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WORLD
DEVELOPMENT
INDICATORS
 INCOME MAP
The world by income

Low income Honduras Grenada Hong Kong SAR, China

Afghanistan India Iran, Islamic Rep. Hungary
Bangladesh Indonesia Jamaica Iceland
Benin Iraq Kazakhstan Ireland
Burkina Faso Jordan Lebanon Isle of Man
Burundi Kiribati Libya Israel
Cambodia Kosovo Lithuania Italy
Central African Republic Lesotho Macedonia, FYR Japan
Chad Maldives Malaysia Korea, Rep.
Comoros Marshall Islands Mauritius Kuwait
Congo, Dem. Rep. Micronesia, Fed. Sts. Mayotte Latvia
Eritrea Moldova Mexico Liechtenstein
Ethiopia Mongolia Montenegro Luxembourg
Gambia, The Morocco Namibia Macao SAR, China
Ghana Nicaragua Palau Malta
Guinea Nigeria Panama Monaco
Guinea-Bissau Pakistan Peru Netherlands
Haiti Papua New Guinea Romania Netherlands Antilles
Kenya Paraguay Russian Federation New Caledonia
Korea, Dem. Rep. Philippines Serbia New Zealand
Kyrgyz Republic Samoa Seychelles Northern Mariana Islands
Lao PDR São Tomé and Principe South Africa Norway
Liberia Senegal St. Kitts and Nevis Oman
Madagascar Sri Lanka St. Lucia Poland
Malawi Sudan St. Vincent and the Portugal
Mali Swaziland Grenadines Puerto Rico
Mauritania Syrian Arab Republic Suriname Qatar
Mozambique Thailand Turkey San Marino
Myanmar Timor-Leste Uruguay Saudi Arabia
Nepal Tonga Venezuela, RB Singapore
Niger Tunisia Slovak Republic
Rwanda Turkmenistan High income Slovenia
Sierra Leone Tuvalu Andorra Spain
Solomon Islands Ukraine Aruba Sweden
Somalia Uzbekistan Australia Switzerland
Tajikistan Vanuatu Austria Trinidad and Tobago
Tanzania Vietnam Bahamas, The Turks and Caicos Islands
Togo West Bank and Gaza Bahrain United Arab Emirates
Uganda Yemen, Rep. Barbados United Kingdom
Zambia Belgium United States
Zimbabwe Upper middle income Bermuda Virgin Islands (U.S.)
Albania Brunei Darussalam
Lower middle income Algeria Canada
Angola American Samoa Cayman Islands
Armenia Antigua and Barbuda Channel Islands
Belize Argentina Croatia
Bhutan Azerbaijan Cyprus
Bolivia Belarus Czech Republic
Cameroon Bosnia and Herzegovina Denmark
Cape Verde Botswana Equatorial Guinea
China Brazil Estonia
Congo, Rep. Bulgaria Faeroe Islands
Côte d'Ivoire Chile Finland
Djibouti Colombia France
Ecuador Costa Rica French Polynesia
Egypt, Arab Rep. Cuba Germany
El Salvador Dominica Gibraltar
Georgia Dominican Republic Greece
Guatemala Fiji Greenland
Guyana Gabon Guam
 Designed and edited by
Communications Development Incorporated,
Washington, D.C.,
with Peter Grundy Art & Design, London
2011 WORLD DEVELOPMENT
INDICATORS
Copyright 2011 by the International Bank
for Reconstruction and Development/THE WORLD BANK
1818 H Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20433 USA

All rights reserved

Manufactured in the United States of America
First printing April 2011

This volume is a product of the staff of the Development Data Group of the World Bank’s Development Economics
Vice Presidency, and the judgments herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank’s Board of Execu-
tive Directors or the countries they represent.

The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsi-
bility whatsoever for any consequence of their use. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information
shown on any map in this volume do not imply on the part of the World Bank any judgment on the legal status of
any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. This publication uses the Robinson projection
for maps, which represents both area and shape reasonably well for most of the earth’s surface. Nevertheless,
some distortions of area, shape, distance, and direction remain.

The material in this publication is copyrighted. Requests for permission to reproduce portions of it should be sent
to the Office of the Publisher at the address in the copyright notice above. The World Bank encourages dissemina-
tion of its work and will normally give permission promptly and, when reproduction is for noncommercial purposes,
without asking a fee. Permission to photocopy portions for classroom use is granted through the Copyright Center,
Inc., Suite 910, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923 USA.

Photo credits: Front cover, Curt Carnemark/World Bank; page xxiv, Curt Carnemark/World Bank; page 30, Trevor
Samson/World Bank; page 122, Curt Carnemark/World Bank; page 188, Curt Carnemark/World Bank; page 262,
Ray Witlin/World Bank; page 318, Curt Carnemark/World Bank.

If you have questions or comments about this product, please contact:

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2011 WORLD DEVELOPMENT
INDICATORS
PREFACE
World Development Indicators 2011, the 15th edition in its current format, aims to provide relevant, high-quality, inter-
nationally comparable statistics about development and the quality of people’s lives around the globe. This latest
printed volume is one of a group of products; others include an online dataset, accessible at http://data.worldbank.
org; the popular Little Data Book series; and DataFinder, a data query and charting application for mobile devices.

Fifteen years ago, World Development Indicators was overhauled and redesigned, organizing the data to present an
integrated view of development, with the goal of putting these data in the hands of policymakers, development spe-
cialists, students, and the public in a way that makes the data easy to use. Although there have been small changes,
the format has stood the test of time, and this edition employs the same sections as the first one: world view, people,
environment, economy, states and markets, and global links.

Technical innovation and the rise of connected computing devices have gradually changed the way users obtain and
consume the data in the World Development Indicators database. Last year saw a more abrupt change: the decision
in April 2010 to make the dataset freely available resulted in a large, immediate increase in the use of the on-line
resources. Perhaps more important has been the shift in how the data are used. Software developers are now free to
use the data in applications they develop—and they are doing just that. We applaud and encourage all efforts to use
the World Bank’s databases in creative ways to solve the world’s most pressing development challenges.

This edition of World Development Indicators focuses on the impact of the decision to make data freely available under
an open license and with better online tools. To help those who wish to use and reuse the data in these new ways, the
section introductions discuss key issues in measuring the economic and social phenomena described in the tables
and charts and introduce new sources of data.

World Development Indicators is possible only through the excellent collaboration of many partners who provide the
data that form part of this collection, and we thank them all: the United Nations family, the International Monetary
Fund, the World Trade Organization, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the statistical
offices of more than 200 economies, and countless others who make this unique product possible. As always, we
welcome your ideas for making the data in World Development Indicators useful and relevant for improving the lives of
people around the world.

Shaida Badiee
Director
Development Economics Data Group

2011 World Development Indicators v

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book was prepared by a team led by Soong Sup Lee under the management of Neil Fantom and comprising Awatif
Abuzeid, Mehdi Akhlaghi, Azita Amjadi, Uranbileg Batjargal, Maja Bresslauer, David Cieslikowski, Mahyar Eshragh-
Tabary, Shota Hatakeyama, Masako Hiraga, Bala Bhaskar Naidu Kalimili, Buyant Khaltarkhuu, Elysee Kiti, Alison
Kwong, Ibrahim Levent, Johan Mistiaen, Sulekha Patel, William Prince, Premi Rathan Raj, Evis Rucaj, Eric Swanson,
Jomo Tariku, and Estela Zamora, working closely with other teams in the Development Economics Vice Presidency’s
Development Data Group. World Development Indicators electronic products were prepared by a team led by Reza
Farivari, consisting of Ramvel Chandrasekaran, Ying Chi, Jean-Pierre Djomalieu, Ramgopal Erabelly, Shelley Fu, Gytis
Kanchas, Ugendran Makhachkala, Vilas Mandlekar, Nacer Megherbi, Parastoo Oloumi, Malarvizhi Veerappan, and
Vera Wen. The work was carried out under the direction of Shaida Badiee. Valuable advice was provided by Shahrokh
Fardoust.

The choice of indicators and text content was shaped through close consultation with and substantial contributions
from staff in the World Bank’s four thematic networks—Sustainable Development, Human Development, Poverty
Reduction and Economic Management, and Financial and Private Sector Development—and staff of the International
Finance Corporation and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency. Most important, the team received substan-
tial help, guidance, and data from external partners. For individual acknowledgments of contributions to the book’s
content, please see Credits. For a listing of our key partners, see Partners.

Communications Development Incorporated (CDI) provided editorial services, led by Meta de Coquereaumont, Bruce
Ross-Larson, and Christopher Trott. Jomo Tariku designed the cover, Deborah Arroyo and Elaine Wilson typeset the
book, and Katrina Van Duyn provided proofreading. Azita Amjadi and Alison Kwong oversaw the production process.
Staff from External Affairs Office of the Publisher oversaw printing and dissemination of the book.

2011 World Development Indicators vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS
FRONT 2. PEOPLE
Preface v Introduction 31
Acknowledgments vii
Tables
Partners xii
Users guide xxii
2.1 Population dynamics 36
2.2 Labor force structure 40
2.3 Employment by economic activity 44

1. WORLD VIEW
2.4 Decent work and productive employment 48
2.5 Unemployment 52
2.6 Children at work 56
2.7 Poverty rates at national poverty lines 60
Introduction 1 2.8 Poverty rates at international poverty lines 63
Tables 2.9 Distribution of income or consumption 68
1.1 Size of the economy 10 2.10 Assessing vulnerability and security 72
1.2 Millennium Development Goals: eradicating poverty and 2.11 Education inputs 76
saving lives 14 2.12 Participation in education 80
1.3 Millennium Development Goals: protecting our common 2.13 Education efficiency 84
environment 18 2.14 Education completion and outcomes 88
1.4 Millennium Development Goals: overcoming obstacles 22 2.15 Education gaps by income and gender 92
1.5 Women in development 24 2.16 Health systems 94
1.6 Key indicators for other economies 28 2.17 Health information 98
2.18 Disease prevention coverage and quality 102
Text figures, tables, and boxes 2.19 Reproductive health 106
1a Use of World Bank data has risen with the launch of the 2.20 Nutrition 110
Open Data Initiative 1 2.21 Health risk factors and future challenges 114
1b Terms of use for World Bank data 2 2.22 Mortality 118
1c Access to information at the World Bank 3
1d Progress toward eradicating poverty 4 Text figures, tables, and boxes
1e Progress toward universal primary education completion 4 2a Maternal mortality ratios have declined in all developing
1f Progress toward gender parity 4 country regions since 1990 31
1g Progress toward reducing child mortality 5 2b Maternal mortality ratios have declined fastest
1h Progress toward improving maternal health 5 among low- and lower middle-income countries but remain high 31
1i HIV incidence is remaining stable or decreasing in many 2c The births of many children in Asia and Africa go unregistered 32
developing countries, but many lack data 5 2d In Nigeria, children’s births are more likely to be unregistered
1j Progress on access to an improved water source 6 in rural areas . . . 33
1k Progress on access to improved sanitation 6 2e . . . in poor households . . . 33
1l Official development assistance provided by Development 2f . . . and where the mother has a lower education level 33
Assistance Committee members 7 2g Most people live in countries with low-quality cause of death
1.2a Location of indicators for Millennium Development Goals 1–4 17 statistics 34
1.3a Location of indicators for Millennium Development Goals 5–7 21 2h More countries used surveys for mortality statistics, but civil
1.4a Location of indicators for Millennium Development Goal 8 23 registration did not expand 34
2i Estimates of infant mortality in the Philippines differ by source 35
2.6a The largest sector for child labor remains agriculture, and the
majority of children work as unpaid family members 59
2.8a While the number of people living on less than $1.25 a day has
fallen, the number living on $1.25–$2.00 a day has increased 65
2.8b Poverty rates have begun to fall 65
2.8c Regional poverty estimates 66
2.13a There are more overage children among the poor in primary
school in Zambia 87
2.17a South Asia has the highest number of unregistered births 101

viii 2011 World Development Indicators

 3. ENVIRONMENT
Introduction 123 3.4a At least 33 percent of assessed species are estimated to be
threatened 141
Tables
3.1 Rural population and land use 126
3.5a Agriculture is still the largest user of water, accounting for
some 70 percent of global withdrawals . . . 145
3.2 Agricultural inputs 130
3.5b . . . and approaching 90 percent in some developing regions 145
3.3 Agricultural output and productivity 134
3.6a Emissions of organic water pollutants vary among countries
3.4 Deforestation and biodiversity 138
from 1990 to 2007 149
3.5 Freshwater 142
3.7a A person in a high-income economy uses more than 14 times
3.6 Water pollution 146
as much energy on average as a person in a low-income economy in
3.7 Energy production and use 150
2008 153
3.8 Energy dependency and efficiency and carbon dioxide emissions 154
3.7b Fossil fuels are still the primary global energy source in 2008 153
3.9 Trends in greenhouse gas emissions 158
3.8a High-income economies depend on imported energy 157
3.10 Sources of electricity 162
3.9a The six largest contributors to methane emissions account
3.11 Urbanization 166
for about 50 percent of emissions 161
3.12 Urban housing conditions 170
3.9b The five largest contributors to nitrous oxide emissions
3.13 Traffic and congestion 174
account for about 50 percent of emissions 161
3.14 Air pollution 178
3.10a More than 50 percent of electricity in Latin America is
3.15 Government commitment 180
produced by hydropower 165
3.16 Contribution of natural resources to gross domestic product 184
3.10b Lower middle-income countries produce the majority of their
Text figures, tables, and boxes power from coal 165
3a The 10 countries with the highest natural resource rents are 3.11a Urban population is increasing in developing economies,
primarily oil and gas producers 124 especially in low and lower middle-income economies 169
3b Countries with negative adjusted net savings are depleting 3.11b Latin America and Caribbean has the greatest share of
natural capital without replacing it and are becoming poorer 124 urban population, even greater than the high-income
3.1a What is rural? Urban? 129 economies in 2009 169
3.2a Nearly 40 percent of land globally is devoted to agriculture 133 3.12a Selected housing indicators for smaller economies 173
3.2b Rainfed agriculture plays a significant role in Sub-Saharan 3.13a Biogasoline consumption as a share of total
agriculture where about 95 percent of cropland depends on consumption is highest in Brazil . . . 177
precipitation, 2008 133 3.13b . . . but the United States consumes the most biogasoline 177
3.3a The food production index has increased steadily since early 3.16a Oil dominates the contribution of natural resources in the
1960, and the index for low-income economies has been Middle East and North Africa 187
higher than the world average since early 2000 137 3.16b Upper middle-income countries have the highest contribution
3.3b Cereal yield in Sub-Saharan Africa increased between 1990 of natural resources to GDP 187
and 2009 but still is the lowest among the regions 137

2011 World Development Indicators ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS
4. ECONOMY 5. STATES AND MARKETS
Introduction 189 Introduction 263
Tables Tables
4.a Recent economic performance 192 5.1 Private sector in the economy 266
4.1 Growth of output 194 5.2 Business environment: Enterprise Surveys 270
4.2 Structure of output 198 5.3 Business environment: Doing Business indicators 274
4.3 Structure of manufacturing 202 5.4 Stock markets 278
4.4 Structure of merchandise exports 206 5.5 Financial access, stability, and efficiency 282
4.5 Structure of merchandise imports 210 5.6 Tax policies 286
4.6 Structure of service exports 214 5.7 Military expenditures and arms transfers 290
4.7 Structure of service imports 218 5.8 Fragile situations 294
4.8 Structure of demand 222 5.9 Public policies and institutions 298
4.9 Growth of consumption and investment 226 5.10 Transport services 302
4.10 Toward a broader measure of national income 230 5.11 Power and communications 306
4.11 Toward a broader measure of saving 234 5.12 The information age 310
4.12 Central government finances 238 5.13 Science and technology 314
4.13 Central government expenses 242
Text figures, tables, and boxes
4.14 Central government revenues 246
5a The average business in Latin America and the Caribbean
4.15 Monetary indicators 250
spends about 400 hours a year in preparing, filing, and
4.16 Exchange rates and prices 254
paying business taxes, 2009 264
4.17 Balance of payments current account 258
5b Firms in East Asia and the Pacific have the lowest business
Text figures, tables, and boxes tax rate, 2010 264
4a Differences in GDP growth among developing country regions 189 5c Two approaches to collecting business environment data:
4b Developing countries are contributing more to global growth 189 Doing Business and Enterprise Surveys 265
4c Economies—both developing and high income—rebounded 5d People living in developing countries of East Asia and Pacific
in 2010 190 have more commercial bank accounts than those in other
4d Revisions to GDP decline over time, and GDP data become developing country regions, 2009 265
more stable on average 190
4e Ghana’s revised GDP was 60 percent higher in the new base
year, 2006 190
4f Revised data for Ghana show a larger share of services in GDP 190
4g Commission on the Measurement of Economic and Social
Progress 191
4.3a Manufacturing continues to show strong growth in East Asia
and Pacific through 2009 205
4.4a Developing economies’ share of world merchandise exports
continues to expand 209
4.5a Top 10 developing economy exporters of merchandise goods
in 2009 213
4.6a Top 10 developing economy exporters of commercial services
in 2009 217
4.7a The mix of commercial service imports by developing
economies is changing 221
4.9a GDP per capita is still lagging in some regions 229
4.10a GDP and adjusted net national income in Sub-Saharan Africa,
2000–09 233
4.12a Twenty selected economies had a central government debt
to GDP ratio of 65 percent or higher 241
4.13a Interest payments are a large part of government expenses
for some developing economies 245
4.14a Rich economies rely more on direct taxes 249
4.17a Top 15 economies with the largest reserves in 2009 261

x 2011 World Development Indicators

 6. GLOBAL LINKS
Introduction 319 Text figures, tables, and boxes
Tables
6a Source of data for bilateral trade flows 320
6.1 Integration with the global economy 324
6b Trade in professional services faces the highest barriers 320
6.2 Growth of merchandise trade 328
6c Discrepancies persist in measures of FDI net flows 321
6.3 Direction and growth of merchandise trade 332
6d Source of data on FDI 322
6.4 High-income economy trade with low- and middle-income
6e At least 30 percent of remittance inflows go unrecorded by
the sending economies 323
economies 335
6.5 Direction of trade of developing economies 338
6f Migrants originating from low- and middle-income economies
and residing in high-income economies rose fivefold over
6.6 Primary commodity prices 341
1960–2000 323
6.7 Regional trade blocs 344
6g The ratio of central government debt to GDP has increased
6.8 Tariff barriers 348
for most economies, 2007–10 323
6.9 Trade facilitation 352
6.3a More than half of the world’s merchandise trade takes place
6.10 External debt 356
between high-income economies. But low- and middle-income
6.11 Ratios for external debt 360
economies’ participation in the global trade has increased in
6.12 Global private financial flows 364
the past 15 years 334
6.13 Net official financial flows 368
6.4a Low-income economies have a small market share in the
6.14 Financial flows from Development Assistance Committee
global market of various commodities 337
members 372
6.15 Allocation of bilateral aid from Development Assistance
6.5a Developing economies are trading more with other
developing economies 340
Committee members 374
6.16 Aid dependency 376
6.6a Primary commodity prices soared again in 2010 343
6.17 Distribution of net aid by Development Assistance
6.7a Global Preferential Trade Agreements Database 347
Committee members 380
6.11a Ratio of debt services to exports for middle-income economies
have sharply increased in 2009 as export revenues declined 363
6.18 Movement of people across borders 384
6.16a Official development assistance from non-DAC donors,
6.19 Travel and tourism 388
2005–09 379
6.17a Beyond the DAC: The role of other providers of development
assistance 383

BACK
Primary data documentation 393
Statistical methods 404
Credits 406
Bibliography 408
Index of indicators 418

2011 World Development Indicators xi

PARTNERS
Defining, gathering, and disseminating international statistics is a collective effort of many people and
organizations. The indicators presented in World Development Indicators are the fruit of decades of work
at many levels, from the field workers who administer censuses and household surveys to the committees
and working parties of the national and international statistical agencies that develop the nomenclature,
classifications, and standards fundamental to an international statistical system. Nongovernmental organiza-
tions and the private sector have also made important contributions, both in gathering primary data and in
organizing and publishing their results. And academic researchers have played a crucial role in developing
statistical methods and carrying on a continuing dialogue about the quality and interpretation of statistical
indicators. All these contributors have a strong belief that available, accurate data will improve the quality
of public and private decisionmaking.
The organizations listed here have made World Development Indicators possible by sharing their data
and their expertise with us. More important, their collaboration contributes to the World Bank’s efforts,
and to those of many others, to improve the quality of life of the world’s people. We acknowledge our debt
and gratitude to all who have helped to build a base of comprehensive, quantitative information about the
world and its people.
For easy reference, Web addresses are included for each listed organization. The addresses shown were
active on March 1, 2011. Information about the World Bank is also provided.

International and government agencies

Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center

The Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) is the primary global climate change data and infor-
mation analysis center of the U.S. Department of Energy. The CDIAC’s scope includes anything that would
potentially be of value to those concerned with the greenhouse effect and global climate change, including
concentrations of carbon dioxide and other radiatively active gases in the atmosphere, the role of the ter-
restrial biosphere and the oceans in the biogeochemical cycles of greenhouse gases, emissions of carbon
dioxide to the atmosphere, long-term climate trends, the effects of elevated carbon dioxide on vegetation,
and the vulnerability of coastal areas to rising sea levels.
For more information, see http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/.

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is a German government-owned
corporation for international cooperation with worldwide operations. GIZ’s aim is to positively shape politi-
cal, economic, ecological, and social development in partner countries, thereby improving people’s living
conditions and prospects.
For more information, see www.giz.de/.

xii 2011 World Development Indicators

Food and Agriculture Organization
The Food and Agriculture Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations, was founded in October
1945 with a mandate to raise nutrition levels and living standards, to increase agricultural productivity,
and to better the condition of rural populations. The organization provides direct development assistance;
collects, analyzes, and disseminates information; offers policy and planning advice to governments; and
serves as an international forum for debate on food and agricultural issues.
For more information, see www.fao.org/.

Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre

The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre was established in 1998 by the Norwegian Refugee Council
and is the leading international body monitoring conflict-induced internal displacement worldwide. The center
contributes to improving national and international capacities to protect and assist the millions of people
around the globe who have been displaced within their own country as a result of conflicts or human rights
violations.
For more information, see www.internal-displacement.org/.

International Civil Aviation Organization

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a specialized agency of the United Nations, is respon-
sible for establishing international standards and recommended practices and procedures for the technical,
economic, and legal aspects of international civil aviation operations. ICAO’s strategic objectives include
enhancing global aviation safety and security and the efficiency of aviation operations, minimizing the
adverse effect of global civil aviation on the environment, maintaining the continuity of aviation operations,
and strengthening laws governing international civil aviation.
For more information, see www.icao.int/.

International Energy Agency

The International Energy Agency (IEA) was founded in 1973/74 with a mandate to facilitate cooperation
among the IEA member countries to increase energy efficiency, promoting use of clean energy and technol-
ogy, and diversify their energy sources while protecting the environment. IEA publishes annual and quarterly
statistical publications covering both OECD and non-OECD countries’ statistics on oil, gas, coal, electricity
and renewable sources of energy, energy supply and consumption, and energy prices and taxes. IEA also con-
tributes in analysis of all aspects of sustainable development globally and provides policy recommendations.
For more information, see www.iea.org/.

International Labour Organization

The International Labour Organization (ILO), a specialized agency of the United Nations, seeks the promotion
of social justice and internationally recognized human and labor rights. ILO helps advance the creation of
decent jobs and the kinds of economic and working conditions that give working people and business people

2011 World Development Indicators xiii

PARTNERS
a stake in lasting peace, prosperity, and progress. As part of its mandate, the ILO maintains an extensive
statistical publication program.
For more information, see www.ilo.org/.

International Monetary Fund

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international organization of 187 member countries established
to promote international monetary cooperation, a stable system of exchange rates, and the balanced expan-
sion of international trade and to foster economic growth and high levels of employment. The IMF reviews
national, regional, and global economic and financial developments; provides policy advice to member
countries; and serves as a forum where they can discuss the national, regional, and global consequences
of their policies.
The IMF also makes financing temporarily available to member countries to help them address balance
of payments problems. Among the IMF’s core missions are the collection and dissemination of high-quality
macroeconomic and financial statistics as an essential prerequisite for formulating appropriate policies. The
IMF provides technical assistance and training to member countries in areas of its core expertise, including
the development of economic and financial data in accordance with international standards.
For more information, see www.imf.org/.

International Telecommunication Union

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the leading UN agency for information and communica-
tion technologies. ITU’s mission is to enable the growth and sustained development of telecommunications
and information networks and to facilitate universal access so that people everywhere can participate in,
and benefit from, the emerging information society and global economy. A key priority lies in bridging the
so-called Digital Divide by building information and communication infrastructure, promoting adequate
capacity building, and developing confidence in the use of cyberspace through enhanced online security.
ITU also concentrates on strengthening emergency communications for disaster prevention and mitigation.
For more information, see www.itu.int/.

