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Sustainability Indicat
For Complete Set of Factsheets visit css.snre.umich.edu
Social Development IndicatorsStandards of living are difficult
to measure, but indicators of social development are available. A
basic measure, Gross Domestic Product (GDper capita, is the value
of all goods and services produced within a region over a given
time period, averaged per person. A more advanced m
the Human Development Index (HDI), considers life expectancy,
education, and GDP. Te three highest HDI-ranked countries in the
worlNorway, Australia, and Switzerland.1Many of the indicators
discussed below are used to measure progress towards the Millennium
DevelopGoals (MDG), a set of targets agreed upon by United Nations
member states as crucial for global human progress.
Population Te U.S. population is million and world population is
over billion. 2 Global population is projected to reach . billion
by , with . billion people
living in urban areasan increase from .3,4 Significant issues
affecting population, as reported by governments around the
world
in , include HIV/AIDS, infant and child mortality, maternal
mortality, adolescentfertility, and life expectancy at birth.5
Life expectancy is around years in many developing countries;
life expectancy in theU.S. is years.6
Fertility rate, or number of births per woman (of child-bearing
age), is projected to fallfrom a global average of . in to . by .
Fertility rates are as high as insome countries; the fertility rate
in the U.S. is .. 3
Globally, contraceptive use is increasing. However, in
countries, - of womenof reproductive age dont have access to
contraceptives.7
Te U.S. is one of only six developed countries with an
adolescent birth rate greater than (per births). 3
Standard of Living In , . billion people lived below the world
poverty line of . USD per day, down from . billion in . 8 According
to the Gini Index, Sweden, Norway, and Montenegro have among the
most equal income distributions in the world. With a ra
of ., the U.S. is ranks in the bottom in terms of income
equality.1 In , of the U.S. population. million peoplewere living
in poverty (income under , for a family of ). For Hispanic a
Black populations in the U.S., more than of each group was
living below the poverty line.9 Approximately , people were
homeless in the U.S. in .10
Food
Average proportion of income spent on food, beverages, and
tobacco rangesfrom in high-income countries to in low-income
countries.12Onaverage, Americans spend less than , while anzanians
spend .13
Globally, of deaths of children under are caused by
under-nutrition.14 Te Green Revolution led to large increases in
agricultural yields and helped
feed the rapidly growing global population in the second half of
the thcentury. Sub-Saharan Africa was the only developing region
where increasedfood production was primarily due to increased crop
area, not crop yield.15
Te United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization publishes
acomprehensive set of food security statistics annually.16
Water and Sanitation
Approximately . billion people lack access to proper sanitation.
Access is lowestin sub-Saharan Africa, where only one in three
people have proper facilities. Urbanareas a lso have better
sanitation coverage have access to proper facilities,compared to in
rural a reas.18
In , of the world population had access to clean drinking water,
anincrease of over billion people since . However, in Oceania and
Sub-Saharan
Africa only and of the rural populations, respectively, have
access to cleandrinking water.
Only of the rural population in Sub-Saharan Africa has water
piped directly into
their house or property.18
Deaths from Unsafe Water and Sanitation, 2004
Fraction of Population Undernourished, 201211
29% 39% 52%
60% 6
2.5
4.5
6.9
8.3
9
0
4
8
12
1950 1980 2010 2030 20
Population(billions)
Rural
Urban
9,600
74,300
6,500
693,300
26,600
103,400
71,700
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
U.S.
China
Mexico
India
Iraq
Afghan istan
Niger
Percent of Total Deaths
World Population, Urban and Rural, 1950 to
8/10/2019 CSS08-15
2/2Cite as: Center for Sustainable Systems, University of
Michigan. 2014. Social Development Indicators Factsheet. Pub. No.
CSS08-15. October 2014
Healthcare and Disease
In , of national governments reported HIV/AIDS as a significant
problem.5Globally, million people were infected with HIV and .
