Practical Guidebook on Data Disaggregation for the Sustainable Development Goals

By Asian Development Bank

The "leave no one behind" principle espoused by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development requires measures of progress for different segments of the population. This entails detailed disaggregated data to identify subgroups that might be falling behind, to ensure progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Asian Development Bank and the Statistics Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs developed this practical guidebook with tools to collect, compile, analyze, and disseminate disaggregated data. It also provides materials on issues and experiences of countries regarding data disaggregation for the SDGs. This guidebook is for statisticians and analysts from planning and sector ministries involved in the production, analysis, and communication of disaggregated data.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Asian Development Bank
• Release date: May 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9789292627751

Book preview

PRACTICAL GUIDEBOOK ON DATA DISAGGREGATION FOR THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

MAY 2021

Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO license (CC BY 3.0 IGO)

© 2021 Asian Development Bank

6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City, 1550 Metro Manila, Philippines

Tel [phone]; Fax [phone]

www.adb.org

Some rights reserved. Published in 2021.

ISBN 978-92-9262-774-4 (print); 978-92-9262-775-1 (electronic); 978-92-9262-776-8 (ebook)

Publication Stock No. TIM210117-2

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22617/TIM210117-2

The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) or its Board of Governors or the governments they represent.

ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by ADB in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned.

By making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area, or by using the term country in this document, ADB does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area.

This work is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO license (CC BY 3.0 IGO) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/. By using the content of this publication, you agree to be bound by the terms of this license. For attribution, translations, adaptations, and permissions, please read the provisions and terms of use at https://www.adb.org/terms-use#openaccess.

This CC license does not apply to non-ADB copyright materials in this publication. If the material is attributed to another source, please contact the copyright owner or publisher of that source for permission to reproduce it. ADB cannot be held liable for any claims that arise as a result of your use of the material.

Please contact [e-mail] if you have questions or comments with respect to content, or if you wish to obtain copyright permission for your intended use that does not fall within these terms, or for permission to use the ADB logo.

Corrigenda to ADB publications may be found at http://www.adb.org/publications/corrigenda.

Notes:

In this publication, $ refers to United States dollars, unless otherwise stated.

ADB recognizes Korea as the Republic of Korea and Vietnam as Viet Nam.

Cover design by Rhommell Rico.

CONTENTS

TABLES, FIGURES, AND BOXES

FOREWORD

To build a road map for people and the planet and to support sustainable social and economic progress worldwide, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was launched in 2015 as a universal call to action for ending poverty, protecting the planet, and ensuring that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. Through the Agenda’s principle of leaving no one behind (LNOB), the member states of the United Nations have committed to eradicating poverty in all its forms, ending discrimination and exclusion, and reducing inequalities and vulnerabilities. Understanding which population groups are left behind and designing effective policies require that the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators be disaggregated by income class, gender, ethnicity, geographic location, disability status, migration status, and other relevant dimensions. However, disaggregation of the SDG indicators imposes significant data requirements and operational challenges for national statistical systems (NSSs).

In many countries, development data are compiled as national, subnational, or city averages, which paints what would seem to be a society-wide picture with respect to specific development targets. However, these aggregate data do not provide adequate information on which segments of a country’s population have made significant progress or have lagged in terms of development. From a policy perspective, the lack of disaggregated data is problematic because there are limited data to guide the design of intervention programs that are meant to appropriately target vulnerable segments of society. On the other hand, where disaggregated data are available, evidence suggests that the most vulnerable groups are likely to benefit less from the development process than the rest of the population, contributing to widening inequalities within countries. Worryingly, during periods of uncertainty such as the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, sparse data suggest that the poor and other vulnerable groups also tend to be at greater risk of social and economic exclusion.

In 2017, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) designed the technical assistance project Data for Development to strengthen the capacity of national statistics offices (NSOs) in the Asia and Pacific region to meet the increasing data demands for SDG monitoring and effective policy making. One component of the project focuses on providing guidance on how NSSs can enhance the compilation of disaggregated data for development. As part of this initiative, statisticians from ADB’s Statistics and Data Innovation Unit within the Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department worked with the Statistics Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) and other development partners to draft this practical guidebook that can be used by staff of NSOs and other organizations that compile SDG indicators and other data for development. In particular, the guidebook provides tools to collect, compile, analyze, and disseminate disaggregated data. Also, it provides background materials regarding issues and experiences of countries regarding data