National Science Foundation

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent U.S. government agency whose mission is to
promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; and to secure the
national defense. NSF’s goals—discovery, learning, research infrastructure, and stewardship—provide an
integrated strategy to advance the frontiers of knowledge, cultivate a world-class, broadly inclusive science
and engineering workforce, expand the scientific literacy of all citizens, build the nation’s research capabil-
ity through investments in advanced instrumentation and facilities, and support excellence in science and
engineering research and education through a capable and responsive organization.
For more information, see www.nsf.gov/.

xiv 2011 World Development Indicators

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) includes 34 member countries shar-
ing a commitment to democratic government and the market economy to support sustainable economic
growth, boost employment, raise living standards, maintain financial stability, assist other countries’ eco-
nomic development, and contribute to growth in world trade. With active relationships with some 100 other
countries, it has a global reach. It is best known for its publications and statistics, which cover economic
and social issues from macroeconomics to trade, education, development, and science and innovation.
The Development Assistance Committee (DAC, www.oecd.org/dac/) is one of the principal bodies through
which the OECD deals with issues related to cooperation with developing countries. The DAC is a key forum
of major bilateral donors, who work together to increase the effectiveness of their common efforts to sup-
port sustainable development. The DAC concentrates on two key areas: the contribution of international
development to the capacity of developing countries to participate in the global economy and the capacity
of people to overcome poverty and participate fully in their societies.
For more information, see www.oecd.org/.

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) conducts research on questions of conflict
and cooperation of importance for international peace and security, with the aim of contributing to an under-
standing of the conditions for peaceful solutions to international conflicts and for a stable peace. SIPRI’s
main publication, SIPRI Yearbook, is an authoritive and independent source on armaments and arms control
and other conflict and security issues.
For more information, see www.sipri.org/.

Understanding Children’s Work

As part of broader efforts to develop effective and long-term solutions to child labor, the International Labour
Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the World Bank initiated the joint interagency
research program “Understanding Children’s Work and Its Impact” in December 2000. The Understanding
Children’s Work (UCW) project was located at UNICEF’s Innocenti Research Centre in Florence, Italy, until
June 2004, when it moved to the Centre for International Studies on Economic Growth in Rome.
The UCW project addresses the crucial need for more and better data on child labor. UCW’s online data-
base contains data by country on child labor and the status of children.
For more information, see www.ucw-project.org/.

United Nations
The United Nations currently has 192 member states. The purposes of the United Nations, as set forth in
its charter, are to maintain international peace and security; to develop friendly relations among nations;
to cooperate in solving international economic, social, cultural, and humanitarian problems and in promot-
ing respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; and to be a center for harmonizing the actions of
nations in attaining these ends.
For more information, see www.un.org/.

2011 World Development Indicators xv

PARTNERS
United Nations Centre for Human Settlements, Global Urban Observatory
The Urban Indicators Programme of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme was established to
address the urgent global need to improve the urban knowledge base by helping countries and cities design,
collect, and apply policy-oriented indicators related to development at the city level.
With the Urban Indicators and Best Practices programs, the Global Urban Observatory is establishing a
worldwide information, assessment, and capacity-building network to help governments, local authorities,
the private sector, and nongovernmental and other civil society organizations.
For more information, see www.unhabitat.org/.

United Nations Children’s Fund

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) works with other UN bodies and with governments and non-
governmental organizations to improve children’s lives in more than 190 countries through various programs
in education and health. UNICEF focuses primarily on five areas: child survival and development, basic
education and gender equality (including girls’ education), child protection, HIV/AIDS, and policy advocacy
and partnerships.
For more information, see www.unicef.org/.

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is the principal organ of the United
Nations General Assembly in the field of trade and development. Its mandate is to accelerate economic
growth and development, particularly in developing countries. UNCTAD discharges its mandate through policy
analysis; intergovernmental deliberations, consensus building, and negotiation; monitoring, implementation,
and follow-up; and technical cooperation.
For more information, see www.unctad.org/.

United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations

The United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations contributes to the most important function of
the United Nations—maintaining international peace and security. The department helps countries torn by
conflict to create the conditions for lasting peace. The first peacekeeping mission was established in 1948
and has evolved to meet the demands of different conflicts and a changing political landscape. Today’s
peacekeepers undertake a wide variety of complex tasks, from helping build sustainable institutions of gov-
ernance, to monitoring human rights, to assisting in security sector reform, to disarmaming, demobilizing,
and reintegrating former combatants.
For more information, see www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/.

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, Institute for Statistics
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the
United Nations that promotes international cooperation among member states and associate members in
education, science, culture, and communications. The UNESCO Institute for Statistics is the organization’s

xvi 2011 World Development Indicators

statistical branch, established in July 1999 to meet the growing needs of UNESCO member states and the
international community for a wider range of policy-relevant, timely, and reliable statistics on these topics.
For more information, see www.uis.unesco.org/.

United Nations Environment Programme

The mandate of the United Nations Environment Programme is to provide leadership and encourage partner-
ship in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and people to improve their
quality of life without compromising that of future generations.
For more information, see www.unep.org/.

United Nations Industrial Development Organization

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization was established to act as the central coordinating
body for industrial activities and to promote industrial development and cooperation at the global, regional,
national, and sectoral levels. Its mandate is to help develop scientific and technological plans and programs
for industrialization in the public, cooperative, and private sectors.
For more information, see www.unido.org/.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime was established in 1977 and is a global leader in the fight
against illicit drugs and international crime. The office assists member states in their struggle against illicit
drugs, crime, and terrorism by helping build capacity, conducting research and analytical work, and assist-
ing in the ratification and implementation of relevant international treaties and domestic legislation related
to drugs, crime, and terrorism.
For more information, see www.unodc.org/.

The UN Refugee Agency

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is mandated to lead and coordinate international action to protect refugees
and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of
refugees. UNHCR also collects and disseminates statistics on refugees.
For more information, see www.unhcr.org/.

Upsalla Conflict Data Program

The Upsalla Conflict Data Program has collected information on armed violence since 1946 and is one of
the most accurate and well used data sources on global armed conflicts. Its definition of armed conflict is
becoming a standard in how conflicts are systematically defined and studied. In addition to data collection
on armed violence, its researchers conduct theoretically and empirically based analyses of the causes,
escalation, spread, prevention, and resolution of armed conflict.
For more information, see www.pcr.uu.se/research/UCDP/.

2011 World Development Indicators xvii

PARTNERS
World Bank
The World Bank is a vital source of financial and technical assistance for developing countries. The World
Bank is made up of two unique development institutions owned by 187 member countries—the International
Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA).
These institutions play different but collaborative roles to advance the vision of an inclusive and sustainable
globalization. The IBRD focuses on middle-income and creditworthy poor countries, while IDA focuses on the
poorest countries. Together they provide low-interest loans, interest-free credits, and grants to developing
countries for a wide array of purposes, including investments in education, health, public administration,
infrastructure, financial and private sector development, agriculture, and environmental and natural resource
management. The World Bank’s work focuses on achieving the Millennium Development Goals by working
with partners to alleviate poverty.
For more information, see http://data.worldbank.org/.

World Health Organization

The objective of the World Health Organization (WHO), a specialized agency of the United Nations, is the
attainment by all people of the highest possible level of health. It is responsible for providing leadership
on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating
evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries, and monitoring and assessing
health trends.
For more information, see www.who.int/.

World Intellectual Property Organization

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations dedicated
to developing a balanced and accessible international intellectual property (IP) system, which rewards creativ-
ity, stimulates innovation, and contributes to economic development while safeguarding the public interest.
WIPO carries out a wide variety of tasks related to the protection of IP rights. These include developing
international IP laws and standards, delivering global IP protection services, encouraging the use of IP for
economic development, promoting better understanding of IP, and providing a forum for debate.
For more information, see www.wipo.int/.

World Tourism Organization

The World Tourism Organization is an intergovernmental body entrusted by the United Nations with promot-
ing and developing tourism. It serves as a global forum for tourism policy issues and a source of tourism
know-how.
For more information, see www.unwto.org/.

xviii 2011 World Development Indicators

World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only international organization dealing with the global rules of trade
between nations. Its main function is to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably, and freely as pos-
sible. It does this by administering trade agreements, acting as a forum for trade negotiations, settling trade
disputes, reviewing national trade policies, assisting developing countries in trade policy issues—through
technical assistance and training programs—and cooperating with other international organizations. At the
heart of the system—known as the multilateral trading system—are the WTO’s agreements, negotiated and
signed by a large majority of the world’s trading nations and ratified by their parliaments.
For more information, see www.wto.org/.

Private and nongovernmental organizations

Containerisation International
Containerisation International Yearbook is one of the most authoritative reference books on the container
industry. The information can be accessed on the Containerisation International Web site, which also provides
a comprehensive online daily business news and information service for the container industry.
For more information, see www.ci-online.co.uk/.

DHL
DHL provides shipping and customized transportation solutions for customers in more than 220 countries
and territories. It offers expertise in express, air, and ocean freight; overland transport; contract logistics
solutions; and international mail services.
For more information, see www.dhl.com/.

International Institute for Strategic Studies

The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) provides information and analysis on strategic trends
and facilitates contacts between government leaders, business people, and analysts that could lead to better
public policy in international security and international relations. The IISS is a primary source of accurate,
objective information on international strategic issues.
For more information, see www.iiss.org/.

International Road Federation

The International Road Federation (IRF) is a nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization whose mission is
to encourage and promote development and maintenance of better, safer, and more sustainable roads and
road networks. Working together with its members and associates, the IRF promotes social and economic
benefits that flow from well planned and environmentally sound road transport networks. It helps put in
place technological solutions and management practices that provide maximum economic and social returns
from national road investments. The IRF works in all aspects of road policy and development worldwide with
governments and financial institutions, members, and the community of road professionals.
For more information, see www.irfnet.org/.

2011 World Development Indicators xix

PARTNERS
Netcraft
Netcraft provides Internet security services such as antifraud and antiphishing services, application testing,
code reviews, and automated penetration testing. Netcraft also provides research data and analysis on
many aspects of the Internet and is a respected authority on the market share of web servers, operating
systems, hosting providers, Internet service providers, encrypted transactions, electronic commerce, script-
ing languages, and content technologies on the Internet.
For more information, see http://news.netcraft.com/.

PricewaterhouseCoopers
PricewaterhouseCoopers provides industry-focused services in the fields of assurance, tax, human resources,
transactions, performance improvement, and crisis management services to help address client and stake-
holder issues.
For more information, see www.pwc.com/.

Standard & Poor’s

Standard & Poor’s is the world’s foremost provider of independent credit ratings, indexes, risk evaluation,
investment research, and data. S&P’s Global Stock Markets Factbook draws on data from S&P’s Emerging
Markets Database (EMDB) and other sources covering data on more than 100 markets with comprehensive
market profiles for 82 countries. Drawing a sample of stocks in each EMDB market, Standard & Poor’s
calculates indexes to serve as benchmarks that are consistent across national boundaries.
For more information, see www.standardandpoors.com/.

World Conservation Monitoring Centre

The World Conservation Monitoring Centre provides information on the conservation and sustainable use of
the world’s living resources and helps others to develop information systems of their own. It works in close
collaboration with a wide range of people and organizations to increase access to the information needed
for wise management of the world’s living resources.
For more information, see www.unep-wcmc.org/.

xx 2011 World Development Indicators

World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an independent international organization committed to improving the
state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional, and industry agendas.
Economic research at the WEF—led by the Global Competitiveness Programme—focuses on identifying the
impediments to growth so that strategies to achieve sustainable economic progress, reduce poverty, and
increase prosperity can be developed. The WEF’s competitiveness reports range from global coverage, such
as Global Competitiveness Report, to regional and topical coverage, such as Africa Competitiveness Report,
The Lisbon Review, and Global Information Technology Report.
For more information, see www.weforum.org/.

World Resources Institute

The World Resources Institute is an independent center for policy research and technical assistance on
global environmental and development issues. The institute provides—and helps other institutions provide—
objective information and practical proposals for policy and institutional change that will foster environmen-
tally sound, socially equitable development. The institute’s current areas of work include trade, forests,
energy, economics, technology, biodiversity, human health, climate change, sustainable agriculture, resource
and environmental information, and national strategies for environmental and resource management.
For more information, see www.wri.org/.

2011 World Development Indicators xxi

USERS GUIDE
Tables gap-filled estimates for missing data and by an s, for complex technical and conceptual problems that can-
The tables are numbered by section and display the simple totals, where they do not), median values (m), not be resolved unequivocally. Data coverage may
identifying icon of the section. Countries and econo- weighted averages (w), or simple averages (u). Gap not be complete because of special circumstances
mies are listed alphabetically (except for Hong Kong filling of amounts not allocated to countries may result affecting the collection and reporting of data, such
SAR, China, which appears after China). Data are in discrepancies between subgroup aggregates and as problems stemming from conflicts.
shown for 155 economies with populations of more overall totals. For further discussion of aggregation For these reasons, although data are drawn from
than 1 million, as well as for Taiwan, China, in selected methods, see Statistical methods. sources thought to be the most authoritative, they
tables. Table 1.6 presents selected indicators for 58 should be construed only as indicating trends and
other economies—small economies with populations Aggregate measures for regions characterizing major differences among economies
between 30,000 and 1 million and smaller econo- The aggregate measures for regions include only rather than as offering precise quantitative mea-
mies if they are members of the International Bank low- and middle-income economies including econo- sures of those differences. Discrepancies in data
for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) or, as it mies with populations of less than 1 million listed presented in different editions of World Development
is commonly known, the World Bank. Data for these in table 1.6. Indicators reflect updates by countries as well as
economies are included on the World Development The country composition of regions is based on the revisions to historical series and changes in meth-
Indicators CD-ROM and the World Bank’s Open Data World Bank’s analytical regions and may differ from odology. Thus readers are advised not to compare
website at data.worldbank.org/. common geographic usage. For regional classifica- data series between editions of World Development
The term country, used interchangeably with tions, see the map on the inside back cover and the Indicators or between different World Bank publica-
economy, does not imply political independence, but list on the back cover flap. For further discussion of tions. Consistent time-series data for 1960–2009
refers to any territory for which authorities report aggregation methods, see Statistical methods. are available on the World Development Indicators
separate social or economic statistics. When avail- CD-ROM and at data.worldbank.org/.
able, aggregate measures for income and regional Statistics Except where otherwise noted, growth rates are
groups appear at the end of each table. Data are shown for economies as they were con- in real terms. (See Statistical methods for information
Indicators are shown for the most recent year or stituted in 2009, and historical data are revised to on the methods used to calculate growth rates.) Data
period for which data are available and, in most tables, reflect current political arrangements. Exceptions are for some economic indicators for some economies
for an earlier year or period (usually 1990 or 1995 in noted throughout the tables. are presented in fiscal years rather than calendar
this edition). Time-series data for all 213 economies Additional information about the data is provided years; see Primary data documentation. All dollar fig-
are available on the World Development Indicators CD- in Primary data documentation. That section sum- ures are current U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated.
ROM and at data.worldbank.org/. marizes national and international efforts to improve The methods used for converting national currencies
Known deviations from standard definitions or basic data collection and gives country-level informa- are described in Statistical methods.
breaks in comparability over time or across countries tion on primary sources, census years, fiscal years,
are either footnoted in the tables or noted in About statistical methods and concepts used, and other Country notes
the data. When available data are deemed to be background information. Statistical methods provides • Unless otherwise noted, data for China do not
too weak to provide reliable measures of levels and technical information on some of the general calcula- include data for Hong Kong SAR, China; Macao
trends or do not adequately adhere to international tions and formulas used throughout the book. SAR, China; or Taiwan, China.
standards, the data are not shown. • Data for Indonesia include Timor-Leste through
Data consistency, reliability, and comparability 1999 unless otherwise noted.
Aggregate measures for income groups Considerable effort has been made to standardize • Montenegro declared independence from Serbia
The aggregate measures for income groups include the data, but full comparability cannot be assured, and Montenegro on June 3, 2006. Where avail-
213 economies (the economies listed in the main and care must be taken in interpreting the indicators. able, data for each country are shown separately.
tables plus those in table 1.6) whenever data are Many factors affect data availability, comparability, However, for the Serbia listing, some indicators
available. To maintain consistency in the aggregate and reliability: statistical systems in many develop- continue to include data for Montenegro through
measures over time and between tables, missing ing economies are still weak; statistical methods, 2005; these data are footnoted in the tables.
data are imputed where possible. The aggregates coverage, practices, and definitions differ widely; and Moreover, data from 1999 onward for Serbia for
are totals (designated by a t if the aggregates include cross-country and intertemporal comparisons involve most indicators exclude data for Kosovo, 1999

xxii 2011 World Development Indicators

 being the year when Kosovo became a territory more. The 17 participating member countries of the
under international administration pursuant to Euro area are presented as a subgroup under high-
UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999); any income economies. Estonia joined the Euro area on
exceptions are noted. Kosovo became a World January 1, 2011.
Bank member on June 29, 2009; available data are
shown separately for Kosovo in the main tables. Symbols
• Netherlands Antilles ceased to exist on October ..
10, 2010. Curaçao and St. Maarten became means that data are not available or that aggregates
countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. cannot be calculated because of missing data in the
Bonaire, St. Eustatius, and Saba became special years shown.
municipalities of the Netherlands.
0 or 0.0
Classification of economies means zero or small enough that the number would
For operational and analytical purposes the World round to zero at the displayed number of decimal
Bank’s main criterion for classifying economies is places.
gross national income (GNI) per capita (calculated
by the World Bank Atlas method). Every economy /
is classified as low income, middle income (subdi- in dates, as in 2003/04, means that the period of
vided into lower middle and upper middle), or high time, usually 12 months, straddles two calendar
income. For income classifications see the map on years and refers to a crop year, a survey year, or a
the inside front cover and the list on the front cover fiscal year.
flap. Low- and middle-income economies are some-
times referred to as developing economies. The term $
is used for convenience; it is not intended to imply means current U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted.
that all economies in the group are experiencing
similar development or that other economies have >
reached a preferred or final stage of development. means more than.
Note that classification by income does not neces-
sarily reflect development status. Because GNI per <
capita changes over time, the country composition means less than.
of income groups may change from one edition of
World Development Indicators to the next. Once the Data presentation conventions
classification is fixed for an edition, based on GNI • A blank means not applicable or, for an aggre-
per capita in the most recent year for which data are gate, not analytically meaningful.
available (2009 in this edition), all historical data • A billion is 1,000 million.
presented are based on the same country grouping. • A trillion is 1,000 billion.
Low-income economies are those with a GNI per • Figures in italics refer to years or periods other
capita of $995 or less in 2009. Middle-income econ- than those specified or to growth rates calculated
omies are those with a GNI per capita of more than for less than the full period specified.
$995 but less than $12,196. Lower middle-income • Data for years that are more than three years
and upper middle-income economies are separated from the range shown are footnoted.
at a GNI per capita of $3,945. High-income econo-
mies are those with a GNI per capita of $12,196 or The cutoff date for data is February 1, 2011.

2011 World Development Indicators xxiii

WORLD
VIEW
Introduction

1
“Our aim is for open data, open knowledge, and open solutions.”
—Robert Zoellick, Georgetown University, September 2010

W
orld Development Indicators provides a comprehensive selection of national and
international data that focus attention on critical development issues, facilitate
research, encourage debate and analysis of policy options, and monitor prog-
ress toward development goals. Organized around six themes—world view, people,
environment, economy, states and markets, and global links—the book contains
more than 800 indicators for 155 economies with a population of 1 million people
or more, together with relevant aggregates. The online database includes more than
1,100 indicators for 213 economies, with many time series extending back to 1960.

In 2010, to improve the impact of the indicators and org—has recorded well over 20 million page views.
to provide a platform for others to use the data to And at the time of printing this edition of World De-
solve pressing development challenges, the World velopment Indicators, it provides data to more than
Development Indicators database and many other 100,000 unique visitors each week, three times as
public databases maintained by the World Bank many as before (figure 1a).
were made available as open data: free of charge, Making the World Development Indicators and
in accessible nonproprietary formats on the World other databases free was only the first step in creat-
Wide Web. This year, the first part of the introduc- ing an open data environment. Open data should
tion to the World View section provides an overview mean that users can access and search public
of the initiative, the impact of moving to an open datasets at no cost, combine data from different
data platform, a brief survey of the global open data sources, add data and select data records to include
movement, and an examination of its relevance to or exclude in derived works, change the format or
development. The second part reviews progress structure of the data, and give away or sell any prod-
toward the Millennium Development Goals—whose ucts they create. For the World Bank, this required
target date of 2015 is now just four years away. designing new user interfaces and developing new
search tools to more easily find and report the data.
The World Bank Open Data Initiative It also required a new license defining the terms of
The Open Data Initiative is a new strategy for reach-
ing data users and a major change in the Bank’s Use of World Bank data has risen with
business model for data, which had previously been the launch of the Open Data Initiative 1a
a subscription-based model for licensing data ac- Weekly unique visitors to http://data.worldbank.org (thousands)
cess and use, using a network of university librar- 125
April 2010
ies, development agencies, and private firms, and 100
Launch of the
Open Data Initiative
free access provided through the World Bank’s
Public Information Centers and depository libraries. 75
Recess period for
At the time of the open data announcement there 50 US and European
academic teaching
were around 140,000 regular users of the subscrip- institutions
25
tion database annually—a substantial number for a
highly specialized data product. But providing free 0
January April July October January
and easier access to the databases has had an im- 2010 2010 2010 2010 2011
mediate and lasting impact on data use. Since April Source: World Bank staff calculations from Omniture data.
2010 the new data website—http://data.worldbank.