million died from AIDS in .Most HIV cases millionare in sub-Saharan
Africa. Globally, the number of new HIVinfections decreased from to
, due to behavior changes and better treatmentoptions; however, in
the Middle East and Northern Africa, the number of new infections
hasincreased more than over the same time period.19Diarrheal
diseases kil l . million annually; are children under .20,21Most
()infections are attributed to unsafe drinking water, improper
sanitation services, and hygiene. 21In , , died from malaria, of
whom lived in Africa and were childrenunder . Preventive measures
such as treated bed nets, indoor insecticide spraying, and
anti-
malarial drugs have reduced deaths. More than countries have
officially eliminated malariasince , and countries are expected to
reduce their malaria rates by by .22Indoor cooking with fuelwood
and animal dung results in million deaths per year, a majority of
whom are women and children.23Cardiovascular diseases are the
leading cause of death in the world. A healthy diet, regular
physical activity, and avoiding tobacco couldreduce the major risk
factors associated with premature deaths from cardiovascular
diseases and strokes.24
Globally, about million people fall under the poverty line each
year due to out-of-pocket health care costs. 24
Education and Employment
Global literacy is significantly improving. Global youth
literacy is , up from in.28Te gap between female and male literacy
rates is closing; however, women stillaccount for of ill iterate
adults worldwide. In Afghanistan, the female illiteracy rate is,
the highest in the world.29
Lesotho and Cuba spend the highest percentage of GDP on
education, with eachdevoting about . Te U.S. spends around . each
year.30
Between and , primary school enrollment in Sub-Saharan Africa
increased from to ; the world average was .28
In countries with Low Human Development, the average amount of
schooling is .years. In Very High Human Development nations, the
average is . years of school. 1op employers in developing countries
are agriculture (), services (), and industry(); of these jobs pay
. USD/day or less.31
Environment
Most global warming is very likely (> certainty) caused by
anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In the stcentury,
naturaland social systems will likely face increasing risks of
extinction for - of plant and animal species; more coastal flooding
and erosion,heat waves, droughts, and tropical storm intensity; and
health risks associated with malnutrition and water-related
diseases. Declines in cropproductivity in lower latitudes and
freshwater availability are likely. Poor communities are especially
vulnerable to climate change because oftheir low adaptive capacity
and high dependence on climate conditions (e.g., rain for
agriculture). 32Te Stern Review found that investing of global GDP
annually in GHG reductions could avert a permanent reduction of -
GDP per
capita due to climate change impacts.33Te Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change estimates that regional GHG mitigation
costs varyconsiderably, but range from - (a net gain) to . of GDP
on average globally. 32
ConclusionsIn , the UN established eight Millenium Development
Goals (MDGs), including reducing child mortality and ensuring
environmentalsustainbility. Great progress has been made towards
achieving these goals within the last decade.Trough , Denmark,
Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden continued to exceed
giving . of their Gross NationalIncome (GNI) as Official
Development Assistance (ODA) towards achieving the MDGs.28Te U.S.
donates a lower percentage of GNI, butthe greatest dollar amount of
any nation. In , U.S. ODA totaled . billion. 34
United Nations (UN) Development Programme (2014) Human
Development Report 2014.
U.S. Census Bureau (2014) US and World Population Clocks.
UN Population Division (2013) World Population Prospects: Te
2012 Revision.
UN Population Division (2012) World Urbanization Prospects, Te
2011 Revision, Highlights.
UN Population Division (2007) Population Newsletter December
2007.World Health Organ ization (W HO) (2013) Global Health Observa
tory Data Repo sitory: Life
Expectancy.
UN Population Division (2013) World Contraceptive Use 2013.
World Bank (2013) PovcalNet: Reg ional Agg regation using 20 05
PPP and $1.25/day poverty line.
US Census Bureau (2013) Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance
Coverage in the United States 2012.
0. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (2013) Te
2013 Point-in-ime Estimates of
Homelessness: Volume I of the 2013 Annual Homelessness
Assessment Report.
. World Food Program (2012) Hunger Map 2012.
2. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service
(2011) International Food Consumption
Patterns: Budget Shares for Broad Aggregates and Conditional
Budget Shares for Food Categories.
3. World Bank (2008) Global Purc hasing Power Paritie s and Real
E xpenditure s: 2005 Internationa l
Comparison Program.
4. Black, R., et al. (2013) Maternal and child undernutrition
and overweight in low-income and middle-
income countries. Te Lancet.
5. Evenson, R. and D. Gollin (2003) Assessing the Impact of the
Green Revolution, 1960-2000. Science,
(300): 758-762.
6. UN Food and Agriculture Organization (2012) Te State of Food
Insecurity in the World 2012.
17. WHO (2010) Safer Water, Better Healt h: Costs, bene fits and
sustai nability of inter ventions to protect
and promote health, 2010 Update.
18. WHO (2014) Progress on Sanitation and Dri nking-Water: 2014
Update.
19. Joint UN Programme on HI V/AIDS (2013) UNAIDS Report on the
Globa l AIDS Epidemic 2013.
20. WHO (2004) Water, Sanita tion, and Hygiene Facts a nd
Figures.21. WHO (2009) Global Hea lth Risk s: mortalit y and burden
of disea se attributable to sel ected major risk s.
22. WHO (2013) World Malaria Report 2013.
23. UN Development Programme (2011) Human Development Report
2011.
24. WHO (2013) World Health Statistic s 2013.
25. WHO (2013) Global Health Obser vatory Data R epository:
Officia l Development Assist ance for
Health.
26. WHO (2012) From Whom to Whom? Official Deve lopment
Assistanc e for Health: Se cond Edition.
27. UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO), Institute for Statistics (2013)
Literacy Data for 2011 and U.S. CIA (2013) World Factbook.
28. UN (2014) Millennium Development Goals Report 2014.
29. International Labor Organization (2007) Educational
Attainment and Illiteracy Indicator.
30. World Bank (2014) World Development Indicators: Public
spendi ng on education, total (% of GDP).
31. International Labour Organization (2011) Growth, Employment
and Decent Work in the Least
Developed Countries.
32. IPCC (2007) Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report.
33. Stern, N. et al. (2006) Stern Review: Te Economics of
Climate Change.
34. OECD (2014) StatExtracts: otal flows by donor.
Ofcial Development Assistance for Healthto Developing
Nations25,26
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
OfficialDeve
lopmen
tAss
istance
(ODA),
Hea
lth(billion
2009US$)
MDG-6 related ODA:
Combating HIV/AIDS, Malaria,and Other Diseases
Total ODAfor Health
to Recipient Countries
Adult Literacy Rates, 201127
