GEOGRAPHIC COVERAGE: The chart ranks 133 countries with a population of one million or more on a Reproductive Risk Index (RRI). The index includes 13 indicators of reproductive health and general development. All countries listed have data for at least eight indicators. [See below for indicator detail.]

Nineteen countries were not included because data were lacking for five or more of the indicators. These countries are: Afghanistan , Bhutan , Bosnia/Herzegovina, North Korea , Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark , Hong Kong , Iraq , Ireland , Israel , Liberia , Libya , Myanmar , Occupied Palestinian Territory , Oman , Puerto Rico , Somalia , Venezuela and Yemen .

DATA SOURCES: Primary sources for the report were the World Health Organization (WHO) and other United Nations (UN) agencies. Specific references are available upon request.

METHODOLOGY: The 13 indicators are: share of women in non-agricultural wage employment, male secondary gross enrolment ratio, female secondary gross enrolment ratio, percent of parliamentary seats held by women, maternal mortality ratio (MMR), percent of births attended by skilled personnel, restrictiveness of abortion policy, infant mortality rate (IMR), contraceptive prevalence, unmet need for contraception, adolescent fertility rate, HIV/AIDS prevalence among males age 15-24, and HIV/AIDS prevalence among females age 15-24. The choice of indicators was partly determined by the availability of comparative global datasets on overlapping ICPD+5 targets and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

ICPD at Ten: Where Are We Now? uses the most recent, reliable and consistent national-level data available at the time of publication (June 2004).

For construction of the index, equal weight was given to all 13 indicators. The final composite index score was derived by dividing the sum of seven scaled indicators and six assigned scores by 13. Countries were ranked based on each country's RRI. (The RRI has a minimum value of 1.9 and a maximum of 96.5 because scores assigned to some indicators are more than zero or less than 100.) Countries were then grouped into five quintiles as follows: Highest Risk, Elevated Risk, Moderate Risk, Reduced Risk and Lowest Risk. The data table displays the countries in alphabetical order within each quintile.

Measures of Change

GEOGRAPHIC COVERAGE: The chart ranks 62 developed and developing countries (with a population of one million or more) on progress over the period preceding and following ICPD in 1994. Seven reproductive health and socioeconomic indicators were used to measure progress over the past decade. Their selection was determined chiefly by the availability of time-series data for each. All countries included have time-series data for at least six of the indicators.

The data point used to measure pre-ICPD status is from the late 1980s through 1994. The later point charts activity post-1994. A range of at least five years was required in order to chart progress. A total of 91 countries with a population of one million or more were not included because data were lacking for four or more of the indicators. Data on contraceptive prevalence, births attended by skilled personnel and unmet need for family planning were lacking for almost all 91 countries.

DATA SOURCES: The primary sources for the report were the World Health Organization (WHO) and other United Nations (UN) agencies. Specific references are available upon request.

METHODOLOGY: The seven indicators used to measure progress are: female secondary gross enrolment rate, ratio of female secondary gross enrolment rate to male secondary gross enrolment rate, percent of births attended by skilled personnel, infant mortality rate (IMR), contraceptive prevalence, total unmet need for family planning and adolescent fertility. The choice of indicators was determined by availability of time-series and global comparative datasets on overlapping ICPD+5 goals and MDGs.

ICPD at Ten: Where Are We Now? uses the most reliable and consistent national-level data available.

For each indicator, the annual percent change was calculated. The average of annual changes for the seven indicators was then taken. Equal weight was given to all indicators. Countries were ranked based on average annual percentage change.