2011 World Development Indicators 1

Terms of use for World Bank data 1b enabling citizens to access and create value
through the reuse of public sector information”
Why do open data need to be licensed? Because a license conveys certain rights to the
(Rahemtulla 2011).
licensee—in this case, the data user—while protecting the interests of the licensor. If there
is no explicit license attached to a dataset, users may be uncertain of their rights. Can they The Sunlight Foundation, a U.S.-based civil
republish these data? Can they include them in a new dataset along with data from other society organization, describes its goals as
sources? Can they give them away or resell them?
“improving access to government information
Intellectual property laws differ by country. In an international environment where data are
published on the World Wide Web, it may not be clear what law applies. Lacking a license, by making it available online, indeed redefining
a cautious data user would assume that he or she should seek permission of the dataset ‘public’ information as meaning ‘online,’ and . . .
owner or publisher, creating a real or imagined impediment to using the data. A license can
creating new tools and websites to enable indi-
help encourage data use by making clear exactly what is permitted, true even for free data.
Use of data in the World Bank’s Data Catalog is governed by the Terms of Use of Datasets viduals and communities to better access that
posted at http://data.worldbank.org. The terms follow the general model of the Creative information and put it to use. . . . We want to
Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0) and the Open
catalyze greater government transparency by
Data Commons Attribution License (www.opendatacommons.org/licenses/by/1.0). These
licenses require users to acknowledge the original source when they publish or reuse the engaging individual citizens and communities—
data, particularly important for World Development Indicators, where many datasets are technologists, policy wonks, open government
obtained from sources such as specialized UN and international agencies. The terms of
advocates, and ordinary citizens —demanding
use impose some further limitations, still within the spirit of an open data license: users
may not claim endorsement by the World Bank or use its name or logos without permission. policies that will enable all of us to hold govern-
Acknowledging data sources is good practice, regardless of the terms of a license. Iden- ment accountable” (http://sunlightfoundation.
tifying sources makes it possible for others to locate the same or similar data. And credit
com/about/).
to data producers or publisher recognizes their effort and encourages them to continue.
The World Bank’s Terms of Use for Datasets provide a suggested form of attribution: Digital information and communication
The World Bank: Dataset name: Data source. technologies permitting dissemination of
The information for completing this form of attribution is available in the metadata sup-
large amounts of data at little or no cost have
plied with data downloaded from http://data.worldbank.org.
strengthened the argument for providing free
access to public sector information. Pollock
use for data (box 1b). And it required new think- (2010) estimates the direct benefit to the U.K.
ing to promote the use and reuse of data. To public of providing free access to public sec-
reach out to new audiences and communities of tor information that was previously sold to be
data users, the World Bank organized a global £1.6–£6 billion, 4–15 times the forgone sales
“Apps for Development” competition—one of revenues of £400 million. Additional indirect
the first of its kind—inviting developers to cre- benefits come from new products and services
ate new applications for desktop computers using open datasets or complementary prod-
or mobile devices using World Bank datasets, ucts and services and from reducing the trans-
including World Development Indicators data. action costs to data users and reusers.
Open data and open government initiatives
Open data and open government have progressed farther in rich countries than in
Advocates of greater transparency in public developing ones. This may reflect a lack of polit-
agencies—the open government movement— ical will or popular demand, but it often reflects
have been among the most vocal proponents a lack of technical capacity and resources to
of open data. Likewise, those seeking data- make data available in accessible formats. A
bases to build new applications have supported study commissioned by the Transparency and
freedom of information laws and unrestricted Accountability Initiative (Hogge 2010) identified
access to data created by public agencies. three drivers behind the success of the U.K.
Opening public databases empowers people and U.S. data.gov initiatives:
because data are essential for monitoring the • Civil society, particularly a small and moti-
performance of governments and the impact of vated group of “civic hackers” responsible
public policies on citizens. for developing grassroots political engage-
For advocates of open data, governments ment websites.
are vast repositories of statistical and nonsta- • An engaged and well resourced “middle
tistical information with unrealized potential for layer” of skilled government bureaucrats.
creative applications. The political, philosophi- • A top-level mandate, motivated by an out-
cal, and economic impulses for open data and side force (in the United Kingdom) or a
open government are often linked. One advo- refreshed political administration hungry
cate of open data writes, “The term ‘Open Data’ for change (in the United States).
refers to the philosophical and methodologi- Statistical offices exemplify the “middle
cal approach to the democratization of data layer” of a government bureaucracy, uniquely

2 2011 World Development Indicators

 WORLD VIEW
skilled in collecting and organizing large data- Access to information at the World Bank 1c
sets. But even they may lack the motivation or
Opening the World Bank’s databases is part of a broader effort to introduce greater transpar-
resources to make their products freely avail-
ency in the World Bank’s operations, and a new policy on information disclosure went into
able to the public unless they enjoy full support effect on July 1, 2010. Besides formalizing the Open Data Initiative, the Access to Informa-
from the top. tion Policy (www.worldbank.org/wbaccess) establishes the principle that the World Bank
will disclose any information in its possession that is not on a specific list of exceptions.
In developing countries aid donors can act
In the past, only documents selected for disclosure were available to the public. The new
as fourth driver by providing technical assis- policy reverses the process and presumes that most information is disclosable. Exceptions
tance and funding for open data projects and by include personal information and staff records, internal deliberations and administrative
matters, and information received in confidence from clients and third parties. Some docu-
modeling transparency in their own practices.
ments with restricted access are subject to a declassification schedule, ensuring that they
The International Aid Transparency Initiative— will become available to the public in due course. A process for requesting documents has
the World Bank is a founding member—aims to also been established that allows users to search for documents by country and topic in
seven languages.
create a global repository of information on aid
flows, starting from the commitment of fund-
ing from donors and continuing through its dis- the data become “local” and much more acces-
bursement to recipient countries, the allocation sible and relevant to project stakeholders. The
of aid money in national budgets, the procure- data are open and available directly to software
ment of goods and services, and the measure- developers though an application programming
ment of results. interface and through an interactive web-based
To fulfill the initiative’s goal of providing a application called Mapping for Results (http://
complete accounting of aid to the citizens of maps.worldbank.org).
donor and developing countries will require In keeping with the philosophy of the Open
cooperation among donors and recipients. Data Initiative, the Mapping for Results appli-
Terminology and coding systems must be cation uses the dataset of geo-located project
standardized and agreements reached on activities and combines the data with sub-
everything from the timing of reports to the national human and social development indica-
mechanisms for posting and accessing the tors, such as child mortality rates, poverty inci-
datasets. In many cases donor governments dence, malnutrition, and population measures.
and international agencies will have to change But even more value may lie in what other
their rules on access to information to provide researchers and software developers might do
full transparency to their aid programs (box 1c). with the data, combining them with their own
For more information on the initiative, see www. data or with data from other sources, perform-
aidtransparency.net. ing their own analysis, or providing applications
that help citizens and beneficiaries connect
Mapping for results—making data directly with the project during implementation,
not just accessible but useful through feedback or other mechanisms.
The new Access to Information Policy and the
Open Data Initiative provide much greater ac- Countdown to the Millennium
cess to the World Bank Group’s knowledge Development Goals in 2015
resources than before. But accessible informa- There are four years to the target date for the
tion is not the same as usable information. Proj- Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The
ect documents contain a wealth of data about MDGs have focused the world’s attention on
planned activities—for instance, on their loca- the living conditions of billions of people who
tion. But it may be difficult for many interested live in poor and developing countries and on
parties, such as project beneficiaries, citizen the need to improve the quality, frequency, and
groups, and civil society organizations, to ex- timeliness of the statistics used to track their
tract and visualize relevant data from long texts progress. Progress toward the MDGs has been
or tables. marked by slow changes in outcome indicators
To help solve this problem, the World Bank, and by improvements in data availability.
on a pilot basis, has started to provide geo- World Development Indicators has moni-
location codes along with data and information tored global and regional trends in poverty
about the projects that it supports. The objec- reduction, education, health, and the envi-
tive is to improve aid effectiveness through ronment since 1997. After the UN Millennium
enhanced transparency and accountability of Summit in 2000, World Development Indicators
project activities. Location information makes began closely tracking the progress of countries

2011 World Development Indicators 3

 Progress toward against the targets selected for the MDGs. The
eradicating poverty 1d MDGs highlight important outcomes, but the
Share of countries focus on this limited set of indicators should
making progress toward Reached target On track
reducing extreme poverty Off track Insufficient not obscure the fact that development is a com-
by half (percent) Seriously off track data
100
plex process whose course is determined in
part by geographic location, historical circum-
stances, institutional capacity, and uncontrol-
50
lable events such as weather and natural disas-
ters. Success or failure, while not arbitrary or
0 entirely accidental, still has a large component
of chance.
50 This review employs the same assessment
method that World Development Indicators has
100
used since 2004 to track progress of countries
2004 2011 toward the time-bound and quantified targets
140 countries 144 countries

Source: World Bank staff estimates.

of the MDGs. Countries are “on track” if their
past progress equals or exceeds the rate of
change necessary to reach an MDG target. A
few countries have already reached their tar-
Progress toward universal
primary education completion 1e gets. They are counted as having achieved the
goal, although some may slip back. Countries
Share of countries
making progress toward Reached target On track making less than necessary progress are “off
full completion of primary Off track Insufficient
education (percent) Seriously off track data track,” or “seriously off track” if their past rate
100 progress would not allow them to reach the tar-
get even in another 25 years. The remaining
50 countries do not have sufficient data to evalu-
ate their progress—in some cases because
0
there are no data for the benchmark period of
1990–99 and in others because more recent
data are missing. But the situation is improv-
50
ing: starting from the earliest World Develop-
ment Indicators progress assessments in 2004
100
2004 2011
(based on data for 1990–2002), the number
140 countries 144 countries of countries with insufficient data has fallen,
Source: World Bank staff estimates. enhancing our picture of progress toward the
MDGs.
For more information on the work of the
Progress toward World Bank and its partners to achieve the
gender parity 1f MDGs, see www.worldbank.org/mdgs, which
Share of countries making Reached On track includes a link to the World Bank’s MDG eAtlas.
progress toward gender target Off track
parity in primary and Seriously off track
secondary education (percent) Insufficient data
100 Goal 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
The number of people living on less than $1.25
a day fell from 1.8 billion in 1990 to 1.4 billion
50
in 2005. New global and regional estimates,
to become available later in 2011, are likely to
0 show a continuation of past trends, although
the financial crisis of 2008 and the recent surge
50 in food prices will have slowed progress in some
countries. Because household income and ex-
100
penditure surveys are expensive and time con-
2004 2011 suming, they are not conducted frequently and
140 countries 144 countries

Source: World Bank staff estimates.

there are often difficulties in making reliable
comparisons over time or across countries.

4 2011 World Development Indicators

 WORLD VIEW
For 140 developing countries, figure 1d com- Progress toward
pares the progress assessments in 2005 and reducing child mortality 1g
in 2011, based on available data. Forty-three Share of countries making Reached On track
progress toward reducing target Off track
countries are on track or have reached the tar- under-five child mortality by Seriously off track
two-thirds (percent) Insufficient data
get of cutting the extreme poverty rate in half, 100
twice as many as in 2005. They include China,
Brazil, and the Russian Federation. India, with
50
more than 400 million people living in poverty
lags behind, but with faster economic growth
may well reach the 2015 target. 0

Goal 2. Achieve universal primary education 50

The goal of providing universal primary educa-
tion has proved surprisingly hard to achieve. 100
Completion rates measure the proportion of 2004 2011
140 countries 144 countries
children enrolled in the final year of primary ed- Source: World Bank staff estimates.
ucation after adjusting for repetition. In 2011,
49 countries had achieved or were on track to
achieve 100 percent primary completion rates,
Progress toward
only three more than in 2004, and the number improving maternal health 1h
of countries seriously off track has increased,
Share of countries making Reached On track
especially in Sub-Saharan Africa (figure 1e). progress toward providing target Off track
skilled attendants at births Seriously off track
There are more and better data, but the goal (percent) Insufficient data
remains elusive. 100

Goal 3. Promote gender equality 50

Gender equality and empowering women foster
progress toward all the Millennium Development 0
Goals. Equality of educational opportunities,
measured by the ratio of girls’ to boys’ enroll-
50
ments in primary and secondary education, is a
starting point. Since the 2004 assessment, the
number of countries on track to reach the tar- 100
2004 2011
get has increased steadily, driven by rising en- 140 countries 144 countries

rollments of girls, and the number of countries Source: World Bank staff estimates.

without sufficient data to measure progress has

dropped (figure 1f).
HIV incidence is remaining stable
Goal 4. Reduce child mortality or decreasing in many developing
countries, but many lack data 1i
Of 144 countries with data in February 2011,
11 had achieved a two-thirds reduction in their Change in HIV incidence rate, 2001–09
(number of developing countries)
under-five child mortality rate, and another 25 100
were on track to do so (figure 1g). This is re-
markable progress since 2004, but more than 75
100 countries remain off track, and only a few
of them are likely to reach the MDG target by 50
2015. Measuring child mortality is the product
of a successful collaboration of international
25
statisticians. By bringing together the most
reliable data from multiple sources and apply-
0
ing appropriate estimation methods, consis- Incidence Stable Incidence No data
increased by decreased by
tent time series comparable across countries more than 25% more than 25%
are available for monitoring this important in- Source: Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.
dicator. More information about data sources

2011 World Development Indicators 5

 Progress on access to Indicators. While the number of countries se-
an improved water source 1j riously off track has increased, the number
Share of countries reducing Reached On track without adequate data has decreased, and the
proportion of population target Off track
without access to an improved Seriously off track number providing skilled attendants at birth has
water source by half (percent) Insufficient data
100
risen 35 percent.

Goal 6. Combat HIV/AIDS,

50
malaria, and other diseases
When the MDGs were formulated, the HIV/AIDS
0 epidemic was spreading rapidly, engulfing many
poor countries in Southern Africa. Data on the
50 extent of the epidemic were derived from sen-
tinel sites and limited reporting through health
100
systems. The goal refers to halting and reversing
2004 2011 the spread of HIV/AIDS. Under the circumstanc-
140 countries 144 countries

Source: World Bank staff estimates.

es it was impossible to set time-bound quan-
tified targets. Now the statistical record is be-
ginning to improve. UNAIDS, in its 2010 Report
on the Global AIDS Epidemic, estimates that the
Progress on access
to improved sanitation 1k annual number of new HIV infections has fallen
21 percent since its peak in 1997 (figure 1i). But
Share of countries
making progress toward Reached target On track reliable estimates of incidence are available for
improved sanitation Off track Insufficient
(percent) Seriously off track data only 60 developing countries and do not include
100 Brazil, China, and the Russian Federation.

50 Goal 7. Ensure environmental sustainability

Reversing environmental losses and ensuring
0
a sustainable flow of services from the Earth’s
resources have many dimensions: preserving
forests, protecting plant and animal species,
50
reducing carbon emissions, and limiting and
adapting to the effects of climate change. Im-
100
2004 2011
proving the built environment is also important.
140 countries 144 countries The MDGs set targets for reducing the propor-
Source: World Bank staff estimates. tion of people without access to safe water and
sanitation by half. The ability to measure prog-
ress toward both targets has improved signifi -
and estimation methods is available at www. cantly since 2004, and almost half the develop-
childmortality.org. ing countries with sufficient data are on track
to meet the water target (figure 1j). Progress in
Goal 5. Improve maternal health providing access to sanitation has been slower:
Reliable measurements of maternal mortality almost half the countries are seriously off track
are difficult to obtain. Many national estimates (figure 1k).
are not comparable over time or across coun-
tries because of differences in methods and Goal 8. Develop a global
estimation techniques. Consistently modeled partnership for development
estimates that became available only recently Partnership between high-income and develop-
show that 30 countries are on track to achieve ing economies, fundamental to achieving the
a three-quarter reduction in their maternal mor- MDGs, rests on four pillars: reducing external
tality ratio and that 94 are off track or seriously debt of developing countries, increasing their
off track. Figure 1h compares the availability of access to markets in OECD countries, realizing
skilled birth attendants, a critical factor for re- the benefits of new technologies and essential
ducing maternal and infant deaths, using data drugs, and providing financing for development
from the 2004 and 2011 World Development programs in the poorest countries. Following

6 2011 World Development Indicators

 WORLD VIEW
the adoption of the MDGs, the International Official development assistance provided by
Conference on Financing for Development in Development Assistance Committee members 1l
2002 urged developed countries “to make con- Official development 0.7% GNI or more
assistance provided, 0.3% to <0.7% GNI
crete efforts toward the target of 0.7 percent of by share of GNI 0.2% to <0.3% GNI
(2009 $ billions) <0.2% GNI
gross national income [GNI] as official develop- 150
ment assistance to developing countries.”
Since then many countries have increased
their official development assistance, but few 100
have reached the target of 0.7 percent (fig-
ure 1l). In 2009, five countries provided more
than 0.7 percent of their GNI as aid, but their 50
share of total aid was only 15 percent. The larg-
est share of total aid was provided by 10 donors
that gave 0.3–0.7 percent of their GNI. The larg- 0
est single donor, the United States, provided 2000 2009

0.21 percent of its GNI as official development Source: World Bank staff estimates.
assistance.

2011 World Development Indicators 7

Millennium Development Goals
Goals and targets from the Millennium Declaration Indicators for monitoring progress
Goal 1 Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Target 1.A Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of 1.1 Proportion of population below $1 purchasing power
people whose income is less than $1 a day parity (PPP) a day1
1.2 Poverty gap ratio [incidence × depth of poverty]
1.3 Share of poorest quintile in national consumption
Target 1.B Achieve full and productive employment and decent 1.4 Growth rate of GDP per person employed
work for all, including women and young people 1.5 Employment to population ratio
1.6 Proportion of employed people living below $1 (PPP) a day
1.7 Proportion of own-account and contributing family
workers in total employment
Target 1.C Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of 1.8 Prevalence of underweight children under five years of age
people who suffer from hunger 1.9 Proportion of population below minimum level of dietary
energy consumption
Goal 2 Achieve universal primary education
Target 2.A Ensure that by 2015 children everywhere, boys and 2.1 Net enrollment ratio in primary education
girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of 2.2 Proportion of pupils starting grade 1 who reach last
primary schooling grade of primary education
2.3 Literacy rate of 15- to 24-year-olds, women and men
Goal 3 Promote gender equality and empower women
Target 3.A Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary 3.1 Ratios of girls to boys in primary, secondary, and tertiary
education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education
education no later than 2015 3.2 Share of women in wage employment in the
nonagricultural sector
3.3 Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament
Goal 4 Reduce child mortality
Target 4.A Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the 4.1 Under-five mortality rate
under-five mortality rate 4.2 Infant mortality rate
4.3 Proportion of one-year-old children immunized against
measles
Goal 5 Improve maternal health
Target 5.A Reduce by three-quarters, between 1990 and 2015, 5.1 Maternal mortality ratio
the maternal mortality ratio 5.2 Proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel
Target 5.B Achieve by 2015 universal access to reproductive 5.3 Contraceptive prevalence rate
health 5.4 Adolescent birth rate
5.5 Antenatal care coverage (at least one visit and at least
four visits)
5.6 Unmet need for family planning
Goal 6 Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
Target 6.A Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the 6.1 HIV prevalence among population ages 15–24 years
spread of HIV/AIDS 6.2 Condom use at last high-risk sex
6.3 Proportion of population ages 15–24 years with
comprehensive, correct knowledge of HIV/AIDS
6.4 Ratio of school attendance of orphans to school
attendance of nonorphans ages 10–14 years
Target 6.B Achieve by 2010 universal access to treatment for 6.5 Proportion of population with advanced HIV infection with
HIV/AIDS for all those who need it access to antiretroviral drugs
Target 6.C Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the 6.6 Incidence and death rates associated with malaria
incidence of malaria and other major diseases 6.7 Proportion of children under age five sleeping under
insecticide-treated bednets
6.8 Proportion of children under age five with fever who are
treated with appropriate antimalarial drugs
6.9 Incidence, prevalence, and death rates associated with
tuberculosis
6.10 Proportion of tuberculosis cases detected and cured
under directly observed treatment short course

The Millennium Development Goals and targets come from the Millennium Declaration, signed by 189 countries, including 147 heads of state and government, in September 2000 (www.
un.org/millennium/declaration/ares552e.htm) as updated by the 60th UN General Assembly in September 2005. The revised Millennium Development Goal (MDG) monitoring framework
shown here, including new targets and indicators, was presented to the 62nd General Assembly, with new numbering as recommended by the Inter-agency and Expert Group on MDG
Indicators at its 12th meeting on 14 November 2007. The goals and targets are interrelated and should be seen as a whole. They represent a partnership between the developed countries
and the developing countries “to create an environment—at the national and global levels alike—which is conducive to development and the elimination of poverty.” All indicators should be
disaggregated by sex and urban-rural location as far as possible.

8 2011 World Development Indicators

Goals and targets from the Millennium Declaration Indicators for monitoring progress
Goal 7 Ensure environmental sustainability
Target 7.A Integrate the principles of sustainable development 7.1 Proportion of land area covered by forest
into country policies and programs and reverse the 7.2 Carbon dioxide emissions, total, per capita and
loss of environmental resources per $1 GDP (PPP)
7.3 Consumption of ozone-depleting substances
Target 7.B Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a 7.4 Proportion of fish stocks within safe biological limits
significant reduction in the rate of loss 7.5 Proportion of total water resources used
7.6 Proportion of terrestrial and marine areas protected
7.7 Proportion of species threatened with extinction
Target 7.C Halve by 2015 the proportion of people without 7.8 Proportion of population using an improved drinking water
sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic source
sanitation 7.9 Proportion of population using an improved sanitation
facility
Target 7.D Achieve by 2020 a significant improvement in the 7.10 Proportion of urban population living in slums2
lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers
Goal 8 Develop a global partnership for development
Target 8.A Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, Some of the indicators listed below are monitored separately
nondiscriminatory trading and financial system for the least developed countries (LDCs), Africa, landlocked
developing countries, and small island developing states.
(Includes a commitment to good governance,
development, and poverty reduction—both Official development assistance (ODA)
nationally and internationally.) 8.1 Net ODA, total and to the least developed countries, as
percentage of OECD/DAC donors’ gross national income
8.2 Proportion of total bilateral, sector-allocable ODA of
OECD/DAC donors to basic social services (basic
Target 8.B Address the special needs of the least developed education, primary health care, nutrition, safe water, and
countries sanitation)
8.3 Proportion of bilateral official development assistance of
(Includes tariff and quota-free access for the least OECD/DAC donors that is untied
developed countries’ exports; enhanced program of 8.4 ODA received in landlocked developing countries as a
debt relief for heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) proportion of their gross national incomes
and cancellation of official bilateral debt; and more 8.5 ODA received in small island developing states as a
generous ODA for countries committed to poverty proportion of their gross national incomes
reduction.)
Market access
Target 8.C Address the special needs of landlocked 8.6 Proportion of total developed country imports (by value
developing countries and small island developing and excluding arms) from developing countries and least
states (through the Programme of Action for developed countries, admitted free of duty
the Sustainable Development of Small Island 8.7 Average tariffs imposed by developed countries on
Developing States and the outcome of the 22nd agricultural products and textiles and clothing from
special session of the General Assembly) developing countries
8.8 Agricultural support estimate for OECD countries as a
percentage of their GDP
8.9 Proportion of ODA provided to help build trade capacity
Target 8.D Deal comprehensively with the debt problems
of developing countries through national and Debt sustainability
international measures in order to make debt 8.10 Total number of countries that have reached their HIPC
sustainable in the long term decision points and number that have reached their HIPC
completion points (cumulative)
8.11 Debt relief committed under HIPC Initiative and
Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI)
8.12 Debt service as a percentage of exports of goods and
services
Target 8.E In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, 8.13 Proportion of population with access to affordable
provide access to affordable essential drugs in essential drugs on a sustainable basis
developing countries
Target 8.F In cooperation with the private sector, make 8.14 Telephone lines per 100 population
available the benefits of new technologies, 8.15 Cellular subscribers per 100 population
especially information and communications 8.16 Internet users per 100 population

1. Where available, indicators based on national poverty lines should be used for monitoring country poverty trends.
2. The proportion of people living in slums is measured by a proxy, represented by the urban population living in households with at least one of these characteristics: lack of access to
improved water supply, lack of access to improved sanitation, overcrowding (3 or more persons per room), and dwellings made of nondurable material.

2011 World Development Indicators 9

 1.1 Size of the economy
Population Surface Population Gross national Gross national Purchasing power parity Gross domestic
area density income, income per capita, gross national income product
Atlas method Atlas method

thousand people Per capita Per capita

millions sq. km per sq. km $ billions Rank $ Rank $ billions $ Rank % growth % growth
2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2008–09 2008–09

Afghanistan 30 652 46 9.1 125 310 207 25.1a 860 a 201 40.8 37.1
Albania 3 29 115 12.6 114 4,000 116 27.3 8,640 106 2.5 2.1
Algeria 35 2,382 15 154.2 49 4,420 112 283.2a 8,110 a 110 2.1 0.6
Angola 18 1,247 15 69.4 63 3,750 123 96.1 5,190 131 0.7 –1.9
Argentina 40 2,780 15 304.1 29 7,550 85 567.5 14,090 76 0.9 –0.1
Armenia 3 30 108 9.5 124 3,100 131 16.7 5,410 128 –14.4 –14.6
Australia 22 7,741 3 957.5 15 43,770 23 842.3 38,510 24 1.3 –0.8
Austria 8 84 101 388.5 25 46,450 17 321.3 38,410 25 –3.9 –4.2
Azerbaijan 9 87 106 42.5 76 4,840 106 79.2 9,020 101 9.3 8.0
Bangladesh 162 144 1,246 93.5 57 580 189 250.6 1,550 181 5.7 4.3
Belarus 10 208 48 53.7 68 5,560 100 123.1 12,740 88 1.4 1.6
Belgium 11 31 356 488.4 19 45,270 20 395.0 36,610 32 –2.8 –3.5
Benin 9 113 81 6.7 138 750 182 13.5 1,510 183 3.8 0.6
Bolivia 10 1,099 9 16.1 105 1,630 155 41.9 4,250 146 3.4 1.6
Bosnia and Herzegovina 4 51 74 17.7 103 4,700 107 33.0 8,770 105 –2.9 –2.7
Botswana 2 582 3 12.2 117 6,260 92 25.0 12,840 87 –3.7 –5.1
Brazil 194 8,515 23 1,564.2 8 8,070 83 1,968.0 10,160 98 –0.6 –1.5
Bulgaria 8 111 70 46.0 73 6,060 95 100.6 13,260 84 –4.9 –4.5
Burkina Faso 16 274 58 8.0 133 510 190 18.4 1,170 193 3.5 0.1
Burundi 8 28 323 1.2 186 150 213 3.3 390 211 3.5 0.6
Cambodia 15 181 84 9.7 123 650 185 27.0 1,820 176 –1.9 –3.5
Cameroon 20 475 41 23.2 93 1,190 162 42.8 2,190 169 2.0 –0.3
Canada 34 9,985 4 1,416.4 10 41,980 28 1,257.7 37,280 29 –2.5 –3.7
Central African Republic 4 623 7 2.0 177 450 195 3.3 750 207 2.4 0.5
Chad 11 1,284 9 6.7 139 600 187 13.0 1,160 194 –1.6 –4.2
Chile 17 756 23 160.7 48 9,470 75 227.7 13,420 81 –1.5 –2.5
China 1,331 9,600 143 4,856.2 3 3,650 125 9,170.1 6,890 119 9.1 8.5
Hong Kong SAR, China 7 1 6,721 221.1 37 31,570 40 311.9 44,540 18 –2.8 –3.1
Colombia 46 1,142 41 227.8 36 4,990 103 392.5 8,600 107 0.8 –0.6
Congo, Dem. Rep. 66 2,345 29 10.6 121 160 211 19.6 300 212 2.7 0.0
Congo, Rep. 4 342 11 7.7 135 2,080 147 11.2 3,040 157 7.6 5.6
Costa Rica 5 51 90 28.7 86 6,260 92 50.0a 10,930a 95 –1.5 –2.8
Côte d’Ivoire 21 322 66 22.5 95 1,070 168 34.5 1,640 179 3.6 1.2
Croatia 4 57 79 61.0 66 13,770 65 85.1 19,200 65 –5.8 –5.8
Cuba 11 110 105 62.2 65 5,550 98 .. .. 4.3 4.3
Czech Republic 10 79 136 181.6 43 17,310 57 251.1 23,940 59 –4.2 –4.8
Denmark 6 43 130 326.5 28 59,060 9 214.4 38,780 23 –4.9 –5.5
Dominican Republic 10 49 209 45.9 74 4,550 110 81.9a 8,110 a 110 3.5 2.0
Ecuador 14 256 55 54.1 67 3,970b 118 110.4 8,100 112 0.4 –0.7
Egypt, Arab Rep. 83 1,001 83 172.1 45 2,070 148 471.2 5,680 126 4.6 2.8
El Salvador 6 21 297 20.8 100 3,370 127 39.6a 6,420a 121 –3.5 –4.0
Eritrea 5 118 50 1.6 180 320 207 2.9a 580 a 210 3.6 0.6
Estonia 1 45 32 18.9 102 14,060 63 25.6 19,120 66 –14.1 –14.1
Ethiopia 83 1,104 83 27.2 89 330 206 77.3 930 200 8.7 5.9
Finland 5 338 18 245.3 33 45,940 19 188.3 35,280 34 –8.0 –8.4
France 63c 549 c 114c 2,750.9 5 42,620 25 2,191.2 33,950 36 –2.6 –3.2
Gabon 1 268 6 10.9 120 7,370 86 18.4 12,450 89 –1.0 –2.7
Gambia, The 2 11 171 0.7 196 440 196 2.3 1,330 186 4.6 1.8
Georgia 4 70 61 11.1d 118 2,530 d 140 20.6d 4,700 d 137 –3.9d –4.0d
Germany 82 357 235 3,476.1 4 42,450 26 3,017.3 36,850 31 –4.7 –4.5
Ghana 24 239 105 28.4 87 1,190 e 162 36.6 1,530 182 4.7 2.5
Greece 11 132 88 327.7 27 29,040 42 325.0 28,800 46 –2.0 –2.4
Guatemala 14 109 131 37.2 81 2,650 138 64.1a 4,570 a 139 0.6 –1.9
Guinea 10 246 41 3.8 162 370 202 9.5 940 199 –0.3 –2.6
Guinea-Bissau 2 36 57 0.8 194 510 190 1.7 1,060 196 3.0 0.7
Haiti 10 28 364 .. ..f .. .. 2.9 1.3
Honduras 7 112 67 13.5 111 1,800 153 27.7a 3,710 a 148 –1.9 –3.8

