Fact of the week

Archive

92: Africa and Asia together accounted for 92 per cent of all under-five children’s deaths in 2007

81: Global coverage for DPT3 has slowly but steadily increased to 81 per cent in 2007, a remarkable improvement from 20 per cent in 1980

50: Fifty percent of girls and women aged 15-49 consider a husband justified in hitting his wife under certain circumstances

95: Africa and Asia account for 95 per cent of the world's maternal deaths

86: Some 86 per cent of newborn deaths globally are the direct result of three main causes: severe infections, asphyxia and preterm births

34: As of 2007, 34 developing countries had reached the universal salt iodization target

10: The vast majority of children living with HIV are in 10 countries that also comprise more than 60 per cent of pregnant women living with HIV

57: In the developing world (excluding China), 57 percent of children with pneumonia are taken to an appropriate health-care provider

1 in 3: About 1 in 3 of countries achieved gender parity in secondary education by 2005

1 in 6: One in six children in developing countries is engaged in child labour

1 in 3: One in three developing countries has birth registration rates of less than 50 per cent

10: Of the world’s 24 million children not immunized with DPT3, 17.5 million live in 10 countries

84: Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia accounted for 84 per cent of global maternal deaths in 2005

107: Worldwide, the under-five mortality rate was 107 in the poorest 60 percent households from 1998-2006, as compared to 67 in the richest 40 percent

150 million: More than 150 million insecticide-treated nets were delivered to African countries during 2004–2008

38: Children under-five with diarrhoea in sub-Saharan Africa receiving the recommended treatment increased from 32 per cent in 2000 to 38 per cent in 2008

60 million: Globally, over 60 million women aged 20–24 were married or in union before the age of 18

58: The percentage of children of secondary school age worldwide who attend secondary school is 58

920: Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest maternal mortality rate at 920 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births

32: The number of priority countries that reported on having achieved 80 per cent vitamin A coverage with two doses totaled 32 in 2007

36: The percentage of infants (0-5 months) exclusively breastfed in the developing world was 36 percent in 2006, up from 32 percent in 1996

1 of 3: About one of three countries achieved gender parity in secondary education by 2005

5: The prevalence of underweight children under-five in the developing world has declined by 5 percentage points between 1990 and 2006

3: The number of insecticide-treated mosquito nets produced worldwide has gone up more than three-fold from 2004 to 2007

1 in 5: Nearly 1 in 5 child deaths globally are as a result of pneumonia

1 in 4: Around 1 in 4 children under-five in the developing world are underweight

1 in 2: Approximately 1 in 2 underweight children in the developing world live in South Asia

61: The overall percentage of births in developing countries attended by skilled health personnel is 61%

5: Just 5 diseases – pneumonia, diarrhoea, malaria, measles and AIDS – account for half of all deaths in children under-five

1 in 3: More than 1 in 3 children with diarrhoeal diseases in the developing world receive the recommended treatment

2 of 3: About two of three countries and territories worldwide reached gender parity in primary education by the target year of 2005

34: The proportion of pregnant women in South Asia who received antenatal care at least four times is 34 percent

2 million: The number of children under 15 years living with HIV as of 2007 was 2 million

6 in 10: Six in ten births worldwide are attended by skilled health personnel

74: The under-five child mortality rate in developing countries dropped to 74 in 2007, from 103 in 1990

10: Newborns in developing countries are 10 times more likely to die than newborns in industrialized countries

2.6: The number of children under 15 years globally who were receiving antiretroviral therapy increased 2.6-fold between 2005 and 2007

77%: According to the latest estimates, 77 percent of women in the developing world receive antenatal care from a skilled health provider at least once during pregnancy

85%: Globally, the proportion of primary-school-age children who attend school is 85 percent

101 million: The number of children of primary school age who are out of school was 101 million in 2007

38%: The proportion of children under five with diarrhoea who receive recommended treatment in developing countries during 2000–2006

16%: The proportion of low birthweight deliveries in the developing world during 1999-2006

1 in 76: The lifetime risk of maternal death in developing countries as compared to 1 in 8000 in industrialized countries

19%: The increase in the recommended treatment for diarrhoea coverage in developing countries from 1995 to 2005

