Adolescence

GENERAL NOTE ON THE DATAGeneral note on the dataThe data presented in the following statistical tables arederived from the UNICEF global databases, which includeonly internationally comparable and statisticallysound data; these data are accompanied by definitions,sources and explanations of symbols. In addition, datafrom other United Nations organizations have been used.The report draws on inter-agency estimates and nationallyrepresentative household surveys such as MultipleIndicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) and Demographic andHealth Surveys (DHS). Data presented in this year’s statisticaltables generally reflect information available as ofJuly 2010.More detailed information on methodology and datasources is available at .Several of the indicators, such as the data for lifeexpectancy, total fertility rates and crude birth and deathrates, are part of the regular work on estimates andprojections undertaken by the United Nations PopulationDivision. These and other internationally producedestimates are revised periodically, which explains whysome data will differ from those published in earlierUNICEF publications.This report includes the latest estimates and projectionsfrom World Population Prospects: The 2008 revision(United Nations Department of Economic and SocialAffairs, Population Division). Data quality is likely to beadversely affected for countries that have recently sufferedhuman-caused or natural disasters. This is particularly truewhere basic country infrastructure has been fragmentedor where major population movements have occurred.Child mortality estimatesEach year, in its flagship publication The State of theWorld’s Children, UNICEF reports a series of mortalityestimates for children – including the annual infantmortality rate, the under-five mortality rate and thenumber of under-five deaths – for at least two referenceyears. These figures represent the best estimates availableat the time the report goes to print. The estimates arebased on the work of the Inter-agency Group for ChildMortality Estimation (IGME), which includes UNICEF, theWorld Health Organization (WHO), the United NationsPopulation Division and the World Bank.IGME updates these mortality estimates each year,undertaking a detailed review of all newly available datapoints. This exercise often results in adjustments topreviously reported estimates; as a result, estimatespublished in consecutive editions of The State of theWorld’s Children may not be comparable and shouldnot be used for analysing mortality trends over time.Comparable under-five mortality estimates for the period1970–2009 are presented below, according to UNICEFRegional and Country Classifications.Under-five mortality rate (per 1,000 live births)Region 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2007 2008 2009Africa 223 201 186 172 165 161 147 131 125 121 118Sub-Saharan Africa 226 204 193 185 180 175 160 143 136 133 129Eastern and Southern Africa 210 185 177 168 166 158 141 124 116 112 108West and Central Africa 258 227 213 205 199 195 181 163 156 153 150Middle East and North Africa 192 161 131 97 77 66 56 47 44 43 41Asia 150 129 115 98 87 83 70 59 54 52 50South Asia 194 175 158 141 125 112 97 81 76 73 71East Asia and Pacific 121 94 73 59 53 49 40 31 28 27 26Latin America and Caribbean 121 103 83 66 52 43 33 27 24 23 23CEE/CIS 89 81 70 59 51 49 37 27 24 23 21Industrialized countries 24 19 15 12 10 8 7 6 6 6 6Developing countries 157 139 125 109 99 95 84 74 70 68 66Least developed countries 239 223 205 187 178 164 146 131 126 123 121World 138 123 112 97 89 86 77 67 63 62 60STATISTICAL TABLES 83