10 2011 World Development Indicators

 1.1

WORLD VIEW
Size of the economy
Population Surface Population Gross national Gross national Purchasing power parity Gross domestic
area density income, income per capita, gross national income product
Atlas method Atlas method

thousand people Per capita Per capita

millions sq. km per sq. km $ billions Rank $ Rank $ billions $ Rank % growth % growth
2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2008–09 2008–09

Hungary 10 93 112 130.1 51 12,980 66 191.3 19,090 67 –6.3 –6.2

India 1,155 3,287 389 1,405.7 11 1,220 160 3,786.3 3,280 154 9.1 7.7
Indonesia 230 1,905 127 471.0 20 2,050 149 855.0 3,720 147 4.5 3.4
Iran, Islamic Rep. 73 1,745 45 330.6 26 4,530 111 836.5 11,470 94 1.8 0.5
Iraq 31 438 72 69.7 62 2,210 146 105.0 3,330 151 4.2 1.6
Ireland 4 70 65 197.1 39 44,280 22 147.0 33,040 38 –7.1 –7.6
Israel 7 22 344 192.0 40 25,790 46 201.0 27,010 52 0.8 –1.0
Italy 60 301 205 2,114.5 7 35,110 35 1,919.2 31,870 41 –5.0 –5.7
Jamaica 3 11 249 12.4 116 4,590 109 19.5a 7,230a 117 –3.0 –3.5
Japan 128 378 350 4,857.2 2 38,080 32 4,265.3 33,440 37 –5.2 –5.1
Jordan 6 89 67 23.7 92 3,980 b 117 34.1 5,730 125 2.3 –0.1
Kazakhstan 16 2,725 6 110.0 55 6,920 89 164.0 10,320 97 1.2 –0.2
Kenya 40 580 70 30.3 84 760 181 62.5 1,570 180 2.6 –0.1
Korea, Dem. Rep. 24 121 199 .. ..f .. .. .. ..
Korea, Rep. 49 100 503 966.6 13 19,830 54 1,328.0 27,240 51 0.2 –0.1
Kosovo 2 11 166 5.9 143 3,240 129 .. .. 4.0 3.4
Kuwait 3 18 157 117.0 50 43,930 10 143.5 53,890 6 4.4 1.9
Kyrgyz Republic 5 200 28 4.6 153 870 179 11.7 2,200 167 2.3 1.5
Lao PDR 6 237 27 5.6 146 880 178 13.9 2,200 167 6.4 4.5
Latvia 2 65 36 27.9 88 12,390 68 39.7 17,610 71 –18.0 –17.6
Lebanon 4 10 413 34.1 82 8,060 84 56.6 13,400 82 9.0 8.2
Lesotho 2 30 68 2.0 175 980 b 175 3.7 1,800 178 0.9 0.0
Liberia 4 111 41 0.7 197 160 211 1.2 290 213 4.6 0.3
Libya 6 1,760 4 77.2 61 12,020 71 105.3a 16,400a 74 2.1 0.1
Lithuania 3 65 53 38.1 80 11,410 72 57.8 17,310 72 –15.0 –14.6
Macedonia, FYR 2 26 81 9.0 128 4,400 113 22.2 10,880 96 –0.7 –0.8
Madagascar 20 587 34 8.5 131 430 200 19.5 990 197 –3.7 –6.2
Malawi 15 118 162 4.4 156 290 210 11.9 780 206 7.6 4.7
Malaysia 27 331 84 201.8 38 7,350 87 376.6 13,710 78 –1.7 –3.3
Mali 13 1,240 11 8.9 129 680 184 15.4 1,190 189 4.3 1.9
Mauritania 3 1,031 3 3.3 166 990 174 6.4 1,940 173 –1.1 –3.3
Mauritius 1 2 628 9.2 127 7,250 88 16.9 13,270 83 2.1 1.6
Mexico 107 1,964 55 962.1 14 8,960 78 1,506.3 14,020 77 –6.5 –7.5
Moldova 4 34 110 5.6g 145 1,560 g 157 10.7g 3,010 g 158 –6.5g –6.4g
Mongolia 3 1,564 2 4.4 157 1,630 155 8.9 3,330 151 –1.6 –2.7
Morocco 32 447 72 89.9h 58 2,770 h 136 143.1h 4,400 h 143 4.9h 3.6h
Mozambique 23 799 29 10.0 122 440 196 20.1 880 201 6.3 4.0
Myanmar 50 677 77 .. ..f .. .. .. ..
Namibia 2 824 3 9.3 126 4,270 114 13.8 6,350 122 –0.8 –2.7
Nepal 29 147 205 13.0 113 440 196 34.7 1,180 191 4.7 2.8
Netherlands 17 42 490 801.1 16 48,460 15 657.0 39,740 22 –4.0 –4.5
New Zealand 4 268 16 124.3 53 28,810 43 120.0 27,790 48 –0.4 –1.5
Nicaragua 6 130 48 5.7 144 1,000 171 14.6a 2,540 a 163 –5.6 –6.9
Niger 15 1,267 12 5.2 148 340 204 10.3 680 209 1.0 –2.9
Nigeria 155 924 170 184.7 42 1,190 162 321.0 2,070 170 5.6 3.2
Norway 5 324 16 408.5 24 84,640 3 267.5 55,420 8 –1.6 –2.8
Oman 3 310 9 49.8 69 17,890 56 68.3 24,530 54 12.8 10.4
Pakistan 170 796 220 169.8 46 1,000 171 454.7 2,680 162 3.6 1.4
Panama 3 75 46 22.7 94 6,570 91 42.1a 12,180 a 91 2.4 0.8
Papua New Guinea 7 463 15 7.9 134 1,180 165 15.2a 2,260a 166 4.5 2.1
Paraguay 6 407 16 14.3 108 2,250 145 28.1 4,430 142 –3.8 –5.5
Peru 29 1,285 23 122.4 54 4,200 115 236.7 8,120 109 0.9 –0.3
Philippines 92 300 308 164.6 47 1,790 154 325.6 3,540 149 1.1 –0.7
Poland 38 313 125 467.6 21 12,260 69 697.9 18,290 69 1.7 1.6
Portugal 11 92 116 232.9 35 21,910 51 256.1 24,080 57 –2.6 –2.7
Puerto Rico 4 9 447 .. ..i .. .. .. ..
Qatar 1 12 122 .. ..i .. .. 8.6 –1.3

2011 World Development Indicators 11

 1.1 Size of the economy
Population Surface Population Gross national Gross national Purchasing power parity Gross domestic
area density income, income per capita, gross national income product
Atlas method Atlas method

thousand people Per capita Per capita

millions sq. km per sq. km $ billions Rank $ Rank $ billions $ Rank % growth % growth
2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2008–09 2008–09

Romania 21 238 93 178.9 44 8,330 81 312.4 14,540 75 –8.5 –8.4

Russian Federation 142 17,098 9 1,324.4 12 9,340 76 2,599.4 18,330 68 –7.9 –7.8
Rwanda 10 26 405 4.9 150 490 193 11.3 1,130 195 4.1 1.2
Saudi Arabia 25 2,000 j 13 436.9 23 17,210 58 609.8 24,020 58 0.6 –1.7
Senegal 13 197 65 13.1 112 1,040 170 22.7 1,810 177 2.2 –0.4
Serbia 7 88 83 43.9 75 6,000 96 85.6 11,700 93 –3.0 –2.6
Sierra Leone 6 72 80 1.9 178 340 204 4.5 790 205 4.0 1.5
Singapore 5 1 7,125 185.7 41 37,220 33 248.3 49,780 11 –1.3 –4.2
Slovak Republic 5 49 113 87.4 60 16,130 60 119.8 22,110 63 –6.2 –6.4
Slovenia 2 20 101 48.1 72 23,520 49 54.1 26,470 53 –7.8 –8.8
Somalia 9 638 15 .. ..f .. .. .. ..
South Africa 49 1,219 41 284.3 31 5,760 97 495.6 10,050 99 –1.8 –2.8
Spain 46 505 92 1,476.2 9 32,120 39 1,447.2 31,490 43 –3.6 –4.5
Sri Lanka 20 66 324 40.4 77 1,990 151 95.8 4,720 136 3.5 2.8
Sudan 42 2,506 18 51.5 70 1,220 160 84.1 1,990 171 4.5 2.2
Swaziland 1 17 69 2.9 167 2,470 143 5.7 4,790 134 1.2 –0.3
Sweden 9 450 23 454.4 22 48,840 14 353.9 38,050 28 –5.1 –6.0
Switzerland 8 41 193 505.8 18 65,430 8 364.1 47,100 14 –1.9 –3.0
Syrian Arab Republic 21 185 115 50.9 71 2,410 144 97.3 4,620 138 4.0 1.5
Tajikistan 7 143 50 4.8 151 700 183 13.5 1,950 172 3.4 1.7
Tanzania 44 947 49 21.4k 97 500k 192 57.9 k 1,360k 184 6.0k 3.0k
Thailand 68 513 133 254.7 32 3,760 122 517.5 7,640 115 –2.2 –2.8
Timor-Leste 1 15 76 2.7 169 2,460 141 5.2a 4,730 a 133 1.9 –1.3
Togo 7 57 122 2.9 168 440 196 5.6 850 203 2.5 0.0
Trinidad and Tobago 1 5 261 22.4 96 16,700 59 33.4 a 24,970a 55 –3.0 –3.4
Tunisia 10 164 67 38.9 78 3,720 124 81.4 7,810 113 3.1 2.1
Turkey 75 784 97 652.4 17 8,720 79 1,009.8 13,500 80 –4.7 –5.8
Turkmenistan 5 488 11 17.5 104 3,420 126 35.7a 6,980a 118 8.0 6.6
Uganda 33 241 166 15.2 106 460 194 39.0 1,190 189 7.1 3.6
Ukraine 46 604 79 128.9 52 2,800 135 284.4 6,180 123 –15.1 –14.6
United Arab Emirates 5 84 55 .. ..i .. .. –0.7 –3.2
United Kingdom 62 244 256 2,558.1 6 41,370 29 2,217.4 35,860 33 –4.9 –5.6
United States 307 9,832 34 14,233.5 1 46,360 18 14,011.0 45,640 16 –2.6 –3.5
Uruguay 3 176 19 30.2 85 9,010 77 43.1 12,900 86 2.9 2.5
Uzbekistan 28 447 65 30.6 83 1,100 167 80.9 a 2,910a 159 8.1 6.3
Venezuela, RB 28 912 32 286.4 30 10,090 74 346.9 12,220 90 –3.3 –4.8
Vietnam 87 331 281 87.7 59 1,000 b 171 243.6 2,790 161 5.3 4.0
West Bank and Gaza 4 6 672 .. ..l .. .. .. ..
Yemen, Rep. 24 528 45 25.0 90 1,060 169 55.0 2,330 165 3.8 0.8
Zambia 13 753 17 12.5 115 960 176 16.5 1,280 187 6.4 3.8
Zimbabwe 13 391 32 4.6 154 360 203 .. .. 5.7 5.2
World 6,775 s 134,123 s 52 w 59,162.8 t 8,732 w 71,774.4 t 10,594 w –1.9 w –3.0 w
Low income 846 17,838 49 431.0 509 1,032.5 1,220 4.6 2.4
Middle income 4,813 80,558 61 16,346.7 3,397 30,653.8 6,370 2.6 1.5
Lower middle income 3,811 31,898 124 8,845.9 2,321 18,229.1 4,784 7.1 5.9
Upper middle income 1,002 48,659 21 7,515.1 7,502 12,461.9 12,440 –2.6 –3.4
Low & middle income 5,659 98,396 59 16,792.6 2,968 31,684.3 5,599 2.7 1.4
East Asia & Pacific 1,944 16,302 123 6,148.6 3,163 11,712.8 6,026 7.4 6.6
Europe & Central Asia 404 23,549 18 2,745.8 6,793 5,097.0 12,609 –5.8 –6.1
Latin America & Carib. 572 20,394 28 4,011.3 7,007 5,888.7 10,286 –1.9 –3.0
Middle East & N. Africa 331 8,778 38 1,190.2 3,597 2,617.6 7,911 3.4 1.6
South Asia 1,568 5,131 329 1,735.4 1,107 4,658.7 2,972 8.1 6.5
Sub-Saharan Africa 840 24,242 36 944.2 1,125 1,722.2 2,051 1.7 –0.7
High income 1,117 35,727 33 42,417.7 37,990 40,433.9 36,213 –3.3 –3.9
Euro area 327 2,583 128 12,723.2 38,872 11,127.6 33,997 –4.1 –4.5
a. Based on regression; others are extrapolated from the 2005 International Comparison Program benchmark estimates. b. Included in the aggregates for lower middle-income economies
based on earlier data. c. Excludes the French overseas departments of French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Réunion. d. Excludes Abkhazia and South Ossetia. e. Included in the
aggregates for low-income economies based on earlier data. f. Estimated to be low income ($995 or less). g. Excludes Transnistria. h. Includes Former Spanish Sahara. i. Estimated to be
high income ($12,196 or more). j. Provisional estimate. k. Covers mainland Tanzania only. l. Estimated to be lower middle income ($996–$3,945).

12 2011 World Development Indicators

 1.1

WORLD VIEW
Size of the economy
About the data Definitions

Population, land area, income, and output are basic conventional price indexes allow comparison of real • Population is based on the de facto definition of
measures of the size of an economy. They also values over time. population, which counts all residents regardless of
provide a broad indication of actual and potential PPP rates are calculated by simultaneously com- legal status or citizenship—except for refugees not
resources. Population, land area, income (as mea- paring the prices of similar goods and services permanently settled in the country of asylum, who
sured by gross national income, GNI), and output among a large number of countries. In the most are generally considered part of the population of
(as measured by gross domestic product, GDP) are recent round of price surveys conducted by the Inter- their country of origin. The values shown are midyear
therefore used throughout World Development Indica- national Comparison Program (ICP), 146 countries estimates. See also table 2.1. • Surface area is
tors to normalize other indicators. and territories participated in the data collection, a country’s total area, including areas under inland
Population estimates are generally based on including China for the first time, India for the first bodies of water and some coastal waterways. • Pop-
extrapolations from the most recent national cen- time since 1985, and almost all African countries. ulation density is midyear population divided by land
sus. For further discussion of the measurement of The PPP conversion factors presented in the table area in square kilometers. • Gross national income
population and population growth, see About the data come from three sources. For 45 high- and upper (GNI) is the sum of value added by all resident pro-
for table 2.1. middle-income countries conversion factors are ducers plus any product taxes (less subsidies) not
The surface area of an economy includes inland provided by Eurostat and the Organisation for Eco- included in the valuation of output plus net receipts
bodies of water and some coastal waterways. Sur- nomic Co-operation and Development (OECD), with of primary income (compensation of employees and
face area thus differs from land area, which excludes PPP estimates for 34 European countries incorpo- property income) from abroad. Data are in current
bodies of water, and from gross area, which may rating new price data collected since 2005. For the U.S. dollars converted using the World Bank Atlas
include offshore territorial waters. Land area is par- remaining 2005 ICP countries the PPP estimates are method (see Statistical methods). • GNI per capita is
ticularly important for understanding an economy’s extrapolated from the 2005 ICP benchmark results, GNI divided by midyear population. GNI per capita in
agricultural capacity and the environmental effects which account for relative price changes between U.S. dollars is converted using the World Bank Atlas
of human activity. (For measures of land area and each economy and the United States. For countries method. • Purchasing power parity (PPP) GNI is GNI
data on rural population density, land use, and agri- that did not participate in the 2005 ICP round, the converted to international dollars using PPP rates. An
cultural productivity, see tables 3.1–3.3.) Innova- PPP estimates are imputed using a statistical model. international dollar has the same purchasing power
tions in satellite mapping and computer databases More information on the results of the 2005 ICP over GNI that a U.S. dollar has in the United States.
have resulted in more precise measurements of land is available at www.worldbank.org/data/icp. • Gross domestic product (GDP) is the sum of value
and water areas. All 213 economies shown in World Development added by all resident producers plus any product
GNI measures total domestic and foreign value Indicators are ranked by size, including those that taxes (less subsidies) not included in the valuation
added claimed by residents. GNI comprises GDP appear in table 1.6. The ranks are shown only in of output. Growth is calculated from constant price
plus net receipts of primary income (compensation table 1.1. No rank is shown for economies for which GDP data in local currency. • GDP per capita is GDP
of employees and property income) from nonresident numerical estimates of GNI per capita are not pub- divided by midyear population.
sources. The World Bank uses GNI per capita in U.S. lished. Economies with missing data are included in
dollars to classify countries for analytical purposes the ranking at their approximate level, so that the rel-
and to determine borrowing eligibility. For definitions ative order of other economies remains consistent.
of the income groups in World Development Indica-
tors, see Users guide. For discussion of the useful-
ness of national income and output as measures of
productivity or welfare, see About the data for tables
Data sources
4.1 and 4.2.
When calculating GNI in U.S. dollars from GNI Population estimates are prepared by World Bank
reported in national currencies, the World Bank fol- staff from a variety of sources (see Data sources
lows the World Bank Atlas conversion method, using for table 2.1). Data on surface and land area are
a three-year average of exchange rates to smooth from the Food and Agriculture Organization (see
the effects of transitory fluctuations in exchange Data sources for table 3.1). GNI, GNI per capita,
rates. (For further discussion of the World Bank Atlas GDP growth, and GDP per capita growth are esti-
method, see Statistical methods.) mated by World Bank staff based on national
Because exchange rates do not always refl ect accounts data collected by World Bank staff during
differences in price levels between countries, economic missions or reported by national statis-
the table also converts GNI and GNI per capita tical offices to other international organizations
estimates into international dollars using purchas- such as the OECD. PPP conversion factors are
ing power parity (PPP) rates. PPP rates provide estimates by Eurostat/OECD and by World Bank
a standard measure allowing comparison of real staff based on data collected by the ICP.
levels of expenditure between countries, just as

2011 World Development Indicators 13

 1.2 Millennium Development Goals:
eradicating poverty and saving lives
Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Achieve universal Promote gender Reduce
primary education equality child mortality
Share of
poorest quintile
Vulnerable Prevalence of
in national
employment malnutrition Ratio of girls to boys
consumption
Unpaid family workers and Underweight Primary enrollments in primary Under-fi ve
or income
own-account workers % of children completion rate and secondary education mortality rate
%
% of total employment under age 5 % % per 1,000
1995–
2009a,b 1990 2008 1990 2004–09a 1991 2009c 1991 2009c 1990 2009

Afghanistan 9.0 .. .. .. 32.9 28 .. 54 62 250 199

Albania 8.1 .. .. .. 6.6 .. 90 96 100 51 15
Algeria 6.9 .. .. 9.2 3.7 80 91 83 .. 61 32
Angola 2.0 d .. .. .. .. 33 .. .. .. 258 161
Argentina 4.1d .. 20 e .. 2.3 .. 102 .. 105 28 14
Armenia 8.8 .. .. .. 4.2 .. 98 .. 103 56 22
Australia .. 10 9 .. .. .. .. 100 97 9 5
Austria 8.6 .. 9 .. .. .. 99 95 97 9 4
Azerbaijan 8.0 .. 53 .. 8.4 95 92 100 102 98 34
Bangladesh 9.4 .. .. 61.5 41.3 41 61 75 108 148 52
Belarus 9.2 .. .. .. 1.3 94 96 .. 101 24 12
Belgium 8.5 16 10 .. .. 79 86 101 98 10 5
Benin 6.9 .. .. .. 20.2 22 62 .. .. 184 118
Bolivia 2.8 40 e .. 9.7 4.5 71 99 .. 99 122 51
Bosnia and Herzegovina 6.7 .. .. .. 1.6 .. .. .. 102 23 14
Botswana .. .. .. .. .. 90 95 109 100 60 57
Brazil 3.3 29 e 27 .. 2.2 93 .. .. 103 56 21
Bulgaria 5.0 .. 9 .. 1.6 90 90 99 97 18 10
Burkina Faso 7.0 .. .. 29.6 26.0 20 43 .. 86 201 166
Burundi 9.0 .. .. 30.2 .. 46 52 82 93 189 166
Cambodia 6.6 .. .. .. 28.8 .. 83 .. 90 117 88
Cameroon 5.6 .. .. 18.0 16.6 53 73 83 86 148 154
Canada 7.2 .. 10 e .. .. .. .. 99 .. 8 6
Central African Republic 5.2 .. .. .. .. 28 38 61 69 175 171
Chad 6.3 94 .. .. 33.9 18 33 41 64 201 209
Chile 8.6 .. 25 .. 0.5 .. 95 100 99 22 9
China 5.7 .. .. 12.6 4.5 107 .. 86 105 46 19
Hong Kong SAR, China 5.3 6 7e .. .. 102 93 .. 102 .. ..
Colombia 2.5 28e 41 8.8 5.1 73 115 108 105 35 19
Congo, Dem. Rep. 5.5 .. .. .. 28.2 48 56 70 77 199 199
Congo, Rep. 5.0 .. .. 21.1 11.8 54 74 89 .. 104 128
Costa Rica 4.2 25 20 2.5 .. 79 96 101 102 18 11
Côte d’Ivoire 5.6 .. .. .. 16.7 42 46 .. .. 152 119
Croatia 8.1 .. 22 f .. 1.0 .. 100 103 102 13 5
Cuba .. .. .. .. .. 99 98 106 99 14 6
Czech Republic 10.2 7 13 0.9 .. 92 95 98 101 12 4
Denmark 8.3 7 5 .. .. 98 101 101 102 9 4
Dominican Republic 4.4 39 42 8.4 3.4 .. 90 .. 97 62 32
Ecuador 4.2 36 e 34e .. 6.2 .. 103 100 103 53 24
Egypt, Arab Rep. 9.0 28e 25 10.5 6.8 .. 95 81 .. 90 21
El Salvador 4.3 35 36 11.1 .. 65 89 101 98 62 17
Eritrea .. .. .. 36.9 .. .. 48 82 77 150 55
Estonia 6.8 2e 6e .. .. .. 100 103 101 17 6
Ethiopia 9.3 .. 52e .. 34.6 23 55 68 88 210 104
Finland 9.6 .. 9 .. .. 97 98 109 102 7 3
France 7.2 11 6 .. .. 106 .. 102 100 9 4
Gabon 6.1 48 .. .. .. 62 .. 96 .. 93 69
Gambia, The 4.8 .. .. .. 15.8 45 79 65 102 153 103
Georgia 5.3 .. 62 .. 2.3 .. 107 98 96 47 29
Germany 8.5 .. 7 .. 1.1 100 104 99 98 9 4
Ghana 5.2 .. .. 24.1 14.3 64 83 78 95 120 69
Greece 6.7 40 e 27 .. .. 99 101 99 97 11 3
Guatemala 3.4 .. .. 27.8 .. .. 80 87 94 76 40
Guinea 6.4 .. .. .. 20.8 17 62 45 77 231 142
Guinea-Bissau 7.2 .. .. .. 17.4 .. .. 55 .. 240 193
Haiti 2.5 .. .. 23.7 18.9 27 .. .. .. 152 87
Honduras 2.0 49 e .. 15.8 8.6 64 90 104 107 55 30