15%: The increase in antenatal care coverage in developing countries during the past decade

29%: The proportion of under-five deaths worldwide in 2004 due to Pneumonia

60%: The proportion of decline in deaths from measles globally between 2000 and 2005

2.2 billion: The number of mobile subscribers worldwide in 2005 – up from 11 million in 1990

72 million: The number of children of primary school age not in school in 2005

2 million: The number of people who were receiving antiretroviral therapy in developing regions as of December 2006

20% The proportion of decline of children who are underweight globally

31%: The percentage increase in antenatal care in Asia from 1990-2000

60 per cent: The proportion of children of secondary school age who attend secondary school

4 million: The number of newborns who perish in the first 28 days of life each year

2.6 billion: The number of people who did not use improved sanitation facilities in 2004

7%: The proportion of the population with Internet access in developing regions in 2004 compared to over 50% in developed regions

9.7 million: The number of children who died before their fifth birthday in 2006

1 in 6: The proportion of children of secondary school age who attend primary school

40% The proportion of infants in the developing world who are exclusively breastfed for the first six months

1.1 billion The number of people that need to be covered during 2005-2015 to meet the MDG drinking water target

2 of 3: The proportion of young women in 24 sub-Saharan countries who lack HIV/AIDS prevention knowledge

114: The number of countries where primary education lasts for six years

98: The number of countries which may not reach the MDG target for under-five mortality

80% The proportion of population in developing countries who have access to improved drinking water sources

30% The proportion of increased chances of receiving appropriate medical care for rich children with pneumonia as compared to poor children

10% The estimated proportion of land owned by women compared to men in parts of sub-Saharan Africa

10 per 1000: Average world child mortality rate in 60 years or so from now if the current rates of progress are maintained

24 million: The number of out-of-school children in West and Central Africa

1 of 5: The proportion of caregivers recognizing the 2 key symptoms of pneumonia

36%: The proportion of out-of-school children with uneducated mothers compared to 16% with educated mothers

2:1: The ratio of urban and rural women reporting at least 4 antenatal care visits

36%: The percentage increase in population served with improved drinking water sources in urban areas from 1990 to 2004

99%: The proportion of maternal deaths that occur in developing countries

95%: The proportion of new cases of pneumonia among children under five occurring in developing countries

1 in 143: The proportion of children who died before their 5th birthday in industrialized countries in 2002

65%: The proportion of out-of-school children who have never attended school globally in 2001/02

Across cultures, husbands decide on wife’s health care

146 million: The number of children under-five who are underweight in the developing world

163: The number of countries lacking sex-disaggregated data on school attendance

17 of 20: The number of countries with women parliamentarians using a quota system

84%: The proportion of employed women in sub-Saharan Africa working in the informal sector

Nominal wages for women is roughly 20% lower than men’s

80%: Men in 7 Middle East and North Africa countries who believe that university education is more important for boys.

60-90 hours: Estimated work hours per week for women in developing countries

$106 billion: The amount in US dollars of aid to developing countries in 2005

13 million: The number of hectares of land deforested in 2005

80%: The share of people using drinking water from improved sources in developing countries in 2004

38.6 million: The number of people living with HIV in 2005 - nearly half of whom are women

1000%: The increase in the distribution of insecticide-treated mosquito nets in sub-Saharan Africa from 1999 to 2003

71%: The proportion of deliveries attended by skilled health care personnel in Northern Africa in 2004 compared to 56% in developing regions

10.5 million: The number of children who died before their fifth birthday in 2004 - mostly from preventable causes

73%: The proportion of children 12-23 months old immunized against measles in 2004

17%: The share of women in non-agricultural wage employment in Southern Asia in 2004 compared to 46% in developed regions

17%: The share of women in single or lower houses of parliament worldwide in 2006, up from 12% in 1990

82%: The distribution of primary-school age children out of school in rural areas compared to urban areas in 1996/2003

Universal primary education is in sight, though sub-Saharan Africa lags behind

824 million: The number of people in the developing world affected by chronic hunger in 2003

14.1%: The proportion of people living on less than $1 a day in Eastern Asia in 2002, down from 33.0% in 1990