake the urgent actions necessary to realize the rights of every child. Part 1 of the report summarizes the progress made over the last decade in meeting the goals established at the 1990 World Summit for…