14 2011 World Development Indicators

 1.2

WORLD VIEW
Millennium Development Goals:
eradicating poverty and saving lives
Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Achieve universal Promote gender Reduce
primary education equality child mortality
Share of
poorest quintile
Vulnerable Prevalence of
in national
employment malnutrition Ratio of girls to boys
consumption
Unpaid family workers and Underweight Primary enrollments in primary Under-fi ve
or income
own-account workers % of children completion rate and secondary education mortality rate
%
% of total employment under age 5 % % per 1,000
1995–
2009a,b 1990 2008 1990 2004–09a 1991 2009c 1991 2009c 1990 2009

Hungary 8.4 7e 7 2.3 .. 82 95 100 98 17 6

India 8.1 .. .. 59.5 43.5 .. 95 73 92 118 66
Indonesia 7.6 .. 63 31.0 17.5g 93 109 93 98 86 39
Iran, Islamic Rep. 6.4 .. 43 .. .. 88 101 85 97 73 31
Iraq .. .. .. 10.4 7.1 58 64 79 81 53 44
Ireland 7.4 20 12 .. .. 103 99 104 103 9 4
Israel 5.7 .. 7 .. .. .. 99 105 101 11 4
Italy 6.5 27 19 .. .. 98 104 100 99 10 4
Jamaica 5.2 42 35 4.0 2.2 94 89 103 100 33 31
Japan .. 19 11 .. .. 102 101 101 100 6 3
Jordan 7.2 .. .. 4.8 1.9 101 100 101 102 39 25
Kazakhstan 8.7 .. .. .. 4.9 .. 106 .. 99 60 29
Kenya 4.7 .. .. 20.1 16.4 .. .. .. 95 99 84
Korea, Dem. Rep. .. .. .. .. 20.6 .. .. .. .. 45 33
Korea, Rep. 7.9 .. 25 .. .. 99 99 99 97 9 5
Kosovo .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
Kuwait .. .. .. .. 1.7 57 93 100 101 17 10
Kyrgyz Republic 8.8 .. 47 .. 2.7 .. 94 102 101 75 37
Lao PDR 7.6 .. .. 39.8 31.6 41 75 77 87 157 59
Latvia 6.8 .. 7 .. .. .. 95 101 100 16 8
Lebanon .. .. .. .. 4.2 .. 85 101 104 40 12
Lesotho 3.0 38 .. 13.8 16.6 59 70 124 107 93 84
Liberia 6.4 .. .. .. 20.4 .. 58 .. .. 247 112
Libya .. .. .. .. 5.6 .. .. .. .. 36 19
Lithuania 6.6 .. 9 .. .. .. 92 96 100 15 6
Macedonia, FYR 5.4 .. 22 .. 1.8 98 92 99 98 36 11
Madagascar 6.2 84 .. 35.5 36.8 36 79 96 97 167 58
Malawi 7.0 .. .. 24.4 15.5 31 59 82 100 218 110
Malaysia 4.5 29 22 22.1 .. 91 97 101 103 18 6
Mali 6.5 .. .. 29.0 27.9 .. 59 58 78 250 191
Mauritania 6.2 .. .. 43.3 16.7 33 64 71 103 129 117
Mauritius .. 12 17 .. .. 115 89 102 101 24 17
Mexico 3.9 26 30 13.9 3.4 88 104 97 102 45 17
Moldova 6.8 .. 32 .. 3.2 .. 93 105 101 37 17
Mongolia 7.1 .. .. 10.8 5.3 .. 93 109 103 101 29
Morocco 6.5 .. 51 8.1 9.9 48 80 70 88 89 38
Mozambique 5.2 .. .. .. .. 26 57 71 88 232 142
Myanmar .. .. .. 28.8 .. .. 99 95 100 118 71
Namibia .. .. .. 21.5 17.5 74 87 106 104 73 48
Nepal 6.1 .. .. .. 38.8 51 .. 59 .. 142 48
Netherlands 7.6 8 9 .. .. .. .. 97 98 8 4
New Zealand 6.4 13 12 .. .. .. .. 100 103 11 6
Nicaragua 3.8 .. 45 9.6 4.3 42 75 119 102 68 26
Niger 8.3 .. .. 41.0 39.9 17 40 53 75 305 160
Nigeria 5.1 .. .. 35.1 26.7 .. 79 77 85 212 138
Norway 9.6 .. 6 .. .. 100 98 102 99 9 3
Oman .. .. .. 21.4 .. 74 80 89 97 48 12
Pakistan 9.0 .. 62 39.0 .. .. 61 48 82 130 87
Panama 3.6 34 28 .. .. 86 102 99 101 31 23
Papua New Guinea 4.5 .. .. .. 18.1 46 .. 80 .. 91 68
Paraguay 3.8 23 e 47 2.8 .. 68 94 98 100 42 23
Peru 3.9 36 e 40e 8.8 5.4 .. 101 96 99 78 21
Philippines 5.6 .. 45e 29.8 .. 88 94 99 102 59 33
Poland 7.6 28e 19 .. .. 96 96 101 99 17 7
Portugal 5.8 25e 19 .. .. .. .. 103 100 15 4
Puerto Rico .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 102 .. ..
Qatar 3.9 .. .. .. .. 71 108 98 120 19 11

2011 World Development Indicators 15

 1.2 Millennium Development Goals:
eradicating poverty and saving lives
Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Achieve universal Promote gender Reduce
primary education equality child mortality
Share of
poorest quintile
Vulnerable Prevalence of
in national
employment malnutrition Ratio of girls to boys
consumption
Unpaid family workers and Underweight Primary enrollments in primary Under-fi ve
or income
own-account workers % of children completion rate and secondary education mortality rate
%
% of total employment under age 5 % % per 1,000
1995–
2009a,b 1990 2008 1990 2004–09a 1991 2009c 1991 2009c 1990 2009

Romania 8.1 27e 31 5.0 .. 96 96 99 99 32 12

Russian Federation 6.0 1 6 .. .. .. 95 105 98 27 12
Rwanda 4.2 .. .. 24.3 18.0 50 54 95 100 171 111
Saudi Arabia .. .. .. .. 5.3 .. 93 .. 91 43 21
Senegal 6.2 83 .. 19.0 14.5 39 57 69 95 151 93
Serbia 9.1 .. 23 .. 1.8 .. 96 .. 101 29 7
Sierra Leone 6.1 .. .. 25.4 21.3 .. 88 64 84 285 192
Singapore 5.0 8 10 .. .. .. .. .. .. 8 3
Slovak Republic 8.8 .. 11 .. .. 95 96 102 100 15 7
Slovenia 8.2 12 e 11 .. .. 95 96 103 99 10 3
Somalia .. .. .. .. 32.8 .. .. .. 53 180 180
South Africa 3.1 .. 3 .. .. 76 93 104 99 62 62
Spain 7.0 22e 12 .. .. 104 100 104 103 9 4
Sri Lanka 6.9 .. 41e 29.3 21.6 101 97 102 .. 28 15
Sudan .. .. .. 31.8 31.7 .. 57 78 89 124 108
Swaziland 4.5 .. .. .. 6.1 61 72 .. 92 92 73
Sweden 9.1 .. 7 .. .. 96 94 102 99 7 3
Switzerland 7.6 9 10 .. .. 53 94 97 97 8 4
Syrian Arab Republic 7.7 .. .. 11.5 10.0 89 112 85 97 36 16
Tajikistan 9.3 .. .. .. 14.9 .. 98 .. 91 117 61
Tanzania 6.8 .. 88 e 25.1 16.7 55 102 97 96 162 108
Thailand 3.9 70 53 16.3 7.0 .. .. 99 103 32 14
Timor-Leste 9.0 .. .. .. .. .. 80 .. .. 184 56
Togo 5.4 .. .. 21.2 22.3 35 61 59 75 150 98
Trinidad and Tobago .. 22 .. 4.7 .. 102 93 101 101 34 35
Tunisia 5.9 .. .. 8.5 3.3 74 93 86 103 50 21
Turkey 5.7 .. 35 8.7 3.5 90 93 81 93 84 20
Turkmenistan 6.0 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 99 45
Uganda 5.8 .. .. 19.7 16.4 .. 72 77 99 184 128
Ukraine 9.4 .. .. .. .. 92 95 102 99 21 15
United Arab Emirates .. .. .. .. .. 103 99 104 100 17 7
United Kingdom 6.1 10 11 .. .. .. .. 102 101 10 6
United States 5.4 .. .. .. 1.3 .. 95 100 100 11 8
Uruguay 5.6 .. 25 e 6.5 6.0 94 106 .. 104 24 13
Uzbekistan 7.1 .. .. .. 4.4 .. 92 .. 99 74 36
Venezuela, RB 4.9 .. 30 6.7 3.7 81 95 105 102 32 18
Vietnam 7.3 .. .. 40.7 20.2 .. .. .. .. 55 24
West Bank and Gaza .. .. 36 .. 2.2 .. 82 .. 104 43 30
Yemen, Rep. 7.2 .. .. 29.6 .. .. 61 .. .. 125 66
Zambia 3.6 65 .. 21.2 14.9 .. 87 .. 96 179 141
Zimbabwe 4.6 .. .. 8.0 14.0 97 .. 92 97 81 90
World .. w .. w .. w 21.3 w 79 w 88 w 87 w 96 w 92 w 61 w
Low income .. .. .. 27.7 44 63 80 91 171 118
Middle income .. .. 31.7 20.8 83 92 85 97 85 51
Lower middle income .. .. 33.5 24.0 82 90 81 95 93 57
Upper middle income .. 26 .. .. 88 100 98 101 51 22
Low & middle income .. .. 32.5 22.4 78 87 84 96 100 66
East Asia & Pacific .. .. 18.0 8.8 101 99 89 102 55 26
Europe & Central Asia .. 19 .. .. 92 96 98 97 52 21
Latin America & Carib. .. 30 .. 3.8 84 101 99 102 52 23
Middle East & N. Africa .. 37 .. 6.8 .. 95 80 96 76 33
South Asia .. .. 57.2 42.5 62 79 69 91 125 71
Sub-Saharan Africa .. .. .. 24.7 51 64 82 88 181 130
High income .. 12 .. .. .. 98 100 99 12 7
Euro area .. 11 .. .. 101 .. .. .. 9 4
a. Data are for the most recent year available. b. See table 2.9 for survey year and whether share is based on income or consumption expenditure. c. Provisional data. d. Covers urban
areas only. e. Limited coverage. f. Data are for 2009. g. Data are for 2010.

16 2011 World Development Indicators

 1.2

WORLD VIEW
Millennium Development Goals:
eradicating poverty and saving lives
About the data Definitions

Tables 1.2–1.4 present indicators for 17 of the 21 nutrients, and undernourished mothers who give • Share of poorest quintile in national consump-
targets specified by the Millennium Development birth to underweight children. tion or income is the share of the poorest 20 per-
Goals. Each of the eight goals includes one or more Progress toward universal primary education is cent of the population in consumption or, in some
targets, and each target has several associated measured by the primary completion rate. Because cases, income. • Vulnerable employment is the sum
indicators for monitoring progress toward the target. many school systems do not record school comple- of unpaid family workers and own-account workers
Most of the targets are set as a value of a specific tion on a consistent basis, it is estimated from the as a percentage of total employment. • Prevalence
indicator to be attained by a certain date. In some gross enrollment rate in the final grade of primary of malnutrition is the percentage of children under
cases the target value is set relative to a level in education, adjusted for repetition. Offi cial enroll- age 5 whose weight for age is more than two stan-
1990. In others it is set at an absolute level. Some ments sometimes differ signifi cantly from atten- dard deviations below the median for the interna-
of the targets for goals 7 and 8 have not yet been dance, and even school systems with high average tional reference population ages 0–59 months. The
quantified. enrollment ratios may have poor completion rates. data are based on the new international child growth
The indicators in this table relate to goals 1–4. Eliminating gender disparities in education would standards for infants and young children, called the
Goal 1 has three targets between 1990 and 2015: help increase the status and capabilities of women. Child Growth Standards, released in 2006 by the
to halve the proportion of people whose income is The ratio of female to male enrollments in primary World Health Organization. • Primary completion
less than $1.25 a day, to achieve full and productive and secondary education provides an imperfect mea- rate is the percentage of students completing the
employment and decent work for all, and to halve the sure of the relative accessibility of schooling for girls. last year of primary education. It is calculated as
proportion of people who suffer from hunger. Esti- The targets for reducing under-five mortality rates the total number of students in the last grade of
mates of poverty rates are in tables 2.7 and 2.8. are among the most challenging. Under-five mortal- primary education, minus the number of repeaters
The indicator shown here, the share of the poorest ity rates are harmonized estimates produced by a in that grade, divided by the total number of children
quintile in national consumption or income, is a dis- weighted least squares regression model and are of official graduation age. • Ratio of girls to boys
tributional measure. Countries with more unequal available at regular intervals for most countries. enrollments in primary and secondary education
distributions of consumption (or income) have a Most of the 60 indicators relating to the Millennium is the ratio of the female to male gross enrollment
higher rate of poverty for a given average income. Development Goals can be found in World Develop- rate in primary and secondary education. • Under-
Vulnerable employment measures the portion of the ment Indicators. Table 1.2a shows where to find the five mortality rate is the probability that a newborn
labor force that receives the lowest wages and least indicators for the first four goals. For more informa- baby will die before reaching age five, if subject to
security in employment. No single indicator captures tion about data collection methods and limitations, current age-specific mortality rates. The probability
the concept of suffering from hunger. Child malnutri- see About the data for the tables listed there. For is expressed as a rate per 1,000.
tion is a symptom of inadequate food supply, lack information about the indicators for goals 5–8, see
of essential nutrients, illnesses that deplete these About the data for tables 1.3 and 1.4.

Location of indicators for Millennium Development Goals 1–4 1.2a

Goal 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Table

1.1 Proportion of population below $1.25 a day 2.8
1.2 Poverty gap ratio 2.7, 2.8
1.3 Share of poorest quintile in national consumption 1.2, 2.9
1.4 Growth rate of GDP per person employed 2.4
1.5 Employment to population ratio 2.4
1.6 Proportion of employed people living below $1 per day —
1.7 Proportion of own-account and unpaid family workers in total employment 1.2, 2.4
1.8 Prevalence of underweight in children under age five 1.2, 2.20
1.9 Proportion of population below minimum level of dietary energy consumption 2.20
Goal 2. Achieve universal primary education Data sources
2.1 Net enrollment ratio in primary education 2.12
The indicators here and throughout this book have
2.2 Proportion of pupils starting grade 1 who reach last grade of primary 2.13
2.3 Literacy rate of 15- to 24-year-olds 2.14 been compiled by World Bank staff from primary
Goal 3. Promote gender equality and empower women and secondary sources. Efforts have been made
3.1 Ratio of girls to boys in primary, secondary, and tertiary education 1.2, 2.12* to harmonize the data series used to compile this
3.2 Share of women in wage employment in the nonagricultural sector 1.5, 2.3* table with those published on the United Nations
3.3 Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament 1.5
Millennium Development Goals Web site (www.
Goal 4. Reduce child mortality
4.1 Under-fi ve mortality rate 1.2, 2.22 un.org/millenniumgoals), but some differences in
4.2 Infant mortality rate 2.22 timing, sources, and definitions remain. For more
4.3 Proportion of one-year-old children immunized against measles 2.18 information see the data sources for the indica-

— No data are available in the World Development Indicators database. * Table shows information on related indicators.
tors listed in table 1.2a.

2011 World Development Indicators 17

 1.3 Millennium Development Goals:
protecting our common environment
Improve maternal Combat HIV/AIDS Ensure environmental Develop
health and other diseases sustainability a global
partnership for
development
Maternal Proportion
mortality ratio Contraceptive HIV of species
Modeled prevalence prevalence Incidence threatened
estimate rate % of of tuberculosis Carbon dioxide emissions with Access to improved Internet users
per 100,000 % of married women population per 100,000 per capita extinction sanitation facilities per 100
live births ages 15–49 ages 15–49 people metric tons % % of population peoplea
2008 1990 2004–09b 2009 2009 1990 2007 2008 1990 2008 2009

Afghanistan 1,400 .. 15 .. 189 0.1 0.0 0.7 .. 37 3.4

Albania 31 .. 69 .. 15 2.3 1.4 1.5 .. 98 41.2
Algeria 120 47 61 0.1 59 3.1 4.1 2.1 88 95 13.5
Angola 610 .. .. 2.0 298 0.4 1.4 1.4 25 57 3.3
Argentina 70 .. 78 0.5 28 3.5 4.6 1.9 90 90 30.4
Armenia 29 .. 53 0.1 73 1.1 1.6 0.9 .. 90 6.8
Australia 8 .. .. 0.1 6 17.2 17.7 4.7 100 100 72.0
Austria 5 .. .. 0.3 11 7.9 8.3 1.9 100 100 73.5
Azerbaijan 38 .. 51 0.1 110 6.0 3.7 0.8 .. 45 42.0
Bangladesh 340 40 53 <0.1 225 0.1 0.3 1.9 39 53 0.4
Belarus 15 .. 73 0.3 39 9.6 6.9 0.7 .. 93 45.9
Belgium 5 78 75 0.2 9 10.8 9.7 1.3 100 100 75.2
Benin 410 .. 17 1.2 93 0.1 0.5 1.5 5 12 2.2
Bolivia 180 30 61 0.2 140 0.8 1.4 0.8 19 25 11.2
Bosnia and Herzegovina 9 .. 36 .. 50 1.2 7.7 13.1 .. 95 37.7
Botswana 190 33 53 24.8 694 1.6 2.6 0.5 36 60 6.2
Brazil 58 59 81 .. 45 1.4 1.9 1.3 69 80 39.2
Bulgaria 13 .. .. 0.1 41 8.8 6.8 1.1 99 100 44.8
Burkina Faso 560 .. 17 1.2 215 0.1 0.1 1.0 6 11 1.1
Burundi 970 .. 9 3.3 348 0.1 0.0 1.5 44 46 0.8
Cambodia 290 .. 40 0.5 442 0.0 0.3 29.8 9 29 0.5
Cameroon 600 16 29 5.3 182 0.1 0.3 5.4 47 47 3.8
Canada 12 .. .. 0.2 5 16.2 16.9 1.8 100 100 77.7
Central African Republic 850 .. 19 4.7 327 0.1 0.1 0.6 11 34 0.5
Chad 1,200 .. 3 3.4 283 0.0 0.0 1.0 6 9 1.7
Chile 26 56 58 0.4 11 2.6 4.3 2.4 84 96 34.0
China 38 85 85 0.1c 96 2.2 5.0 2.4 41 55 28.8
Hong Kong SAR, China .. 86 .. .. 82 4.8 5.8 13.2 .. .. 61.4
Colombia 85 66 78 0.5 35 1.7 1.4 1.2 68 74 45.5
Congo, Dem. Rep. 670 8 21 .. 372 0.1 0.0 2.5 9 23 0.6
Congo, Rep. 580 .. 44 3.4 382 0.5 0.4 1.0 .. 30 6.7
Costa Rica 44 .. 80 0.3 10 1.0 1.8 1.9 93 95 34.5
Côte d’Ivoire 470 .. 13 3.4 399 0.5 0.3 3.9 20 23 4.6
Croatia 14 .. .. <0.1 25 3.8 5.6 1.8 .. 99 50.4
Cuba 53 .. 78 0.1 6 3.1 2.4 4.2 80 91 14.3
Czech Republic 8 78 .. <0.1 9 13.5 12.1 1.5 100 98 63.7
Denmark 5 78 .. 0.2 7 9.8 9.1 1.6 100 100 85.9
Dominican Republic 100 56 73 0.9 70 1.3 2.1 2.1 73 83 26.8
Ecuador 140 53 73 0.4 68 1.6 2.2 10.4 69 92 15.1
Egypt, Arab Rep. 82 47 60 <0.1 19 1.3 2.3 4.1 72 94 20.0
El Salvador 110 47 73 0.8 30 0.5 1.1 1.8 75 87 14.4
Eritrea 280 .. .. 0.8 99 .. 0.1 15.0 9 14 4.9
Estonia 12 .. .. 1.2 30 16.3 15.2 0.6 .. 95 72.3
Ethiopia 470 4 15 .. 359 0.1 0.1 1.3 4 12 0.5
Finland 8 77 .. 0.1 9 10.2 12.1 1.3 100 100 83.9
France 8 81 71 0.4 6 7.0 6.0 2.5 100 100 71.3
Gabon 260 .. .. 5.2 501 6.6 1.4 2.1 .. 33 6.7
Gambia, The 400 12 .. 2.0 269 0.2 0.2 2.2 .. 67 7.6
Georgia 48 .. 47 0.1 107 2.9 1.4 1.0 96 95 30.5
Germany 7 75 .. 0.1 5 12.0 9.6 2.2 100 100 79.5
Ghana 350 13 24 1.8 201 0.3 0.4 3.7 7 13 5.4
Greece 2 .. .. 0.1 5 7.2 8.8 2.1 97 98 44.1
Guatemala 110 .. 54 0.8 62 0.6 1.0 2.4 65 81 16.3
Guinea 680 .. 9 1.3 318 0.2 0.1 2.2 9 19 0.9
Guinea-Bissau 1,000 .. 10 2.5 229 0.2 0.2 2.4 .. 21 2.3
Haiti 300 10 32 1.9 238 0.1 0.2 2.3 26 17 10.0
Honduras 110 47 65 0.8 58 0.5 1.2 3.5 44 71 9.8

18 2011 World Development Indicators

 1.3

WORLD VIEW
Millennium Development Goals:
protecting our common environment
Improve maternal Combat HIV/AIDS Ensure environmental Develop
health and other diseases sustainability a global
partnership for
development
Maternal Proportion
mortality ratio Contraceptive HIV of species
Modeled prevalence prevalence Incidence threatened
estimate rate % of of tuberculosis Carbon dioxide emissions with Access to improved Internet users
per 100,000 % of married women population per 100,000 per capita extinction sanitation facilities per 100
live births ages 15–49 ages 15–49 people metric tons % % of population peoplea
2008 1990 2004–09b 2009 2009 1990 2007 2008 1990 2008 2009

