From The World Bank Group:
Social Indicators technical notes Population
Poverty
Income
Income/Consumption Distribution
Social Indicators
Population
Population is a World Bank estimate for mid-year population, based, in
most cases, on a de facto definition, which counts all residents regardless of legal
status or citizenship. Note, however, that refugees not permanently settled in the country
of asylum are generally considered to be part of the population of their country of
origin. Population numbers are either current census data or historical census data
extrapolated through certain demographic models. The average annual growth rate is
computed from end-point data using an exponential growth model. The equation is r =
ln(pn/p1)/n where pn and p1
are the last and first observations in the period, n is the number of years in the
period, and ln is the natural logarithm operator.
Urban population is the midyear population of areas defined as urban in
each country and reported to the United Nations. It is measured here as the percentage of
the total population.
Total fertility rate represents the number of children that would be born
to a woman if she were to live to the end of her childbearing years and bear children in
accordance with current age-specific fertility rates.
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Poverty
National headcount index is the percentage of the population living below
the poverty line deemed appropriate for the country by its authorities. National estimates
are based on population-weighted subgroup estimates from household surveys.
Urban headcount index is the percentage of the urban population living
below the poverty line.
Rural headcount index is the percentage of the rural population living
below the poverty line.
Income
GNP per capita is the gross national product, converted to U.S. dollars
using the World Bank Atlas method, divided by the
midyear population. GNP is the sum of gross value added by all resident producers plus any
taxes (less subsidies) that are not included in the valuation of output plus net receipts
of primary income (employee compensation and property income) from nonresident sources.
Consumer price index reflects the change in the cost to the average
consumer of acquiring a fixed basket of goods and services. In general, a Laspeyres index
formula is used.
Food price index reflects the change in the prices of foods used for
private consumption in households. Food price indexes are a subindex of the consumer price
index
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Income/Consumption
Distribution
Share of income or consumption is the share that accrues to subgroups of
population indicated by deciles or quintiles. Lowest quintile is the share
accruing to the 20% of the population ranked lowest by personal or family income. Highest
quintile is the share accruing to the 20% of the population ranked highest.
Social Indicators
Public expenditure on health consists of recurrent and capital spending
from government (central bank and local) budgets, external borrowings and grants
(including donations from international agencies and nongovernmental organizations), and
social (or compulsory) health insurance funds.
Public expenditure on education includes expenditures on public education
plus subsidies to private education at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels.
Public expenditure on social security and welfare shows compensation for
loss of income to the sick and temporarily disabled, payments to the elderly, the
permanently disabled, and the unemployed; family, maternity, and child allowances; and the
cost of welfare services, such as care of the aged, the disabled, and children, as
percentage of total government expenditures.
Net primary school enrollment rate 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.
Access to safe water is the share of the population with reasonable
access to an adequate amount of safe water (including treated surface water and untreated
but uncontaminated water, such as from springs, sanitary wells, and protected boreholes).
In urban areas the source may be a public fountain or standpost located not
more than 200 meters away. In rural areas the definition implies that
members of the household do not have to spend a disproportionate part of the day fetching
water. An adequate amount of water is that needed to satisfy metabolic, hygienic, and
domestic requirements, usually about 20 liters of safe water a person per day.
Immunization rate measures the rate of vaccination coverage of children
under one year of age. A child is considered adequately immunized against measles
after receiving one dose of vaccine. A child is considered adequately immunized against DPT
(diphtheria, pertussis or whooping cough, and tetanus) after receiving two or three doses
of vaccine, depending on the immunization scheme.
Child malnutrition is the percentage of children under 5 whose weight for
age is less than minus 2 standard deviations from the median of the reference population.
Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant
would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the
same throughout its life.
Infant mortality is the number of infants who die before reaching one
year of age, per 1,000 live births in a given year.
Under 5 mortality is the probability that a new born will die before
reaching age 5, if subject to current age-specific mortality rates.
Adult mortality is the probability of dying between the ages of 15 and
60, that is, the percentage of 15-year-olds who will die before their sixtieth birthday.
Maternal mortality is the number of female deaths that occur during
pregnancy and childbirth per 100,000 live births.
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