The Millennium Development Goals commit the international community to an expanded vision of development, one that vigorously promotes human development as the key to sustaining social and economic progress in all countries, and recognizes the importance of creating a global partnership for development. The goals have been commonly accepted as a framework for measuring development progress.

Many of the targets of the MDGs were first set out by international conferences and summits held in the 1990s. They were later compiled and became known as the International Development Goals. (For a review of progress on the International Development Goals see www.paris21.org/betterworld.) In September 2000 the member states of the United Nations unanimously adopted the Millennium Declaration. Following consultations among international agencies, including the World Bank, the IMF, the OECD, and the specialized agencies of the United Nations, the General Assembly recognized the Millennium Development Goals as part of the road map for implementing the Millennium Declaration.

Achieving the MDGs by 2015 will require more focus on development outcomes and less on inputs, to effectively measure national progress towards meeting the MDGs, and to engage even more closely with our partners in helping governments improve human development. The goals establish yardsticks for measuring results, not just for developing countries but for rich countries that help to fund development programs and for the multilateral institutions that help countries implement them. The first seven goals are mutually reinforcing and are directed at reducing poverty in all its forms. The last goal-global partnership for development- is about the means to achieve the first seven. Many of the poorest countries will need additional assistance and must look to the rich countries to provide it. Countries that are poor and heavily indebted will need further help in reducing their debt burdens. And all countries will benefit if trade barriers are lowered, allowing a freer exchange of goods and services. 

For the poorest countries many of the goals seem far out of reach. Even in better-off countries there may be regions or groups that lag behind. Countries need to set their own strategies and work, together with the global partners, to ensure that poor people are included in the benefits of development. 

To view the full United Nations document on Millennium Development Goals  indicators' definitions, sources and methodology, click here.

A complete listing of the goals, targets, and indicators for MDGs

• 1. Proportion of population below $1 (PPP) a day ^a

• 1a. Poverty headcount ratio (percentage of population below national poverty line) *

• 2.  Poverty gap ratio  (incidence x depth of poverty)

• 3.  Share of poorest quintile in national consumption

Target 2: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger

• 4.  Prevalence of underweight in children (under five years of age)
• 5.  Proportion of population below minimum level of dietary energy consumption

• 6.  Net enrollment ratio in primary education
• 7a. Proportion of pupils starting grade 1 who reach grade 5 ^b
• 7b. Primary completion rate*
• 8.  Literacy rate of 15 to 24-year-olds

• 9.  Ratio of girls to boys in primary, secondary, and tertiary education
• 10. Ratio of literate women to men ages 15- to 24
• 11. Share of women in wage employment in the nonagricultural sector
• 12. Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament

• 13. Under-five mortality rate
• 14. Infant mortality rate
• 15. Proportion of one-year-old children immunized against measles

• 16. Maternal mortality ratio
• 17. Proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel

• 18. HIV prevalence among pregnant women ages 15- to 24
• 19. Condom use rate of the contraceptive prevalence rate ^c*
• 19a.Condom use at last high-risk sex*
• 19b.Percentage of 15-24-year-olds with comprehensive correct knowledge of HIV/AIDS ^d*
• 19c.Contraceptive prevalence rate 
• 20. Ratio of school attendance of orphans to school attendance on non-orphans ages 10-14

• 21. Prevalence and death rates associated with malaria
• 22. Proportion of population in malaria-risk areas using effective malaria prevention and treatment measures ^e
• 23. Prevalence and death rates associated with tuberculosis
• 24. Proportion of tuberculosis cases detected and cured under directly observed treatment short course (DOTS)

• 25. Proportion of land area covered by forest
• 26. Ratio of area protected to maintain biological diversity to surface area
• 27. Energy use (kilograms of oil equivalent) per $1 GDP (PPP)
• 28. Carbon dioxide emissions (per capita) and consumption of ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (ODP tons)
• 29. Proportion of population using solid fuels*

• 30. Proportion of population with sustainable access to an improved water source, urban and rural
• 31. Proportion of population with access to improved sanitation, urban and rural

• 32. Proportion of households with with access to secure tenure 

Some of the indicators listed below will be monitored separately for the least developed countries, Africa, landlocked countries, and small island developing states.

      Official development assistance

• 33. Net ODA  total and to the least developed countries, as a percentage of OECD/DAC donors' gross national income 
• 34. Proportion of bilateral, sector-allocable ODA of OECD/DAC donors for basic social services (basic education, primary health care, nutrition, safe water, and sanitation)
• 35. Proportion of bilateral official development assistance ODA of OECD/DAC donors  that is untied
• 36. ODA received in landlocked countries as proportion of their gross national incomes
• 37. ODA received in small island developing states as proportion of their gross national incomes

Target 13: Address the special needs of the least developed countries (includes tariff-and quota-free access for exports enhanced program of debt relief for HIPC and cancellation of official bilateral debt, and more generous ODA for countries committed to poverty reduction)

Target 14: Address the special needs of landlocked countries and small island developing states (through the Program of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States and 22nd General Assembly provisions)

• 38. Proportion of total developed country imports (by value and excluding arms) from developing countries and from least developed countries, admitted free of duty
• 39. Average tariffs imposed by developed countries on agricultural products and textiles and clothing from developing countries
• 40. Agricultural support estimate for OECD countries as a percentage of their gross domestic product
• 41. Proportion of ODA provided to help build trade capacity 

Target 15: Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries through national and international measures in order to make debt sustainable in the long term

• 42. Total number of countries that have reached their HIPC decision points and number that have reached their HIPC completion points (cumulative)
• 43. Debt relief committed under HIPC initiative
• 44. Debt service as a percentage of exports of goods and services

Target 16: In cooperation with developing countries, develop and implement strategies for decent and productive work for youth

Target 17: In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable, essential drugs in developing countries

Target 18: In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications

• 45. Unemployment rate of 15- to 24-year-olds, male and female and total  ^f

• 46. Proportion of population with access to affordable, essential drugs on a sustainable basis

• 47. Telephone lines and cellular subscribers per 100 population
• 48a.Personal computers in use per 100 population 
• 48b.Internet users per 100 population

* These indicators are proposed as additional MDG indicators, but have not yet been adopted.

(a) For monitoring country poverty trends, indicators based on national poverty lines should be used, where available.

(b) An alternative indicator under development is “primary completion rate.”

(c) Among contraceptive methods, only condoms are effective in preventing HIV transmission. Since the condom use rate is only measured among women in union, it is supplemented by an indicator on condom use in high-risk situations (indicator 19a) and an indicator on HIV/AIDS knowledge (indicator 19b). Indicator 19c (contraceptive prevalence rate) is also useful in tracking progress in other health, gender, and poverty goals.

(d) This indicator is defined as the percentage of 15- to 24-year-olds who correctly identify the two major ways of preventing the sexual transmission of HIV (using condoms and limiting sex to one faithful, uninfected partner), who reject the two most common local misconceptions about HIV transmission, and who know that a healthy-looking person can transmit HIV. However, since there are currently not a sufficient number of surveys to be able to calculate the indicator as defined above, UNICEF, in  collaboration with UNAIDS and WHO, produced two proxy indicators that represent two components of the actual indicator. They are the percentage of women and men ages 15–24 who know that a person can protect herself from HIV infection by “consistent use of condom,” and the percentage of women and men ages 15–24 who know a healthy-looking person can transmit HIV.

(e) Prevention to be measured by the percentage of children under age five sleeping under insecticide-treated bednets; treatment to be measured by percentage of children under age five who are appropriately treated.

(f) An improved measure of the target for future years is under development by the International Labour Organization.