Hungary 13 .. .. <0.1 16 6.1 5.6 1.8 100 100 61.6

India 230 43 54 0.3 168 0.8 1.4 3.3 18 31 5.3
Indonesia 240 50 57 0.2 189 0.8 1.8 3.4 33 52 8.7
Iran, Islamic Rep. 30 49 79 0.2 19 4.2 7.0 1.0 83 .. 38.3
Iraq 75 14 50 .. 64 2.8 3.3 11.0 .. 73 1.0
Ireland 3 60 89 0.2 9 8.6 10.2 1.8 99 99 68.4
Israel 7 68 .. 0.2 5 7.2 9.3 4.3 100 100 49.7
Italy 5 .. .. 0.3 6 7.5 7.7 2.2 .. .. 48.5
Jamaica 89 55 .. 1.7 7 3.3 5.2 7.7 83 83 58.6
Japan 6 58 54 <0.1 21 9.3 9.8 4.9 100 100 77.7
Jordan 59 40 59 .. 6 3.3 3.8 3.4 .. 98 29.3
Kazakhstan 45 .. 51 0.1 163 15.9 14.7 1.1 96 97 33.4
Kenya 530 27 46 6.3 305 0.2 0.3 3.9 26 31 10.0
Korea, Dem. Rep. 250 62 .. .. 345 12.1 3.0 1.3 .. .. 0.0
Korea, Rep. 18 79 80 <0.1 90 5.6 10.4 1.7 100 100 80.9
Kosovo .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
Kuwait 9 .. .. .. 35 19.2 32.3 6.3 100 100 39.4
Kyrgyz Republic 81 .. 48 0.3 159 2.4 1.2 0.8 .. 93 41.2
Lao PDR 580 .. 38 0.2 89 0.1 0.3 1.2 .. 53 4.7
Latvia 20 .. .. 0.7 45 5.1 3.4 1.4 .. 78 66.7
Lebanon 26 .. 58 0.1 15 3.1 3.2 1.2 .. .. 23.7
Lesotho 530 23 47 23.6 634 .. .. 0.6 32 29 3.7
Liberia 990 .. 11 1.5 288 0.2 0.2 3.8 11 17 0.5
Libya 64 .. .. .. 40 9.2 9.3 1.6 97 97 5.5
Lithuania 13 .. .. 0.1 71 6.0 4.5 0.9 .. .. 58.8
Macedonia, FYR 9 .. 14 .. 23 5.6 5.5 0.9 .. 89 51.8
Madagascar 440 17 40 0.2 261 0.1 0.1 6.4 8 11 1.6
Malawi 510 13 41 11.0 304 0.1 0.1 3.3 42 56 4.7
Malaysia 31 50 .. 0.5 83 3.1 7.3 6.9 84 96 57.6
Mali 830 .. 8 1.0 324 0.0 0.0 1.0 26 36 1.9
Mauritania 550 3 9 0.7 330 1.3 0.6 2.9 16 26 2.3
Mauritius 36 75 .. 1.0 22 1.4 3.1 24.3 91 91 22.7
Mexico 85 .. 73 0.3 17 4.3 4.5 3.2 66 85 26.5
Moldova 32 .. 68 0.4 178 4.8 1.3 1.3 .. 79 35.9
Mongolia 65 .. 55 <0.1 224 4.5 4.0 1.1 .. 50 13.1
Morocco 110 42 63 0.1 92 0.9 1.5 1.9 53 69 32.2
Mozambique 550 .. 16 11.5 409 0.1 0.1 2.9 11 17 2.7
Myanmar 240 17 41 0.6 404 0.1 0.3 2.7 .. 81 0.2
Namibia 180 29 55 13.1 727 0.0 1.5 2.1 25 33 5.9
Nepal 380 23 48 0.4 163 0.0 0.1 1.1 11 31 2.1
Netherlands 9 76 69 0.2 8 11.0 10.6 1.3 100 100 90.0
New Zealand 14 .. .. 0.1 8 6.9 7.7 5.1 .. .. 83.4
Nicaragua 100 .. 72 0.2 44 0.6 0.8 1.3 43 52 3.5
Niger 820 4 11 0.8 181 0.1 0.1 1.0 5 9 0.8
Nigeria 840 6 15 3.6 295 0.5 0.6 4.3 37 32 28.4
Norway 7 74 88 0.1 6 7.4 9.1 1.5 100 100 91.8
Oman 20 9 .. 0.1 13 5.6 13.7 4.2 85 .. 43.5
Pakistan 260 15 30 0.1 231 0.6 1.0 1.7 28 45 12.0
Panama 71 .. .. 0.9 48 1.3 2.2 2.9 58 69 27.8
Papua New Guinea 250 .. 32 0.9 250 0.5 0.5 3.6 47 45 1.9
Paraguay 95 48 79 0.3 47 0.5 0.7 0.5 37 70 15.8
Peru 98 59 73 0.4 113 1.0 1.5 2.8 54 68 27.7
Philippines 94 36 51 <0.1 280 0.7 0.8 6.6 58 76 6.5
Poland 6 49 .. 0.1 24 9.1 8.3 1.2 .. 90 58.8
Portugal 7 .. 67 0.6 30 4.5 5.5 2.8 92 100 48.6
Puerto Rico 18 .. .. .. 2 .. .. 3.6 .. .. 25.2
Qatar 8 .. .. 0.1 49 25.2 55.4 .. 100 100 28.3

2011 World Development Indicators 19

 1.3 Millennium Development Goals:
protecting our common environment
Improve maternal Combat HIV/AIDS Ensure environmental Develop
health and other diseases sustainability a global
partnership for
development
Maternal Proportion
mortality ratio Contraceptive HIV of species
Modeled prevalence prevalence Incidence threatened
estimate rate % of of tuberculosis Carbon dioxide emissions with Access to improved Internet users
per 100,000 % of married women population per 100,000 per capita extinction sanitation facilities per 100
live births ages 15–49 ages 15–49 people metric tons % % of population peoplea
2008 1990 2004–09b 2009 2009 1990 2007 2008 1990 2008 2009

Romania 27 .. 70 0.1 125 6.8 4.4 1.6 71 72 36.2

Russian Federation 39 34 80 1.0 106 13.9 10.8 1.3 87 87 42.1
Rwanda 540 21 36 2.9 376 0.1 0.1 1.6 23 54 4.5
Saudi Arabia 24 .. 24 .. 18 13.2 16.6 3.8 .. .. 38.6
Senegal 410 .. 12 0.9 282 0.4 0.5 2.2 38 51 7.4
Serbia 8 .. 41 0.1 21 .. .. .. .. 92 56.1
Sierra Leone 970 .. 8 1.6 644 0.1 0.2 3.2 .. 13 0.3
Singapore 9 65 .. 0.1 36 15.4 11.8 9.7 99 100 73.3
Slovak Republic 6 74 .. <0.1 9 8.6 6.8 1.1 100 100 75.0
Slovenia 18 .. .. <0.1 12 6.2 7.5 2.1 100 100 63.6
Somalia 1,200 1 15 0.7 285 0.0 0.1 3.2 .. 23 1.2
South Africa 410 57 .. 17.8 971 9.5 9.0 1.6 69 77 9.0
Spain 6 .. 66 0.4 17 5.9 8.0 3.8 100 100 61.2
Sri Lanka 39 .. 68 <0.1 66 0.2 0.6 14.0 70 91 8.7
Sudan 750 9 8 1.1 119 0.2 0.3 2.4 34 34 9.9
Swaziland 420 20 51 25.9 1,257 0.5 0.9 0.8 .. 55 7.6
Sweden 5 .. .. 0.1 6 6.0 5.4 1.4 100 100 90.3
Switzerland 10 .. .. 0.4 5 6.4 5.0 1.4 100 100 70.9
Syrian Arab Republic 46 .. 58 .. 21 2.9 3.5 2.0 83 96 18.7
Tajikistan 64 .. 37 0.2 202 3.9 1.1 0.8 .. 94 10.1
Tanzania 790 10 26 5.6 183 0.1 0.1 5.1 24 24 1.5
Thailand 48 .. 77 1.3 137 1.7 4.1 3.4 80 96 25.8
Timor-Leste 370 .. 22d .. 498 .. 0.2 .. .. 50 ..
Togo 350 34 17 3.2 446 0.2 0.2 1.2 13 12 5.4
Trinidad and Tobago 55 .. 43 1.5 23 13.9 27.9 1.7 93 92 36.2
Tunisia 60 50 60 <0.1 24 1.6 2.3 2.1 74 85 33.5
Turkey 23 63 73 <0.1 29 2.7 4.0 1.4 84 90 35.3
Turkmenistan 77 .. 48 .. 67 7.2 9.2 10.7 98 98 1.6
Uganda 430 5 24 6.5 293 0.0 0.1 2.5 39 48 9.8
Ukraine 26 .. 67 1.1 101 11.7 6.8 1.1 95 95 33.3
United Arab Emirates 10 .. .. .. 4 29.3 31.0 14.1 97 97 82.2
United Kingdom 12 .. .. 0.2 12 10.0 8.8 2.8 100 100 83.2
United States 24 71 .. 0.6 4 19.5 19.3 5.7 100 100 78.1
Uruguay 27 .. 78 0.5 22 1.3 1.9 2.6 94 100 55.5
Uzbekistan 30 .. 65 0.1 128 5.3 4.3 1.0 84 100 16.9
Venezuela, RB 68 .. .. .. 33 6.2 6.0 1.1 82 .. 31.2
Vietnam 56 53 80 0.4 200 0.3 1.3 3.5 35 75 27.5
West Bank and Gaza .. .. 50 .. 19 .. 0.6 .. .. 89 8.8
Yemen, Rep. 210 10 28 .. 54 0.8 1.0 12.6 18 52 1.8
Zambia 470 15 41 13.5 433 0.3 0.2 0.7 46 49 6.3
Zimbabwe 790 43 65 14.3 742 1.5 0.8 0.9 43 44 11.4
World 260 w 57 w 61 w 0.8 w 137 w 4.3e w 4.6e w 52 w 61 w 27.1 w
Low income 580 23 33 2.7 294 0.7 0.3 23 35 2.7
Middle income 200 58 66 0.6 138 2.6 3.3 45 57 20.9
Lower middle income 230 60 63 0.4 147 1.6 2.8 37 50 17.2
Upper middle income 82 52 75 1.4 101 6.1 5.3 78 84 34.6
Low & middle income 290 54 61 0.9 161 2.4 2.9 43 54 18.1
East Asia & Pacific 89 75 77 0.2 136 1.9 4.0 42 59 24.1
Europe & Central Asia 32 .. 69 0.6 89 10.7 7.2 87 89 36.4
Latin America & Carib. 86 .. 75 0.5 45 2.3 2.7 69 79 31.5
Middle East & N. Africa 88 42 62 0.1 39 2.5 3.7 73 84 21.5
South Asia 290 40 51 0.3 180 0.7 1.2 22 36 5.5
Sub-Saharan Africa 650 15 21 5.4 342 0.9 0.8 27 31 8.8
High income 15 70 .. 0.3 14 11.9 12.5 100 99 72.3
Euro area 7 .. .. 0.3 9 8.6 8.2 100 100 67.3
a. Data are from the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) World Telecommunication Development Report database. Please cite ITU for third-party use of these data. b. Data are
for the most recent year available. c. Includes Hong Kong SAR, China. d. Data are for 2010. e. Includes emissions not allocated to specific countries.

20 2011 World Development Indicators

 1.3

WORLD VIEW
Millennium Development Goals:
protecting our common environment
About the data Definitions

The Millennium Development Goals address con- between contraction of the virus and the appearance • Maternal mortality ratio is the number of women
cerns common to all economies. Diseases and envi- of symptoms, or malaria, which has periods of dor- who die from pregnancy-related causes during preg-
ronmental degradation do not respect national bound- mancy, can be particularly difficult. The table shows nancy and childbirth, per 100,000 live births. Data
aries. Epidemic diseases, wherever they occur, pose the estimated prevalence of HIV among adults ages are from various years and adjusted to a common
a threat to people everywhere. And environmental 15–49. Prevalence among older populations can be 2008 base year. The values are modeled estimates
damage in one location may affect the well-being of affected by life-prolonging treatment. The incidence of (see About the data for table 2.19). • Contraceptive
plants, animals, and humans far away. The indicators tuberculosis is based on case notifications and esti- prevalence rate is the percentage of women ages
in the table relate to goals 5, 6, and 7 and the targets mates of cases detected in the population. 15–49 married or in union who are practicing, or
of goal 8 that address access to new technologies. Carbon dioxide emissions are the primary source
whose sexual partners are practicing, any form of
For the other targets of goal 8, see table 1.4. of greenhouse gases, which contribute to global
contraception. • HIV prevalence is the percentage
The target of achieving universal access to repro- warming, threatening human and natural habitats.
of people ages 15–49 who are infected with HIV.
ductive health has been added to goal 5 to address In recognition of the vulnerability of animal and plant
• Incidence of tuberculosis is the estimated number
the importance of family planning and health ser- species, a new target of reducing biodiversity loss
of new tuberculosis cases (pulmonary, smear posi-
vices in improving maternal health and preventing has been added to goal 7.
tive, and extrapulmonary). • Carbon dioxide emis-
maternal death. Women with multiple pregnancies Access to reliable supplies of safe drinking water and
sions are those stemming from the burning of fossil
are more likely to die in childbirth. Access to contra- sanitary disposal of excreta are two of the most impor-
ception is an important way to limit and space births. tant means of improving human health and protecting fuels and the manufacture of cement. They include
Measuring disease prevalence or incidence can be the environment. Improved sanitation facilities prevent emissions produced during consumption of solid,
difficult. Most developing economies lack reporting human, animal, and insect contact with excreta. liquid, and gas fuels and gas flaring (see table 3.8).
systems for monitoring diseases. Estimates are often Internet use includes narrowband and broadband • Proportion of species threatened with extinction
derived from survey data and report data from sentinel Internet. Narrowband is often limited to basic appli- is the total number of threatened mammal (exclud-
sites, extrapolated to the general population. Tracking cations; broadband is essential to promote e-busi- ing whales and porpoises), bird, and higher native,
diseases such as HIV/AIDS, which has a long latency ness, e-learning, e-government, and e-health. vascular plant species as a percentage of the total
number of known species of the same categories.
Location of indicators for Millennium Development Goals 5–7 1.3a • Access to improved sanitation facilities is the
percentage of the population with at least adequate
Goal 5. Improve maternal health Table access to excreta disposal facilities (private or
5.1 Maternal mortality ratio 1.3, 2.19 shared, but not public) that can effectively prevent
5.2 Proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel 2.19 human, animal, and insect contact with excreta
5.3 Contraceptive prevalence rate 1.3, 2.19
(facilities do not have to include treatment to ren-
5.4 Adolescent fertility rate 2.19
5.5 Antenatal care coverage 1.5, 2.19 der sewage outflows innocuous). Improved facilities
5.6 Unmet need for family planning 2.19 range from simple but protected pit latrines to flush
Goal 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases toilets with a sewerage connection. To be effective,
6.1 HIV prevalence among pregnant women ages 15–24 1.3*, 2.21* facilities must be correctly constructed and properly
6.2 Condom use at last high-risk sex 2.21* maintained. • Internet users are people with access
6.3 Proportion of population ages 15–24 with comprehensive, correct knowledge —
to the worldwide network.
of HIV/AIDS
6.4 Ratio of school attendance of orphans to school attendance of —
nonorphans ages 10–14
6.5 Proportion of population with advanced HIV infection with access to —
antiretroviral drugs
6.6 Incidence and death rates associated with malaria —
6.7 Proportion of children under age 5 sleeping under insecticide-treated bednets 2.18
6.8 Proportion of children under age 5 with fever who are treated with appropriate
antimalarial drugs 2.18
6.9 Incidence, prevalence, and death rates associated with tuberculosis 1.3, 2.21
6.10 Proportion of tuberculosis cases detected and cured under directly observed
treatment short course 2.18 Data sources
Goal 7. Ensure environmental sustainability
7.1 Proportion of land area covered by forest 3.1 The indicators here and throughout this book have
7.2 Carbon dioxide emissions, total, per capita and per $1 purchasing power parity been compiled by World Bank staff from primary
GDP 3.8
7.3 Consumption of ozone-depleting substances 3.9* and secondary sources. Efforts have been made
7.4 Proportion of fish stocks within safe biological limits — to harmonize the data series used to compile this
7.5 Proportion of total water resources used 3.5 table with those published on the United Nations
7.6 Proportion of terrestrial and marine areas protected —
Millennium Development Goals Web site (www.
7.7 Proportion of species threatened with extinction 1.3
7.8 Proportion of population using an improved drinking water source 1.3, 2.18, 3.5 un.org/millenniumgoals), but some differences in
7.9 Proportion of population using an improved sanitation facility 1.3, 2.18, 3.11 timing, sources, and definitions remain. For more
Proportion of urban population living in slums — information see the data sources for the indica-
— No data are available in the World Development Indicators database. * Table shows information on related indicators. tors listed in tables 1.3a and 1.4a.

2011 World Development Indicators 21

 1.4 Millennium Development Goals:
overcoming obstacles
Development Assistance Committee members

Official development Least developed countries’ access Support to

assistance (ODA) to high-income markets agriculture
by donor
For basic Goods
Net social services a (excluding arms) Average tariff on exports of
disbursements % of total sector- admitted free of tariffs least developed countries
% of donor allocable ODA % of exports from least %
GNI commitments developed countries Agricultural products Textiles Clothing % of GDP
2009 2009 2002 2008 2002 2008 2002 2008 2002 2008 2009b

Australia 0.29 14.5 95.9 100.0 0.2 0.0 5.1 0.0 19.7 0.0 0.15
Canada 0.30 25.5 67.2 100.0 0.3 0.1 5.7 0.2 17.9 1.7 0.75
European Union 97.0 98.7 1.8 0.9 0.1 0.1 1.2 1.2 0.84
Austria 0.30 6.3
Belgium 0.55 12.7
Denmark 0.88 21.3
Finland 0.54 5.8
France 0.46 8.8
Germany 0.35 8.7
Greece 0.19 11.2
Ireland 0.54 32.1
Italy 0.16 12.9
Luxembourg 1.04 35.4
Netherlands 0.82 11.9
Portugal 0.23 3.6
Spain 0.46 24.2
Sweden 1.12 10.8
United Kingdom 0.52 21.4
Japan 0.18 18.6 33.2 99.6 4.8 1.4 2.8 2.6 0.1 0.1 1.11
Korea, Rep.c 0.10 6.7 14.6 57.7 26.1 28.5 11.4 4.0 12.5 3.7 2.44
New Zealandc 0.28 27.7 98.0 98.2 3.1 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.20
Norway 1.06 21.9 97.9 99.9 3.8 18.0 3.1 0.0 1.3 1.0 1.07
Switzerland 0.45 9.5 93.4 100.0 5.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.37
United States 0.21 31.7 61.7 83.8 6.3 5.8 6.6 5.7 12.5 11.3 0.87

Heavily indebted poor countries (HIPCs)

HIPC HIPC HIPC MDRI HIPC HIPC HIPC MDRI

decision completion Initiative assistance decision completion Initiative assistance
pointd pointd assistance pointd pointd assistance
end-2009 end-2009
net present value net present value
$ millions $ millions

Afghanistan Jul. 2007 Jan. 2010 654 20 Haiti Nov. 2006 Jun. 2009 164 665
Benin Jul. 2000 Mar. 2003 385 754 Honduras Jul. 2000 Apr. 2005 816 1,893
Boliviae Feb. 2000 Jun. 2001 1,949 1,953 Liberia Mar. 2008 Jun. 2010 2,958 243
Burkina Fasoe,f Jul. 2000 Apr. 2002 812 764 Madagascar Dec. 2000 Oct. 2004 1,228 1,598
Burundi Aug. 2005 Jan. 2009 1,009 58 Malawif Dec. 2000 Aug. 2006 1,379 898
Cameroon Oct. 2000 Apr. 2006 1,861 646 Malie Sep. 2000 Mar. 2003 792 1,308
Central African Republic Sep. 2007 Jun. 2009 675 435 Mauritania Feb. 2000 Jun. 2002 913 558
Chad May 2001 Floating 241 .. Mozambiquee Apr. 2000 Sep. 2001 3,147 1,322
Comoros Jun. 2010 Floating 151 .. Nicaragua Dec. 2000 Jan. 2004 4,861 1,191
Congo, Dem. Rep. Jul. 2003 Jul. 2010 9,493 515 Niger f Dec. 2000 Apr. 2004 947 651
Congo, Rep. Mar. 2006 Jan. 2010 1,906 120 Rwandaf Dec. 2000 Apr. 2005 956 283
Côte d’Ivoire Mar. 2009 Floating 3,245 .. São Tomé & Principef Dec. 2000 Mar. 2007 172 34
Ethiopiaf Nov. 2001 Apr. 2004 2,735 1,862 Senegal Jun. 2000 Apr. 2004 717 1,661
Gambia, The Dec. 2000 Dec. 2007 98 232 Sierra Leone Mar. 2002 Dec. 2006 919 465
Ghana Feb. 2002 Jul. 2004 3,091 2,570 Tanzania Apr. 2000 Nov. 2001 2,977 2,517
Guinea Dec. 2000 Floating 801 .. Togo Nov. 2008 Dec. 2010 305 463
Guinea-Bissau Dec. 2000 Dec. 2010 746 77 Uganda e Feb. 2000 May 2000 1,509 2,245
Guyanae Nov. 2000 Dec. 2003 897 493 Zambia Dec. 2000 Apr. 2005 3,672 1,962

a. Includes primary education, basic life skills for youth, adult and early childhood education, basic health care, basic health infrastructure, basic nutrition, infectious disease control,
health education, health personnel development, population policy and administrative management, reproductive health care, family planning, sexually transmitted disease control
including HIV/AIDS, personnel development for population and reproductive health, basic drinking water supply and basic sanitation, and multisector aid for basic social services.
b. Provisional data. c. Calculated by World Bank staff using the World Integrated Trade Solution based on the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s Trade Analysis and
Information Systems database. d. Refers to the Enhanced HIPC Initiative. e. Also reached completion point under the original HIPC Initiative. The assistance includes original debt relief.
f. Assistance includes topping up at completion point.

22 2011 World Development Indicators

 1.4

WORLD VIEW
Millennium Development Goals:
overcoming obstacles
About the data Definitions

Achieving the Millennium Development Goals lines with “international peaks”). The averages in • Official development assistance (ODA) net dis-
requires an open, rule-based global economy in the table include ad valorem duties and equivalents. bursements are grants and loans (net of repayments of
which all countries, rich and poor, participate. Many Subsidies to agricultural producers and exporters principal) that meet the DAC definition of ODA and are

poor countries, lacking the resources to finance in OECD countries are another barrier to developing made to countries on the DAC list of recipients. • ODA
for basic social services is aid commitments by DAC
development, burdened by unsustainable debt, and economies’ exports. Agricultural subsidies in OECD
donors for basic education, primary health care, nutri-
unable to compete globally, need assistance from economies are estimated at $384 billion in 2009.
tion, population policies and programs, reproductive
rich countries. For goal 8—develop a global partner- The Debt Initiative for Heavily Indebted Poor Coun-
health, and water and sanitation services. • Goods
ship for development—many indicators therefore tries (HIPCs), an important step in placing debt relief
admitted free of tariffs are exports of goods (excluding
monitor the actions of members of the Organisa- within the framework of poverty reduction, is the first
arms) from least developed countries admitted without
tion for Economic Co-operation and Development’s comprehensive approach to reducing the external
tariff. • Average tariff is the unweighted average of
(OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC). debt of the world’s poorest, most heavily indebted the effectively applied rates for all products subject to
Official development assistance (ODA) has risen countries. A 1999 review led to an enhancement of tariffs. • Agricultural products are plant and animal
in recent years as a share of donor countries’ gross the framework. In 2005, to further reduce the debt products, including tree crops but excluding timber and
national income (GNI), but the poorest economies of HIPCs and provide resources for meeting the Mil- fish products. • Textiles and clothing are natural and
need additional assistance to achieve the Millen- lennium Development Goals, the Multilateral Debt synthetic fibers and fabrics and articles of clothing
nium Development Goals. In 2009 total net ODA from Relief Initiative (MDRI), proposed by the Group of made from them. • Support to agriculture is the value
OECD DAC members rose 0.7 percent in real terms Eight countries, was launched. of gross transfers from taxpayers and consumers aris-
to $119.6 billion, representing 0.31 percent of DAC Under the MDRI four multilateral institutions—the ing from policy measures, net of associated budgetary

members’ combined gross national income. International Development Association (IDA), Inter- receipts, regardless of their objectives and impacts on
farm production and income or consumption of farm
One important action that high-income economies national Monetary Fund (IMF), African Development
products. • HIPC decision point is the date when a
can take is to reduce barriers to exports from low- Fund (AfDF), and Inter-American Development Bank
heavily indebted poor country with an established
and middle- income economies. The European Union (IDB)—provide 100 percent debt relief on eligible
track record of good performance under adjustment
has begun to eliminate tariffs on exports of “every- debts due to them from countries having completed
programs supported by the IMF and the World Bank
thing but arms” from least developed countries, and the HIPC Initiative process. Data in the table refer
commits to additional reforms and a poverty reduc-
the United States offers special concessions to Sub- to status as of March 2011 and might not show
tion strategy and starts receiving debt relief. • HIPC
Saharan African exports. However, these programs countries that have since reached the decision or completion point is the date when a country success-
still have many restrictions. completion point. Debt relief under the HIPC Initia- fully completes the key structural reforms agreed on
Average tariffs in the table refl ect high-income tive has reduced future debt payments by $59 bil- at the decision point, including implementing a poverty
OECD member tariff schedules for exports of coun- lion (in end-2009 net present value terms) for 36 reduction strategy. The country then receives full debt
tries designated least developed countries by the countries that have reached the decision point. And relief under the HIPC Initiative without further policy
United Nations. Although average tariffs have been 32 countries that have reached the completion point conditions. • HIPC Initiative assistance is the debt
falling, averages may disguise high tariffs on specific have received additional assistance of $30 billion (in relief committed as of the decision point (assuming full
goods (see table 6.8 for each country’s share of tariff end-2009 net present value terms) under the MDRI. participation of creditors). Topping-up assistance and
assistance provided under the original HIPC Initiative
Location of indicators for Millennium Development Goal 8 1.4a were committed in net present value terms as of the
decision point and are converted to end-2009 terms.
Goal 8. Develop a global partnership for development Table
• MDRI assistance is 100 percent debt relief on eli-
8.1 Net ODA as a percentage of DAC donors’ gross national income 1.4, 6.14
8.2 Proportion of ODA for basic social services 1.4 gible debt from IDA, IMF, AfDF, and IDB, delivered in full
8.3 Proportion of ODA that is untied 6.15b to countries having reached the HIPC completion point.
8.4 Proportion of ODA received in landlocked countries as a percentage of GNI —
8.5 Proportion of ODA received in small island developing states as a percentage of GNI —
8.6 Proportion of total developed country imports (by value, excluding arms) from least Data sources
developed countries admitted free of duty 1.4 Data on ODA are from the OECD. Data on goods
8.7 Average tariffs imposed by developed countries on agricultural products and
admitted free of tariffs and average tariffs are
textiles and clothing from least developed countries 1.4, 6.8*
8.8 Agricultural support estimate for OECD countries as a percentage of GDP 1.4 from the World Trade Organization, in collabora-
8.9 Proportion of ODA provided to help build trade capacity — tion with the United Nations Conference on Trade
8.10 Number of countries reaching HIPC decision and completion points 1.4 and Development and the International Trade Cen-
8.11 Debt relief committed under new HIPC initiative 1.4
tre. These data are available at www.mdg-trade.
8.12 Debt services as a percentage of exports of goods and services 6.11*
8.13 Proportion of population with access to affordable, essential drugs on a org. Data on subsidies to agriculture are from
sustainable basis — the OECD’s Producer and Consumer Support Esti-
8.14 Telephone lines per 100 people 1.3*, 5.11 mates, OECD Database 1986–2009. Data on the
8.15 Cellular subscribers per 100 people 1.3*, 5.11
HIPC Initiative and MDRI are from the World Bank’s
8.16 Internet users per 100 people 5.12
Economic Policy and Debt Department.
— No data are available in the World Development Indicators database. * Table shows information on related indicators.

