20 October 2015: The UN marked the second World Statistics Day, with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon saying the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development makes timely and reliable statistics more important than ever. On the occasion of the Day, the UN Statistics Division released a report on ‘The World’s Women 2015: Trends and Statistics.’

The report reviews progress on gender equality in the 20 years since the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China in 1995. The report shows that women are living longer, have better access to education, and lead more independent lives as they have greater economic independence and are marrying later in life. However, it also found that women are still discriminated against, and over one-third of women worldwide have experienced physical or sexual violence.

Stefan Schweinfest, head of the UN Statistics Division, noted that the 2030 Agenda places a greater focus on disaggregated data, which he said will require more resources, methodological developments, integration of new data sources with traditional ones, and partnerships within and across countries.

World Statistics Day was designated by a resolution of the UN General Assembly on 3 June 2015, in which it decided to celebrate the Day on 20 October every five years. The resolution was introduced by the delegation of Hungary to the UN.

The UN Statistics Division is part of the UN Department for Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). [World Statistics Day Website] [UN Press Release on World Statistics Day] [UNSD Director Message] [Publication: The World’s Women 2015: Trends and Statistics] [UN Press Release on Report Launch] [DESA News Feature]