Welcome to UNCTAD SDG Pulse 2025

UNCTAD SDG Pulse 2025

UNCTAD SDG Pulse 2025 provides an update on the evolution of a selection of official SDG indicators and complementary data and statistics about the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs.

Glossary 

Glossary 2024

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°C The degree Celsius is the unit of temperature on the Celsius scale.
2G Second generation of cellular network technology
3G Third generation of cellular network technology
4G Fourth generation of cellular network technology
5G Fifth generation of cellular network technology
ABC Brazilian Cooperation Agency
Ad-valorem equivalent A tariff that is not a percentage of the price of the product (e.g. dollars per ton) can be estimated as a percentage of the price — the ad valorem equivalent. (WTO, 2021a)
ADT UNCTAD’s Accounting Development Tool
Advanced reporting requirement Advanced reporting requirement represents a set of reporting elements, beyond the minimum reporting requirement, which demand additional information from companies in their sustainability reports for the purpose of measuring SDG indicator 12.6.1 (UNCTAD, 2019).
AfCFTA African Continental Free Trade Area
AGOA African Growth and Opportunity Act
Agriculture Orientation Index The Agriculture Orientation Index (AOI) for government expenditures is defined as the Agriculture share of Government Expenditure, divided by the Agriculture value added share of GDP, where Agriculture refers to the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting sector (United Nations, 2023a).
AI Artificial intelligence
Aid for Trade Measures aimed at assisting developing countries to increase exports of goods and services, to integrate into the multilateral trading system, and to benefit from liberalized trade and increased market access. It is considered as part of ODA. Effective Aid for Trade will enhance growth prospects and reduce poverty in developing countries, as well as complement multilateral trade reforms and distribute the global benefits more equitably across and within developing countries (WTO, 2006). It is measured as gross disbursements and commitments of total ODA from all donors for Aid for Trade (United Nations, 2021a).
Aid for Trade commitments Aid for Trade commitment is a firm obligation, expressed in writing and backed by the necessary funds, undertaken by an official donor to provide specified assistance to a recipient country or a multilateral organisation (OECD, 2021; AidFlows, 2019).
Aid for Trade disbursements Aid for Trade disbursements refer to the release of funds to or the purchase of goods or services for a recipient; by extension, the amount thus spent. Disbursements record the actual international transfer of financial resources, or of goods or services valued at the cost to the donor (OECD, 2021; AidFlows, 2019).
AIS Automatic identification system
ALDC Division for Africa, Least Developed Countries and Special Programmes
AMIS Agricultural Market Information System
AOSIS Alliance of Small Island States
Applied tariff The actual tariff rate in effect at a country’s border (including preferential rates).
ASYCUDA Automated System for Customs Data
Asymptomatic When a condition produces no symptoms, or a person shows no symptoms.
AU African Union
B2B Business to Business
B2C Business to Consumer
BAUS Business-as-usual scenario
BEPS Base erosion and profit shifting
Biodiversity Biodiversity refers to the diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems (UNEP, 2019).
Biodiversity-based goods

The biodiversity-based products considered by UNCTAD are all products with a biological origin, including plant and animal species as well as fungi found on land, water and air, and that meet at least one of the following criteria:

• they are intrinsically and integrally based on biological resources themselves at a non- or low-processed stage (e.g., whole pineapples or ground coffee);

• when used as inputs, they are processed products that solely or principally use biological resources-based ingredients (e.g., cotton shirts, wooden furniture, or chocolate bars); and

• when they are derivatives, they are derived mainly from biological resource-based products (e.g., glycerol from natural oils and fats).

In this understanding, goods produced or derived from the extraction of minerals, ores or metals, such as sands, oil and gas, are not considered biodiversity-based products.