2011 World Development Indicators 23

Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
he was worth in the world in securities for the behoof of his future
son-in-law, whose fortune was suspected to be in no very flourishing
condition. The unfortunate weaver exemplified a very common
failing in the most sagacious characters, namely, a disposition, after
a whole lifetime of prudence, to give way to some notably ridiculous
error, which is rendered unalarming to them from its being totally
different in character and tendency from any that they have been
accustomed to avoid.
At length came evil days. Owing to some turn of affairs in the
progress of the war, cotton-weaving experienced a severe shock, by
which many of the best Glasgow houses were materially damaged,
and thousands of operatives throughout the country were thrown
out of work. The very respectable establishment for which Hamilton
had long acted as agent, lingered for a time in existence, and was
able occasionally to send a small scantling of work, hardly enough to
employ a tenth part of the population of the village. When the
carrier was expected to come with these small supplies, numbers of
poor men, attended by their wives and children, all of whom were
alike unemployed, would go out for miles to meet the eagerly
expected vehicle, to learn how much work was brought, and what
prospect there was of more. On the small bag being opened by
Hamilton, and perhaps only three webs being displayed, the grief of
the poor people was beyond all description. The married men would
then, by Hamilton’s directions, draw lots for those precious morsels
of employment. While this process went forward, what eager
breathless hope in the faces of both men and women, tempered, at
the same time, by a religious sense of the misery which each man
knew that his own success would inflict upon some equally
deserving neighbour! What despair was depicted in each honest
homely face, as it turned from the fatal lottery, upon the unhappy
family group, which, more eagerly than himself, had watched the
result of his throw! With what joy, mingled with sad sympathies for
the rest, would the successful man bear home his load, though he
knew that the price of his labour would hardly be sufficient to supply
the food necessary to support him, even though he were to work
sixteen hours a-day! At length, towards winter, even these
wretchedly insufficient supplies were stopped. Hamilton’s employers,
after every effort to keep themselves afloat, were obliged to give
way also; and, consequently, the Daldaff agency became at once a
dead letter. People talk of the exemption of the present generation
from disasters by fire and sword, which so frequently befell their
ancestors; but what calamity was ever inflicted upon the poor, even
in the most lawless days of past history, equal to the desolation
which is now so often occasioned in a large district, by a total
cessation of the staple employment? The cots which gave shelter to
our ancestors, were rebuilt in three days, after even the most
savage invasion; the herds, which had been gathered off to some
place of security, were restored to their indestructible pastures. The
calamity, if unaccompanied by severe loss of life, must have been
only, in general, an exciting adventure. But what retreat, what
consolation is there for the hordes of poor artizans, who, by some
commercial accident, arising, perhaps, from the imprudence of a few
merchants, or some political or warlike movement, are deprived of
the customary weekly pittance? It may be relied on, that such
disasters exceed in measure of sorrow almost any kind of historical
distress, except those of plague or famine. No other accident but
these last ever introduced such coldness to the poor man’s hearth,
such despair to his heart, or made him regret with so bitter a pang
that he had others to care for besides himself.
Amidst the public calamity, one of a most grievous nature
overtook the father of our heroine. The affairs of the laird, which
had long been desperately out of order, and for some time were only
sustained by the aid of his intended father-in-law, came to a
complete stand-still; and, the whole wealth of James Hamilton being
engaged in securities, he was at once reduced to the condition in
which he had entered life. The stroke at first seemed likely to be
fatal. Thus to lose the whole earnings of a laborious life—to forfeit,
at the eleventh hour, by one miserable piece of imprudence, all the
honours of the wisely spent day, was more, almost, than he could
bear. He had, however, two comforters in his affliction—the worthy
old minister, who in these calamitous times had been a succouring
angel to his flock—and his daughter, an angel of a still more gracious
kind, who, forgetting all the severities with which she had been
treated, and thinking only of his present affliction, applied herself to
the sacred task of soothing his wounded mind, and inspiring him
with hopes of better times. The change of his circumstances
produced a complete change in the mind of Hamilton. Having no
longer wealth to care for, the jealous sentinels with which he had
guarded it were withdrawn. The crust of worldly selfishness was
broken off his character, and all its better affections were again
called into free play. His eyes were now opened to the wickedness of
which he had been guilty, in endeavouring to force the affections of
his daughter, and he only wished that he were again as he had been
a twelvemonth before, in order to make her happy with the man of
her heart.
Weeks of partial famine passed on, and now the distresses of the
villagers were suddenly doubled by the premature commencement
of a very severe winter. With the exception of their small patches of
potatoes and garden vegetables, there seemed hardly any resource
for them during the whole winter. The minister, whose own income
was exhausted in providing for their wants, thought it necessary,
under these distressing circumstances, to call them all together, and
join them in one solemn exercise of humiliation appropriate to the
occasion. Just as this was concluded, a boy belonging to an inn
about ten miles distant upon the Glasgow road, arrived, after a
toilsome journey through the snow, and gave the joyful news that a
cart filled with webs was storm-stayed at his master’s house, on its
way to the village, the trade having suddenly experienced a slight
revival. Transported with this intelligence, though no one could
guess by whom the work could have been sent, they one and all
resolved to proceed to Redcraigs, where the cart was lying, and aid
in clearing a way for it through the snow. Every spade and
semblance of a spade was then put in requisition, and the half of the
bannocks in the village were brought forward, without the least
regard to individual property, to provision the troop of pioneers.
Thirty men set out early next morning on this expedition, graced
with the blessings and prayers of all who saw them depart.
The snow, it was found, had only fallen to the depth of three feet,
but it was drifted in many hollow parts of the road to six times that
depth, so as to present an insurmountable obstacle to the progress
of a cart. At all those places the weavers exerted themselves as they
advanced to clear away the gelid heaps. The toil was most severe;
but what these poor starved men wanted in strength, they made up
by zeal—that zeal, above all others, which is inspired by the wish of
answering the clamour of a hungry family circle with the necessary
bite. The thought that work was before them, that money would
again be procured, and, for that money, food to supply “the bairns at
hame,” nerved every arm with superhuman energy; and as the
country people every where lent a willing, though less enthusiastic
assistance, the party had before mid-day cleared their way to
Redcraigs. What was their surprise on being met there by their
friend Adam Cuthbertson, of whom they had not heard ever since he
left Daldaff, and who now informed them, with ineffable pleasure
beaming in his eyes, that he had been the happy means of procuring
them this supply of work. He had entered, he said, into the service
of a manufacturer at Glasgow, and having divulged to him a plan of
improving the loom, had been advanced to a very onerous place of
trust in the factory. His employer having weathered on till the
present revival of trade, he had used the little influence he had, to
get his old master, of whose misfortunes he had heard, appointed to
an agency, and was favoured with one of the very first parcels of
work that was to be had, which he was now conveying to the relief
of his old friends at Daldaff. “Let us on now, my friends,” cried
Adam; “and, before night is far spent, we shall be able to tell the
women and the bairns that the bad times are now blown by, and
that every one will get his porridge and his broth as he used to do.”
The cavalcade then set forward, the cart drawn by three horses in
line, and every man more ready than another, either to clear away
the drifted heap that lay before it, or to urge it with his desperate
shoulder over every such impediment that might happen to be left.
Though the way was long, and the labour severe, and the strength
of the poor weavers not very great, yet every eye and voice
maintained its cheerfulness, and the song, the jest, and the merry
tale, were kept up to the very last. The wintry sun had set upon the
snowy hills ere the procession came within sight of Daldaff; yet all
the women and children were collected at the Loanbraehead, near
the village, to see it approach; and when the cart was first discerned
turning a neighbouring height, with its large attendant train, a shout
of natural joy arose through the clear air, such as might burst from
those who gaze from the shore upon a wreck, and see the crew, one
by one, make their escape from destruction. James Hamilton was
there, though much reduced by a recent illness; and the joy which
seized him on being informed by the workmen of his appointment,
was almost too much for his frame. He looked in vain, however, for
Cuthbertson, to pour before him the thanks of a repentant spirit.
That excellent young man had eluded the observation of all, and,
diving through some of the lanes of the village, had taken refuge in
the house of his uncle. He found that much as he had longed to see
gladness once more restored to these poor villagers, he could not
endure the scene at last. He had therefore escaped from their
gratitude; and it was not till Hamilton sought him in his old lodgings,
that he was at length discovered. The old man took him warmly by
the hand, which he did not quit, till, leading him to his own house,
he deposited it in that of his fair daughter. “Susan Hamilton,” said
he, “twice have you been saved by this good youth; you are now
fairly his own property—you are no longer mine. May you both be
happy!”
 FLITTING DAY.

Our readers will perhaps recollect a former article, in which we

treated of the subject of removals—that is to say, the practice so
general in Scotland (though otherwise in England) of shifting almost
every year from one house to another, in a constant expectation of
finding the to kalon, as the Greeks call it, or, as we shall rather style
it, the quite the thing of house accommodation, which, however, is
discovered at one year’s end to be exactly as remote as it was a
twelvemonth before, and still, like general happiness, is “on
before”—far looming over the horizon, like a vessel bound for some
distant part of the globe, and not to be caught or overtaken, let us
speed after it as we may. We have heard various individuals
acknowledge that there were some good home truths in that article,
though we rather believe the housewives in general were surprised
at our blindness to the beauties of a good back-green. Let that be as
it may, there was one thing in which that article was totally deficient
—to wit, an account of the particular horrors of removing day itself,
or, as we in Scotland call it, flitting day—a day styled in the calendar
Whitsunday, and dedicated to we don’t know what sacred use, but
which, without regard to its sacred use, whatever that may be, we
think men might wish that, above all others, it were fairly blotted out
of the calendar—expunged from the very year itself—utterly
annihilated and forgotten, because of the unhappy secular use to
which it has been put from time immemorial. The 25th of May, or
Whitsunday old style, is indeed a day of peculiar agony amongst us.
It is a day consecrated to the disruption of all local ties, to the
rending of every kind of pleasant association, to the discomfiture of
all the household goods. The very week in which it occurs, is black
with its atmosphere of pain.
It may be surprising to persons unacquainted with Scotland, that
the people should be so fond of removing, since the day on which
that event takes place is apt to be so very disagreeable. They might
as well wonder that people should ever marry, when they know so
very well that the charge of a family is apt to be burdensome.
Candlemas day, on which people take their houses, is a day of
heedless joy, a day of fond and delirious anticipation; and
Whitsunday is to it what execution-day is to the particular time when
an unfortunate man was tempted to enrich himself at some other
body’s expense. “On Wednesday I killed my wife, on Saturday I was
hanged,” as the child’s rhyme goes: no one can doubt that
Wednesday was in this case a very pleasant day, whatever might be
the state of the honest man’s feelings at the end of the week. So it
is with Candlemas and Whitsunday. On the former of these days we
are actuated by a spirit of spite and dissatisfaction with our present
abode; it is every thing that is disagreeable, and we must at all
hazards get quit of it. Accordingly, the taking of another, and, as we
think, better habitation, naturally appears as the opening of a haven
of relief, and, of course, we have a great deal of either positive or
negative pleasure in the day. Nor is this satisfaction confined to the
day on which the new house is leased: it extends up to the very
commencement of that week of suffering which involves Whitsunday
—up to the first material disarrangement of furniture preparatory to
removal. During the time which elapses between the leasing of the
new habitation and our removal to it, we abandon all care for our
present abode. Any thing that goes wrong about it must just remain
so. If a lock were required for the door, we would scarcely put
ourselves to the trouble of getting it, but remain content with some
provisional system of security, such as putting a table behind it. A
large piece of plaster might fall down from the ceiling, or half of the
floor of the dining-room sink into the kitchen—a whole gable or side-
wall, almost, might fall away, but we would never think of troubling
ourselves with any attempt at repairs. It is a horrid house at any
rate, and, for all the time we are to be in it, it does not matter. We’ll
soon be getting into our nice new house, and I’ll warrant you no
plaster will fall down from the ceiling there, nor either floor or gable
give way. Every thing will be right when we get to —— Street. The
house, under this system of feeling, begins to wear a desolate look.
Every thing is permitted, according to the old Scottish phrase, just to
hang as it grows. The whole bonds of household discipline are
relaxed. The servants, who are to be changed too perhaps, as well
as the house, begin to do things any way, and yet the mistress
hardly chides them. The fact is, she has given up all idea of comfort
in the condemned house, and lives entirely on the hope of seeing
every thing trig in her new abode. She would make no great
complaint, as we verily believe, if the servants obliged her by their
carelessness to spend all the remaining part of the lease up to her
knees in water. Every thing will be right when we get to —— Street,
so we’ll just put up with it. Every now and then one of the children
comes in, like the messengers in Macbeth, to tell her of the progress
of mischief. One has to mention, that a boy throwing stones has just
broken two panes in the drawing-room window, the lower chess
having been up at the time. No matter; all will be right when we get
to —— Street. Another “cream-faced loon” rushes in to say, that the
girls in the kitchen have just broken down the grate, and snapped
the poker in two. No matter; all will be right when we get to ——
Street. Nay, it is not too much to suppose that, although she were
told of the house having just begun to sink into the earth, she would
take it all with the most philosophic coolness, and console herself for
every present mishap by a reference to the joys which are to be
experienced in that home of promise. The prospect of a removal, it
will be observed, is thus enough even to revolutionise human
nature. People abandon their most cherished objects of care, and
disregard that of which they are in general most solicitous, under the
influence of this prospect. Like the pilgrim of Bunyan (not to speak it
profanely), they thrust their fingers in their ears, in order to shut out
all lateral subjects of thought, and rush on—on—on towards the new
house.
At last the throes of actual removal begin to be felt, and, for the
time, all happy anticipation is deadened within us. You have long
ago ascertained, by a ceremonious call upon the present tenants of
your new mansion, that they cannot remove an hour before
Whitsunday at noon, which gives you the comfortable assurance that
your flitting will be, like a sharp fever, soon over. The lady who is
coming to your house soon after makes a ceremonious call upon
you, and ascertains, of course, that you can only remove at that
hour also. If matters should happen otherwise—if you are either
going to a house altogether new, or to one which can be vacated a
short while before the term-day, then what a convenience it is!—we
shall have the painters in, and get it all put to rights before we flit a
single stick; and after it is all right, we shall remove quite at our
leisure. By this plan we shall not only avoid the risk of breaking
things, which is always the case in a hurried flitting, but we shall get
porters and carters a great deal cheaper, for these fellows, you
know, charge three wages on the actual term-day, when every body
is flitting. But if it should happen, as above mentioned, that you are
limited to a few hours, so that your furniture, as it goes out, will
meet the furniture of another person coming in, and, as it goes in,
will meet, in tug of war, that of another person coming out, then the
blessed anticipation of your future comforts in “that nice house”
reconciles you to every thing, and you make yourself think that,
after all, it is better, when one is flitting, to have it all over in the
shortest possible space of time.
Sometimes, even when you have a vantage space, you are
strangely jockeyed out of it before you are aware. Say the house is
to be painted before you go into it. Being quite at your ease, you are
satisfied that the painters are engaged about two months before the
term. You know very well that these men are the greatest of all
rascals; that, indeed, they have no other principle within them but
just to put people to as much trouble as possible. But two months!
that must surely be sufficient. Well, the painters come all this time
before the term, and, like the ancient Spanish navigators, take
possession of a newly-discovered country, mark the job for their
own, by planting a nasty pail in one room, and setting up a brush on
end against the wall in another. You look in about a week after, and
see the pail and the brush in statu quo: the fellows have as yet done
nothing but taken seisin.[3] You think this is not just quite right, and
calling in a cool easy way at the master’s as you go home, express
your wish that the job should be immediately proceeded with, being
anxious to get into the house as long before the term as possible.
The painter is all politeness, and promises to put men upon the
house next morning, so that it will be got ready for your reception in
no time—by which he appears to mean a space of time so brief as
not to be worth defining, but which you eventually find to have
signified that the job would be finished not at all in time. As you
come home to your dinner next afternoon, you take a turn that way
to see how “the men” are getting on. The house is as empty and
desolate as ever; but, from a change in the relative situations of the
pail and the brush, you see that they have been there. On inspecting
things more minutely, you find that one bed-room has been washed
down, and is now, to use a kitchen phrase, swimming. Well, this is a
beginning, you think. “The men” have been doing what they could
to-day, and to-morrow they would be a good way advanced. On this
supposition, you take no more thought about the house for three or
four days more, when, dropping in as before, you have the
satisfaction of seeing that there is another pail, and that the ceiling
of the dining-room has been whitewashed. Still, dilatory as the
rascals evidently are, you hardly think there is a sufficient casus
fœderis, or breach of treaty, to entitle you to go and blow up the
polite man at head-quarters. You suffer for another day; and then,
dropping in again, you find a little Flibbertigibbet of a boy exerting
himself with his tiny arms to whitewash the ceiling of the parlour.
Well, my boy, where are “the men?” This is your question; but for
answer you only learn that there have never been any men in the
matter—nobody has ever been here but Flibbertigibbet himself. You
feel, at this intelligence, almost as much bewildered and
obfusculated as George the Second was when he asked an Irish
sergeant at a review after the seven years’ war, where was the ——
regiment? and was answered, “Please your majesty, I’se the ——
regiment;” the Hibernian being in reality the only man that had
survived the last campaign. Is this the men, you say to yourself, that
Mr —— promised to put upon the house? You go of course instantly,
and, Mr —— being, by his own good fortune, from home, you leave
a note for him, expressed in such terms as you are sure must bring
him to his senses, if any thing will. Dropping in next day to see the
effect, your ire is soothed at finding three men at work besides
Flibbertigibbet, and every thing seems going on so well, that you
trouble them no more for a week. But it is needless to pursue this
painful theme any farther. Suffice it to say, that, having once got
these artists into the house, you feel by and by as if they were never
again to be got out; you fear that, contrary to the catastrophe of the
well-known jest, there will be no letting go the painter. Their pails,
and buckets, and brushes, and all their slopery, are just as rife in the
house a week before the term as they were a month earlier; and still
to every remonstrance Mr —— replies, that all he can do is to put on
more men next Monday morning. It is all you can do, perhaps, to
get the odious varlets trundled out, “pots and all,” on the very day
before you are compelled to remove; so that, instead of having
ample scope and verge enough, as you expected, you find that you
will be just as much hurried and flurried as if you had been going to
a house not previously vacated.
Well, whatever be the foregoing circumstances, flitting day at last
arrives in all its horrors. The lady of the household has for several
days been storing all kinds of small things by into drawers and
boxes, that they might the more safely be transported, so that the
family finds itself already deprived of the half of those things which
are necessary to comfort, and the whole of what minister to luxury.
Your shaving-box is amissing two mornings before flitting day, and
has to be fished up, like a “drowned honour,” from the bottom of
some abyss of well-regarded trifles. When you come home to dinner
on flitting day eve, it is any money for a boot-jack. You take your
meals that evening without table-cloths; and unless you can bring
down your proud stomach to a brown kitchen bowl, any thing like a
comforting drink is out of the question. The crepuscular anguish of
the day is already felt. You go to your bed that night off an
uncarpeted floor, and in the midst of all kinds of tubs covered up
with packsheet, and looking-glasses swaddled up in linen. If you get
a nightcap, you may consider yourself lucky above all mortal men.
You go to bed, but sleep there is none, for you have to rise next
morning long before the usual hour, and the anticipatory sense of
what you have to go through that day fills every nook and cranny of
your mind. You awake to a rush of children and servants on the
stairs; and though you exert every nerve of your memory to recollect
the new geography of things in the room, it is ten to one but you
stumble over some tub or chest in the dark, where you thought no
tub should be; and, upon the whole, the feeling with which you
thrust your poor cold distressed shanks into your vestments, is not
much short of that which must possess a man about to walk to the
scaffold. A breakfast composed of every thing but the proper
materials, and taken out of every thing but the proper vessels,
collects such a group of shabby slatternly figures as you did not
before think yourself husband, or father, or master to. The meal is
gulped in agonies of haste, for the carts were to be at the door at
seven exactly, and it is now within a few minutes of the hour. Well,
the carts come; one by one are your household goods displaced and
packed up on those vehicles. Grates are placed on the breadth of
their backs at the bottom, by way of ballast. Then mattresses go
over them, to make an agreeable flooring for other things. Tables
are tumbled a-top, with their legs reared high in the air, like cart-
horses enjoying themselves in their Sunday pastures; and to the
ropes with which the heaps are bound down, are attached fry-pans,
children’s toys, and other light articles, all by way of garnishing.
Though far above such things in general, you are obliged on this
occasion to see after very mean details, lest your property should
suffer some dreadful damage. The more delicate articles are
necessarily entrusted to porters or other serviceable individuals, who
carry them separately to your new house. “The boys,” glad to escape
the school for a day, are employed, to their great satisfaction, in
transporting single things, “which don’t break;” and the servants see
after certain baskets of crystal and crockery, “which do.” To see all
things properly disposed of—each to the individual best fitted for it—
is your business, and no easy one it is. At length, after every thing is
fairly packed off, the lady and yourself walk away together, the cat
following in a pillow-slip under the charge of your second eldest
daughter.
 Before three in the afternoon, the whole of your furniture, broken
and whole, has been thrust, higglety-pigglety, into your new house,
where you find all things in the most chaotic state of confusion.
Kitchen things repose in the dining-room; drawing-room chairs are
deposited in the kitchen; and a huge chest of drawers stands in the
vestibule, with a shoulder thrust so far out into the fair way as to
render it almost impossible to pass. The kitchen grate is only to be
built in after six o’clock in the evening, when the masons are
released from their day’s work; so there is no possibility of cooking
any thing. A provisional arrangement is therefore made on this point.
You, and your wife, and your children, and all your assistants,
bivouac in some shabby parlour, and regale yourselves (absit
elegantia) with rolls and porter. Henry, your eldest son, who has
wrought like a Turk all day, leads the feast with his coat off, and the
scene can only be compared to a rough-and-tumbling in the back
woods of America. No ceremony as to knives. Rolls, and even large
loaves, are torn through the middle, and large mouthfuls dug out
from the mass by the thumb or forefinger. The liquor goes round in
some ordinary vessel, never before appropriated to such a purpose,
and all feeling of discomfort being stolen away by the novelty and
strong natural feeling of the occasion, the jest and laugh abound.
Even in the midst of all the disarray, great hopes and expectations
are expressed regarding the new mansion. Such capital high
ceilings! Such a broad elegant lobby! So different from that dismal
hole we have left! Or, if the ceilings are low, and the lobby narrow,
while in the former house they were the reverse, the contrast is
drawn in reference to some other points where superiority is
indisputable, while the demerits of the new abode are cast discreetly
into shade, only to be brought out and complained of at the
approach of next Candlemas. You either have left a good view from
the windows, or you are entering upon one. Suppose your former
house, being in the centre of the town, had hardly any view, then
your wife thus comments upon it:—“Such a dark confined place!
Nothing to be seen from the windows, but the opposite houses, or
else the chimney-stalks and old wives. Now, here we are quite in the
country. The drawing-room commands Fife and North Berwick Law,
and even from the bed-rooms we catch a great lump of the
Dalmahoy hills. If we just step to the end of the house, we are into
the fields; and then we’ll be so very quiet here, compared with what
we were. Not a carriage or a cart passing from morning till night.
We’ll get some rest at last; and truth to tell, my health is in great
need of it. How truly delightful thus to get fairly out of that black,
smoky, noisy town, to a place where we can enjoy all the pleasures
of the country, and yet be within reach of every convenience of the
city! And just consider how much benefit the walk must be to your
own health. We formerly lived so near your place of business, that
you got no exercise at all, seeing that I never could prevail upon you
to take a walk on purpose. But here you must walk, and the good it
must do you will be visible in a week’s time,”—&c. &c. &c. If the case
has been totally the reverse, you are addressed as follows:—“How
delightful to get fairly away from that cold, out-of-the-world, dull
place, and once more feel ourselves snug in the town! We’ve no
prospects here from the windows; but, ’deed, when folk have
prospects, I never see that they make much use of them. For my
part, I never looked out of the drawing-room windows once in the
month; for what are the Fife hills or North Berwick Law after one has
once seen them? [What philosophy we have here!] And then, what
good did we get from the garden? It was just a fash to keep right;
and I’m sure, when we had paid the gardener, we did not make a
penny off the vegetables. Now, here, although there be little
prospect from any of the windows, we’re at least a great deal better
protected from the wind. If we have not a garden of our own, have
we not the green market almost at the door? And such a weary
distance you had to walk every day! No more of that now. Here,
when you want a walk, you can take one; and when you don’t like,
you can let it alone. Walks are very well, perhaps, in good summer
weather; but I’ve no idea of seeing you plash through a long dirty
road twice every day through the whole winter. Whenever we want
either a walk or a prospect, we’ll get it in the Queen Street gardens;
for you know Mrs —— has told me that we may have her key
whenever we like. In our old ill-contrived house, we had no place to
put any thing off our hand; not so much as a cupboard in the whole
house; but now, you see, we have as many presses as rooms, and a
capital cellar for coals and lumber. And how near we are here to all
the best shops! If it were for nothing but the convenience of getting
tea-bread at a minute’s warning from Mr Littlejohn, the baker,
whenever any person calls upon us in the evening, it would have
been worth while to remove to this house. The lass likewise tells me
that there is a very obliging woman, quite at hand, who keeps a
mangle for the use of the neighbourhood, which will be a great
convenience to the family; and that she will take in hand to supply
us with milk or cream at any hour of the day,”—&c. &c. &c. Thus, it
will be observed, neither the spirit of discontent nor the spirit of
hope is ever without material for feeding its particular necessities.
You have now got fairly into your new house, bag and baggage. It
is after the manner, however, of a certain pound of comfits which a
carrier once brought from a city confectioner to a country customer.
The paper bag having proved insufficient in the journey, the
contents had dispersed themselves throughout all the other
packages in the cart. Every parcel, and bag, and box, had to be
shaken clear of the lurking carvy, till, the whole of the bulky articles
having been discharged and laid off, the little white particles were
found at the bottom mingled with straws, fragments of rope, and
paper, and all other kinds of trash. The whole having been swept
out, however, the honest old carrier brought them to the owner in a
large platter, saying, with the air of a man who has relieved his
conscience of some uncommon weight, “Here they are, mistress; ye
hae them a’ for me.” Just like the comfits are all your goods and
chattels—your ox, and your ass, and your children, and your every
thing else—the whole are there; but in such a state! Perhaps, to add
to your distresses, you have to delay putting the principal rooms to
rights till the painters have to be with you. This, of course, adjourns
the termination of your agonies sine die. Perhaps, about three
months after, when you have battled the rascals out of one room
into another, much after the manner of the siege of St Sebastian,
you get at last into the enviable attitude “as you were,” resolving of
course never again to remove as long as you live, but still as ready
before next 2d of February to take that step as ever.

