Table 1 Description of variables

HEALTH CARE SYSTEM-RELATED

Infant mortality rate

Number of deaths among infants (<1 year of age) per 1000 live births in a given year

Antenatal care coverage

Percentage of women aged 15-49 years that were attended at least once during pregnancy by skilled health personnel (doctor, nurse, or midwife)

Births attended by skilled health personnel

Percentage of births that received care from qualified medical personnel

Access to an improved water source

Percentage of the population who use any of the following types of water supply for drinking: piped water, public tap, borehole or pump, protected well, protected spring or rainwater

Access to improved sanitation

Percentage of the population with access to facilities that hygienically separate human excreta from human, animal and insect contact. Facilities such as sewers or septic tanks, pour-flush latrines and simple pit or ventilated improved pit latrines are assumed to be adequate, provided that they are not public

EDUCATIONAL

Adult literacy rate

Percentage of persons aged 15 years and over who can both read and write

Contraceptive prevalence

Percentage of married women aged 15-49 that use contraceptive measures.

Ratio of female literacy rate to male rate

The data refer to national literacy estimates from censuses or surveys

Primary enrolment rate

Number of pupils of the theoretical school-age group who are enrolled in primary school expressed as a percentage of the total population in that age group

Primary enrolment rate, female

The same as the net primary enrolment rate, but only for the female group

Education index

This measures a country's relative achievement in both adult literacy and combined primary, secondary and tertiary education.

ECONOMICAL

Public expenditure on health

This measures the final consumption of health care goods and services as percentage of the GNP

Public expenditure on education

This measures the final consumption of education as percentage of the GNP

GNI per capita

Gross National Income (in current US Dollars) divided by midyear population. The atlas method is used

External resources for health

This includes all grants and loans for health goods and services passing through governments or private entities, in cash or in kind as a percentage of total expenditure on health

Government expenditure on health

This gives an idea as to the priority that the health issues are given in government budgets expressed as percentage of the general government expenditure on health

Out-of-pocket expenditure on health

These are the direct outlays of households, including gratuities and in-kind payments made to health practitioners, pharmaceutical suppliers, therapeutic appliances, and other goods and services, as a percentage of the private expenditure on health.

Per-capita government expenditure on health

This is the government expenditure on health per person