The MDGs were developed out of the eight chapters of the United Nations, signed in September 2000. There are eight goals with 21 targets, and a series of measurable indicators for each target.

Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

· Target 1A: Halve the proportion of people living on less than $1 a day

o Proportion of population below $1 per day (PPP values)

o Poverty gap ratio [incidence x depth of poverty]

o Share of poorest quintile in national consumption

· Target 1B: Achieve Decent Employment for Women, Men, and Young People

o GDP Growth per Employed Person

o Employment Rate

o Proportion of employed population below $1 per day (PPP values)

o Proportion of family-based workers in employed population

· Target 1C: Halve the proportion of people who suffer from hunger

o Prevalence of underweight children under five years of age

o Proportion of population below minimum level of dietary energy consumption

Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education

· Target 2A: By 2015, all children can complete a full course of primary schooling, girls and boys

o Enrollment in primary education

o Completion of primary education

o Literacy of 15-24 year olds, female and male

Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women

· Target 3A: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015

o Ratios of girls to boys in primary, secondary and tertiary education

o Share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector

o Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament

Goal 4: Reduce child mortality rates

· Target 4A: Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate

o Under-five mortality rate

o Infant (under 1) mortality rate

o Proportion of 1-year-old children immunized against measles

Goal 5: Improve maternal health

· Target 5A: Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio

o Maternal mortality ratio

o Proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel

· Target 5B: Achieve, by 2015, universal access to reproductive health

o Contraceptive prevalence rate

o Adolescent birth rate

o Antenatal care coverage

o Unmet need for family planning

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases

· Target 6A: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS

o HIV prevalence among population aged 15–24 years

o Condom use at last high-risk sex

o Proportion of population aged 15–24 years with comprehensive correct knowledge of HIV/AIDS

· Target 6B: Achieve, by 2010, universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those who need it

o Proportion of population with advanced HIV infection with access to antiretroviral drugs

· Target 6C: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases

o Prevalence and death rates associated with malaria

o Proportion of children under 5 sleeping under insecticide-treated bednets

o Proportion of children under 5 with fever who are treated with appropriate anti-malarial drugs

o Prevalence and death rates associated with tuberculosis

o Proportion of tuberculosis cases detected and cured under DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment Short Course)^[18]

Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability

· Target 7A: Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programs; reverse loss of environmental resources

· Target 7B: Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss

o Proportion of land area covered by forest

o CO₂ emissions, total, per capita and per $1 GDP (PPP)

o Consumption of ozone-depleting substances

o Proportion of fish stocks within safe biological limits

o Proportion of total water resources used

o Proportion of terrestrial and marine areas protected

o Proportion of species threatened with extinction

· Target 7C: Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation (for more information see the entry on water supply)

o Proportion of population with sustainable access to an improved water source, urban and rural

o Proportion of urban population with access to improved sanitation

· Target 7D: By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum-dwellers

o Proportion of urban population living in slums

Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development

· Target 8A: Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system

o Includes a commitment to good governance, development, and poverty reduction – both nationally and internationally

· Target 8B: Address the Special Needs of the Least Developed Countries (LDC)

o Includes: tariff and quota free access for LDC exports; enhanced programme of debt relief for HIPC and cancellation of official bilateral debt; and more generous ODA (Overseas Development Assistance) for countries committed to poverty reduction

· Target 8C: Address the special needs of landlocked developing countries and small island developing States

o Through the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States and the outcome of the twenty-second special session of the General Assembly

· Target 8D: Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries through national and international measures in order to make debt sustainable in the long term

o Some of the indicators listed below are monitored separately for the least developed countries (LDCs), Africa, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States.

o Official development assistance (ODA):

§ Net ODA, total and to LDCs, as percentage of OECD/DAC donors’ GNI

§ Proportion of total sector-allocable ODA of OECD/DAC donors to basic social services (basic education, primary health care, nutrition, safe water and sanitation)

§ Proportion of bilateral ODA of OECD/DAC donors that is untied

§ ODA received in landlocked countries as proportion of their GNIs

§ ODA received in small island developing States as proportion of their GNIs

o Market access:

§ Proportion of total developed country imports (by value and excluding arms) from developing countries and from LDCs, admitted free of duty

§ Average tariffs imposed by developed countries on agricultural products and textiles and clothing from developing countries

§ Agricultural support estimate for OECD countries as percentage of their GDP

§ Proportion of ODA provided to help build trade capacity

o Debt sustainability:

§ Total number of countries that have reached their HIPC decision points and number that have reached their HIPC completion points (cumulative)

§ Debt relief committed under HIPC initiative, US$

§ Debt service as a percentage of exports of goods and services

· Target 8E: In co-operation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable, essential drugs in developing countries

o Proportion of population with access to affordable essential drugs on a sustainable basis

· Target 8F: In co-operation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications

o Telephone lines and cellular subscribers per 100 population

o Personal computers in use per 100 population

o Internet users per 100 Population