The World Development Indicators (WDI) 2010 is a comprehensive overview of development. It is the statistical benchmark that helps measure the progress of development.

 

The WDI database, launched along with the World Bank’s Open Data initiative to provide free data to all users, includes more than 900 indicators documenting the state of all the world’s economies. The WDI covers education, health, poverty, environment, economy, trade, and much more.

This year’s WDI focuses on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), now in their 10th year. It shows that considerable progress has been made in reaching these challenging goals. Despite the economic and financial crisis that has swept over the globe, the target to reduce by half the proportion of people living in extreme poverty is still within reach in several developing regions. Home to the most people living on less than $1.25 a day, Asia has accounted for much of this remarkable achievement. Sub-Saharan Africa meanwhile remains off track to meet the income poverty goal.