FOOTNOTES:
[3] A ceremony in the law of Scotland, by which a man
becomes invested with a piece of land or house property.
 FALLACIES OF THE YOUNG.
“DEBTORS AND CREDITORS.”

The common feeling respecting debtors and creditors is very

erroneous, and, as is common with popular fallacies, it imposes with
double force upon the young and inexperienced. Debtors are
represented in all works of fiction, and in the ordinary language of a
large portion of society, as a set of amiable, unfortunate, and most
interesting persons: Creditors, on the other hand, as an unmingled
generation of execrable wretches, with a hardness of heart that
would not disgrace an executioner, and indeed only one remove
from another stony class of men, the much misrepresented jailers.
Now, the person who writes this article has known many debtors
and creditors, and he can say that, in by far the most of cases, the
latter were the better class of men. He alludes, of course, not to
commercial men at large, who are in their own persons, in general,
as much of the one thing as the other, but to cases where the
creditor is a tradesman, and the debtor a customer; that is, where
the debt is not incurred in the intercourse of business, but for the
personal use and benefit of the debtor. In these cases, so far from
the creditor being an unfeeling and relentless tyrant, as he is
generally represented, he is only the indignant victim of the
imprudence or guilt of the debtor. The latter may be an amiable and
interesting person, for we often find these characteristics united to
consummate folly and disregard of the rights of others. But the
young must beware how they set down debtors, in a class, as purely
estimable and entitled to sympathy, while they at the same time look
upon creditors as only ruthless persecutors, worthy of the bitterest
execration. They may depend upon it, that no notion could be more
erroneous, no error more apt to be fatal to them in their course
through life. They must be informed that to incur debt for their own
gratifications, without the ability to discharge it, is just another thing
for selling themselves as slaves to their creditors. After doing so,
they are no longer entirely free: part of themselves becomes the
property of another, and thus they lose the respect of the world,
which cannot see one man indulge in enjoyments at the expense of
his fellow, without thinking of him very meanly. The incurring of debt
for personal gratification is odious, for many reasons. In the first
place, it violates that rule of nature which appoints every man to
work for himself, and only enjoy as he works. It also tends to
occasion the ruin of innocent persons. Creditors are not invariably
rich, as one would suppose them to be, from reading novels. They
are more frequently poor, industrious persons, who, in losing money
by their debtors, are apt to be made debtors themselves, and
thereby ruined. In fact, the case stands generally thus: An idle or
extravagant person procures support for his bad appetites, and is
enabled to show himself off as a very fine fellow, at the expense of a
humble-minded honest trader, who confines himself constantly to his
business, and forbids himself almost every indulgence, in order that
he may be able to pay every one to whom he is indebted, and
discharge all the other duties of a good citizen. Now, if young people
will bring their naturally generous feelings to bear upon this point,
they will see that the debtor, and not the creditor, is alone worthy of
execration. And they may be assured, that, where creditors show a
severity to their debtors, it is generally either merited by the latter,
or is dictated by a justifiable consideration of the danger into which
they are thrown by the non-payment of the money which is their
due, and which they may be owing in their turn to some other
person.
In every rule there are exceptions; but it is necessary to guard
against the breaking down of great rules by allowing for trifling
exceptions. Because good men sometimes incur debt, and become
insolvent, through no fault of theirs, we must not infringe upon the
majesty of the great maxim, that debt ought to be paid, and that its
non-payment is an evil. Young people, if they wish to prosper in the
world, will do well not to excuse all contraction of debt for the sake
of the few who contract it innocently. They must have it impressed
forcibly upon their minds, that every pleasure in which they indulge
themselves, without the reasonable prospect of paying for it, though
it be but to the amount of one penny, is a step in error, and apt to
be the beginning of their destruction. They must have it impressed
upon their minds, that no man of good feelings can enjoy the least
comfort, if he be not conscious of working for, or being honestly
come into the possession of, fully as much as he spends. To persist
in living beyond our incomes, is to live a life of dishonesty; and to
subsist on the industry of relatives, as is sometimes the case with
the idle and the dissolute, is worse still, for it involves an excessive
meanness of spirit, ingratitude, and hard-heartedness—thus adding
depth to the crime, and will be sure to be visited some day with
feelings of anguish and remorse.
A predominating error among the junior classes of society, is a
disinclination to wait for a short time till they be enabled to compete
in the enjoyment of luxuries with others they see around them, and
who, it is more than probable, have toiled long and painfully before
they arrived at their present apparently prosperous condition. This
impatience of reaching a certain height in the ladder of fortune,
without taking deliberation to mount a number of preliminary and
difficult steps, cannot, indeed, be sufficiently reprehended, where it
occurs, as it leads to that fatal resource of incurring debts never to
be paid, and that supposed harshness of creditors, which a
disordered process of reasoning brings into view. I would here
tenderly admonish the youthful part of the community to refrain
from indulgences they cannot honestly command. Let them believe
one who has had some experience, when he tells them that there is
not the least chance of the world running away from them; that the
present generation of grown men will not consume all earthly
enjoyments, but will leave a boundless variety of everything which
can please the senses, or gratify an honourable ambition. They
need, therefore, be in no hurry whatever, and take time to build their
fortune on a firm and secure basis. The rising generation cannot lay
these things sufficiently to heart. They cannot be sufficiently taught,
that suffering under the consequences of imprudently-incurred debts
does not necessarily make them heroes—is not entitled to unmingled
sympathy, no more than a robber at the gallows is a martyr; but
that, while pity is perhaps due to them, as to all who err in this frail
world, the larger share of sympathy ought to be bestowed on their
unfortunate victims, the creditors, whose families may be suffering
from their criminal follies, and who are apt to be by far the better
and honester men.
 GENERAL INVITATIONS.

“Pray, do call in an easy way some evening, you and Mrs

Balderstone; we are sure to be at home, and shall be most happy to
see you.” Such is the kind of invitation one is apt to get from
considerably intimate acquaintances, who, equally resolved against
the formality and the expense of a particular entertainment on your
account, hope to avoid both evils by making your visit a matter of
accident. If you be a man of some experience, you will know that all
such attempts to make bread and cheese do that which is more
properly the business of a pair of fowls, end in disappointment; and
you will, therefore, take care to wait till the general invitation
becomes a particular one. But there are inexperienced people in this
world who think every thing is as it seems, and are apt to be greatly
deceived regarding this accidental mode of visiting. For the sake of
these last, I shall relate the following adventure:—
I had been remarkably busy one summer, and, consequently,
obliged to refuse all kinds of invitations, general and particular. The
kind wishes of my friends had accumulated upon me somewhat after
the manner of the tunes frozen up in Baron Munchausen’s French
horn; and it seemed as if a whole month would have been necessary
to thaw out and discharge the whole of these obligations. A
beginning, however, is always something; and, accordingly, one
rather splashy evening in November, I can’t tell how it was, but a
desire came simultaneously over myself and Mrs Balderstone—it
seemed to be by sympathy—of stepping out to see Mr and Mrs
Currie, a married pair, who had been considerably more pressing in
their general invitations than any other of our friends. We both knew
that there was a cold duck in the house, besides a bit of cheese just
sent home by Nicholson, and understood to be more than excellent.
But, as the old Scots song says, the tid had come over us, and forth
we must go. No sooner said than done. Five minutes more saw us
leaving our comfortable home, my wife carrying a cap pinned under
her cloak, while to my pocket was consigned her umbrageous comb.
As we paced along, we speculated only on the pleasure which we
should give to our kind friends by thus at last paying them a visit,
when perhaps all hope of our ever doing so was dead within them.
Nor was it possible altogether to omit reflecting, like the dog invited
by his friend to sup, upon the entertainment which lay before us; for
certainly on such an occasion the fatted calf could hardly expect to
be spared.
Full of the satisfaction which we were to give and receive, we
were fully into the house before we thought it necessary to inquire if
any body was at home. The servant girl, surprised by the forward
confidence of our entrée, evidently forgot her duty, and
acknowledged, when she should have denied, the presence of her
master and mistress in the house. We were shown into a dining-
room as clean, cold, and stately as an alabaster cave, and which had
the appearance of being but rarely lighted by the blaze of hospitality.
My first impulse was to relieve my pocket, before sitting down, of
the comb, which I thought was now about being put to its proper
use; but the chill of the room stayed my hand. I observed, at the
same time, that my wife, like the man under the influence of Eolus
in the fable, manifested no symptom of parting with her cloak. Ere
we could communicate our mutual sensations of incipient
disappointment, Mrs Currie entered with a flurried, surprised air, and
made a prodigious effort to give us welcome. But, alas! poor Mr
Currie; he had been seized in the afternoon with a strange vertigo
and sickness, and was now endeavouring, by the advice of Dr Boak,
to get some repose. “It will be such a disappointment to him when
he learns that you were here, for he would have been so happy to
see you. We must just entertain the hope, however, to see you some
other night.” Although the primary idea in our minds at this moment
was unquestionably the desperatio cibi—the utter hopelessness of
supper in this quarter—we betrayed, of course, no feeling but
sympathy in the illness of our unfortunate friend, and a regret for
having called at so inauspicious a moment. Had any unconcerned
person witnessed our protestations, he could have formed no
suspicion that we ever contemplated supper, or were now in the
least disappointed. We felt anxious about nothing but to relieve Mrs
Currie, as soon as possible, of the inconvenience of our visit, more
especially as the chill of the room was now piercing us to the bone.
We therefore retired, under a shower of mutual compliments and
condolences, and “hopes,” and “sorries,” and “have the pleasures;”
the door at last slamming after us with a noise which seemed to say,
“How very glad I am to get quit of you!”
When we got to the street, we certainly did not feel quite so
mortified as the dog already alluded to, seeing that we had not, like
him, been tossed over the window. But, still the reverse of prospect
was so very bitter, that for some time we could hardly believe that
the adventure was real. By this time we had expected to be seated
snug at supper, side by side with two friends, who, we anticipated,
would almost expire with pleasure at seeing us. But here, on the
contrary, we were turned out upon the cold inhospitable street,
without a friend’s face to cheer us. We still recollected that the cold
duck remained as a fortress to fall back upon; but, being now fairly
agog in the adventure, the idea of returning home, re infecta, was
not to be thought of. Supper we must have in some other house
than our own, let it cost what it may. “Well,” said Mrs Balderstone,
“there are the Jacksons! They live not far from this—suppose we
drop in upon them. I’m sure we have had enough of invitations to
their house. The very last time I met Mrs Jackson on the street, she
told me she was never going to ask us again—we had refused so
long—she was going, she said, just to let us come if we liked, and
when we liked.” Off we went, therefore, to try the Jacksons.
On applying at the door of this house, it flew open, as it were, by
enchantment, and the servant girl, so far from hesitating like the
other, seemed to expect no question to be asked on entrée. We
moved into the lobby, and inquired if Mr and Mrs Jackson were at
home, which was answered by the girl with a surprised affirmative.
We now perceived, from the pile of hats and cloaks in the lobby, as
well as a humming noise from one of the rooms, that the Jacksons
had a large company, and that we were understood by the servant
to be part of it. The Jacksons, thought we (I know my wife thought
so, although I never asked), give some people particular invitations.
Her object was now to make an honourable retreat, for, although my
dress was not entirely a walking one, and my wife’s cap was brought
with the prospect of making an appearance of dress, we were by no
means fit to match with those who had dressed on purpose for the
party, even although we were asked to join them. Just at this
moment, Mrs Jackson happened to cross the lobby, on hospitable
thoughts intent, and saw us, than whom, perhaps, she would rather
have seen a basilisk. “Oh, Mrs Balderstone, how do you do? How are
you, Mr Balderstone? I’m so delighted that you have come in this
easy way at last. A few of the neighbours have just dropped in upon
us, and it will be so delightful if you will join them. Come into this
room and take off your bonnet; and you, Mr Balderstone, just you
be so good as step up to the drawing-room. You’ll find numbers
there that you know. And Mr Jackson will be so happy to see you,”—
&c. All this, however, would not do. Mrs Balderstone and I not only
felt a little hurt at the want of speciality in our invitations to this
house, but could not endure the idea of mingling in a crowd better
dressed and more regularly invited than ourselves. We therefore
begged Mrs Jackson to excuse us for this night. We had just called in
an easy way in passing, and, indeed, we never attended
ceremonious parties at any time. We would see her some other
evening, when she was less engaged—that is to say, “we would
rather see you and Mr Jackson at Jericho than darken your doors
again.” And so off we came, with the blandest and most
complimentary language upon our tongues, and the most piqued
and scornful feelings in our hearts.
Again upon the street—yea, once again. What was to be done
now? Why, said Mrs Balderstone, there is excellent old Mrs Smiles,
who lives in the next street. I have not seen her or the Misses Smiles
for six months; but the last time they were so pressing for us to
return their visit (you remember they supped with us in spring), that
I think we cannot do better than take this opportunity of clearing
scores.
Mrs Smiles, a respectable widow, lived with her five daughters in a
third floor in —— Street. Thither we marched, with a hope,
undiminished by the two preceding disappointments, that here at
length we would find supper. Our knock at Mrs Smiles’s hospitable
portal produced a strange rushing noise within; and when the
servant appeared, I observed in the far, dim vista of the passage,
one or two slip-slop figures darting across out of one door into
another, and others again crossing in the opposite direction; and
then there was heard a low anxious whispering, while a single
dishevelled head peeped out from one of the doors, and then the
head was withdrawn, and all was still. We were introduced into a
room which had evidently been the scene of some recent turmoil of
no ordinary kind, for female clothes lay scattered in every direction,
besides some articles which more properly belong to a dressing-
room. We had not been here above a minute, when we heard our
advent announced by the servant in an adjoining apartment to Mrs
Smiles herself, and some of her young ladies. A flood of obloquy was
instantly opened upon the girl by one of her young mistresses—Miss
Eliza, we thought—for having given admission to any body at this
late hour, especially when she knew that they were to be up early
next morning to commence their journey, and had still a great many
of their things to pack. “And such a room you have shown them into,
you goose!” said the enraged Miss. The girl was questioned as to our
appearance, for she had neglected to ask our name; and then we
heard one young lady say, “It must be these Balderstones. What can
have set them a-gadding to-night? I suppose we must ask them to
stay to supper, for they’ll have come for nothing else—confound
them! Mary, you are in best trim; will you go in and speak to them
till we get ourselves ready? The cold meat will do, with a few eggs.
I’m sure they could not have come at a worse time.” Miss Mary
accordingly came hastily in after a few minutes, and received us with
a thousand protestations of welcome. Her mother would be so truly
delighted to see us, for she had fairly given up all hope of our ever
visiting her again. She was just getting ready, and would be here
immediately. “In the meantime, Mrs Balderstone, you will lay by your
cloak and bonnet. Let me assist you,”—&c. We had got enough,
however, of the Smileses. We saw we had dropped into the midst of
a scene of easy dishabille, and surprised it with unexpected
ceremony. It would have been cruel to the Smileses to put them
about at such a time, and ten times more cruel to ourselves to sit in
friendly intercourse with a family who had treated us in such a
manner behind our backs. “These Balderstones!” The phrase was
wormwood. My wife, therefore, made up a story to the effect that
we had only called in going home from another friend’s house, in
order to inquire after the character of a servant. As Mrs Smiles was
out of order, we would not disturb her that evening, but call on some
other occasion. Of course, the more that we declaimed about the
impossibility of remaining to supper, the more earnestly did Miss
Smiles entreat us to remain. It would be such a disappointment to
her mother, and still more to Eliza and the rest of them. She was
obliged, however, with well-affected reluctance, to give way to our
impetuous desire of escaping.
Having once more stepped forth into the cold blast of November,
we began to feel that supper was becoming a thing which we could
not much longer, with comfort, trust to the contingency of general
invitations. We therefore sent home our thoughts to the excellent
cold duck and green cheese which lay in our larder, and, picturing to
ourselves the comfort of our parlour fireside, with a good bottle of
ale toasting within the fender, resolved no more to wander abroad in
search of happiness, unless there should be something like a
certainty of good fare and a hearty welcome elsewhere.
Thus it is always with general invitations. “Do call on us some
evening, Miss Duncan, just in an easy way, and, pray, bring your
seam with you, for there is nothing I hate so much as ceremonious
set calls,” is the sort of invitations you will hear in the middle ranks
of life, given to some good-natured female acquaintance, while you
yourself, if a bachelor, will in the same way be bidden to call “just
after you are done with business, and any night in the week; it is all
the same, for you can never catch us unprepared.” The deuce is in
these general invitations. People give them without reflecting that
they cannot be at all times ready to entertain visitors; cannot be so
much as at home to have the chance of doing so. Other people
accept and act upon them, at the risk of either putting their visitors
dreadfully about, or receiving a very poor entertainment. The
sudden arrival of an unexpected guest who has come on the faith of
one of these delusive roving invitations, indeed, in many instances,
disorganises the economy of a whole household. Nothing tries a
housewife so much. The state of her larder or cupboard
instantaneously flashes on her mind; and if she do not happen to be
a notable, and, consequently, not a regular curer of beef, or curious
in the matter of fresh eggs, a hundred to one but she feels herself in
an awkward dilemma, and, I have no doubt, would wish the visitor
any where but where he is. The truth is, by these general invitations
you may chance to arrive at a death or a marriage, a period of
mourning or rejoicing, when the sympathies of the family are all
engaged with matters of their own.
If people will have their friends beside them, let them, for the
sake of all that is comfortable, give them a definite invitation at
once; a general invitation is much worse than no invitation at all; it
is little else than an insult, however unintentional; for it is as much
as to say that the person is not worth inviting in a regular manner.
In “good” society, a conventional understanding obtains in the
delicate point of invitations; there is an established scale of the value
of the different meals adapted to the rank of the invited. I advise all
my friends to follow this invaluable code of civility. By all means let
your invitations have a special reference to time. On the other hand,
if a friend comes plump down with a request that you will favour him
with your company at a certain hour of the day, why, go without
hesitation. The man deserves your company for his honesty, and you
will be sure to put him to no more trouble than what he directly
calculates on. But turn a deaf ear, if you be wise, to general
invitations; they are nets spread out to ensnare your comfort. Rather
content yourself with the good old maxim, which somebody has
inscribed over an ancient doorway in one of the old streets of
Edinburgh, Tecum Habita—Keep at Home.
 CONFESSORS.

It is a very general impression that the system of auricular

confession was given up at the Reformation. Such is by no means
the case; every man and mother’s son in the country still keeps his
confessor. By this epithet, it may be guessed, I mean that chief and
most particular friend whom every man keeps about him—who
stands his best man when he is married, and becomes his second
when he fights a duel—his double, in short, or second self—a
creature whom you almost always find with him when you call, and
who either walks under his arm in the street, or is found waiting for
him while he steps into some neighbouring shop, or, as the case may
happen, is waited for by him.
I make bold to say, there is not a trader any where who does not
keep his confessor. The creature haunts the shop, till he almost
seems the Genius of the Place, to the grievous prepossession of
newspapers, and, what is more intolerable still, to the exclusive
occupation of the ear of the worthy shopkeeper himself. The evening
is the grand revel-time for confessors of this genus. Between eight
and nine, you see them gathering to the shops of their respective
victims, like fowl to roost. As you pass about nine, you observe, on
looking in, that the discipline and rigour of shop-life has dissolved.
Master, men, and boys, feel the approach of the moment of
emancipation, with a peculiar salience of thought, alternating with a
deep and tranquil delight. The confessor reigns in the spirit of this
glorious hour, and his laugh, and his joke, and his news, and his
proffered pinch, are listened to, re-echoed, and partaken of by his
devotee, with a pleasure of the keenest nature, and ominous, you
may make sure, of oysters and gin punch on the way home.
In some shops, confessors cluster like grapes over a vintner’s
door. They block up the way of custom; and it is evident, in many
cases, that the devotee would rather lose the chance of a penny
from a customer, by omitting opportunities of attack, temptation,
and inveiglement, than lose the joke that is passing in the merry
circle of his confessors, which his ear drinks in as a precious aside,
while he only can spare a mere fragment of his attention—a corner
of one auditory organ—the front shop of his mind—to the real
business before him. In some shops, confessors get no
encouragement before dinner. The broad eye of garish day, in those
fastidious establishments, could no more endure such a walking
personification of idle gossip, than a ball-room, at high twelve, could
tolerate the intrusion of a man in a short coat, with a pen stuck in
his ear. But this is by no means the general case; and even in some
instances, where the front shop will not admit of such an
appendage, ten to one but, if the premises were well ransacked, you
would find a specimen of the class snug in some out-of-the-way
corner, filling up the greater part of his time with a newspaper, but
every now and then resorted to by his votary, in the intervals of
actual employment, like an Egeria receiving the visits of a Numa,
and no doubt administering equally precious counsel.
The more common position of a shopkeeper’s confessor is a chair
opposite the door, whence he may command a view of all that
passes on the street, with a full front inspection of every individual
that makes bold to enter. Into this chair the confessor invariably
glides as a matter of course. There he sits down, and, throwing one
limb over the other, considers himself entitled to inflict his company
upon the unhappy shopkeeper for any length of time. He notices, as
if he were not noticing, all that goes on in the premises. Not an
order is given for goods, not a payment made, or a pennyworth sold,
but it is seen, and very likely made the subject of after comment. It
is of no consequence to the confessor what description of customers
enter the place. Were a princess of the blood to come in, he would
keep his seat and his countenance equally unmoved, and a whole
band of ladies, driven in to escape a shower of rain, will not stir him
from the chair, to which he seems nailed, like the marble prince of
the Black Islands, in the Arabian Nights’ Entertainments. The
customers very naturally feel disinclined to patronise a shop which is