UNCTAD developed the Trade and Biodiversity product classification to provide member States and other stakeholders with public access to consistent, comparable, and comprehensive trade data related to products derived from biodiversity. The classification includes 1 814 different types of products derived from biodiversity resources. (UNCTAD, 2023b)
BIT Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) is a type of international investment agreement (IIA) made between two countries regarding promotion and protection of investments made by investors from one country in the other country’s territory, which commits the host country government to grant certain standards of treatment and protection to foreign investors (nationals and companies of the other country) and their investments (UNCTAD, 2022).
Blended finance Blended finance combines concessional financing—loans that are extended on more generous terms than market loans— and commercial funding.
BoP Balance of payments
Broadband A general term meaning a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device. In data communications, this refers to a data transmission rate of at least 256 kbit/s. In the context of Internet, this can be delivered via fixed (wired) or mobile networks (ITU, 2014).
CAPI Computer assisted personal interview
Carbon intensity Carbon intensity is the amount of emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) released per unit of another variable such as gross domestic product (GDP), output energy use or transport (IPCC, 2014).
Carbon price Carbon price is the price per unit of avoided or released carbon dioxide (CO2) emission, or its CO2 equivalent (IPCC, 2014).
Carbon tax Carbon tax is a levy on the carbon content of fossil fuels (IPCC, 2014).
CATI Computer assisted telephone interview
CBD Convention on Biological Diversity
CBERA The Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act
CCCT Commonwealth Caribbean Countries Tariff (CCCT) is a Preferential Trade Arrangements (PTAs) categorized as other type of PTAs. The provider of CCCT is Canada. CCCT entered into force on the 15th of June 1986 (WTO, 2021b).
CCSA Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities
CH4 Methane
Circular economy A circular economy is an economy where: (i) the value of materials in the economy is maximised and maintained for as long as possible; (ii) the input of materials and their consumption is minimised; and (iii) the generation of waste is prevented and negative environmental impacts reduced throughout the life-cycle of materials (ECE and OECD, 2023).
Circular economy A circular economy is an economy where: (i) the value of materials in the economy is maximised and maintained for as long as possible; (ii) the input of materials and their consumption is minimised; and (iii) the generation of waste is prevented and negative environmental impacts reduced throughout the life-cycle of materials (ECE and OECD, 2023).
Circular material use rate The circular material use rate is defined as the ratio of the circular use of materials to the overall material use.
Circular material use rate The [glossary-rate]circular material use rate[/glossary-rate] is defined as the ratio of the circular use of materials to the overall material use .
CIS Commonwealth of Independent States
CLEG Combined List of Environmental Goods (OECD)
CO2 Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a colourless, odourless and non-poisonous gas formed by combustion of carbon and in the respiration of living organisms (OECD, n.d.).
CO2e Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) is a measure used to compare the emissions from various greenhouse gases based upon their global warming potential. It represents the quantity of carbon dioxide that has equal global warming potential as the given quantity of a greenhouse gas (OECD, n.d.).
COFOG Classification of the functions of government (United Nations, 1999)
Comply-or-explain approach Comply-or-explain approach is a reporting practice under which companies are invited to explain the reasons for not providing all requested information in their sustainability reports or for not publishing a sustainability report at all (UNCTAD, 2013).
Concessional loans Loans that are extended on terms substantially more generous than market loans. The concessionality is achieved either through interest rates below those available on the market or by grace periods, or a combination of these (OECD, n.d.).
Containerised transport Freight transport using intermodal containers of standard dimensions, i.e. containers that can be moved seamlessly between ships, trucks, trains and other modes of transport as well as storage. The two most used are the 20-foot and the 40-foot containers. They form the basis of the main units of measure currently applied in transport: the twenty-foot equivalent Unit (TEU) and the forty-foot equivalent unit (FEU). (World Shipping Council, 2020)
CoP Communication on Progress (CoP) is a voluntary, public report through which a company informs stakeholders about its efforts to implement the principles of the United Nations Global Compact (2013).
COP27 It is the 27th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, held in November 2022 in Egypt.
COVID-19 COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by the strain of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 discovered in December 2019. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses which may cause illness in animals or humans. In humans, several coronaviruses are known to cause respiratory infections ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The most recently discovered coronavirus causes coronavirus disease COVID-19 (WHO, 2020b).
COVID-19 death Defined for surveillance purposes as a death resulting from a clinically compatible illness in a probable or confirmed COVID-19 case, unless there is a clear alternative cause of death that cannot be related to COVID-19 disease (e.g. trauma). There should be no period of complete recovery between the illness and death. Further guidance for certification and classification (coding) of COVID-19 as cause of death is available in WHO (2020a).
CPC Central Product Classification. The latest version of this classification is CPC 2.1 (United Nations, 2022c)
CRED Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters
CSOs Civil society organizations (CSOs)
CSRD Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive
CSTD United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development
CTS Consolidated Tariff Schedules
DAC Development Assistance Committee
Data revolution Data revolution refers to the transformative actions needed to respond to the demands of a complex development agenda, improvements in how data is produced and used; closing data gaps to prevent discrimination; building capacity and data literacy in “small data” and big data analytics; modernizing systems of data collection; liberating data to promote transparency and accountability; and developing new targets and indicators (see http://www.undatarevolution.org/data-revolution/).
DCAs Development Cooperation Agencies
DDA Doha Development Agenda (DDA) refers to the latest Doha Round of world trade negotiations among the WTO memberships. The round is also known semi-officially as the Doha Development Agenda and was launched in November 2001. Its aim is to achieve major reform of the international trading system through the introduction of lower trade barriers and revised trade rules. The fundamental objective of DDA is to further liberalising trade in order to improve the trading prospects of developing countries. The main issues at stake are: Reforming agricultural subsidies; Ensuring that new liberalisation in the global economy respects the need for sustainable economic growth in developing countries; Improving developing countries' access to global markets for their exports (WTO, 2020).
Debt service Payments made to satisfy a debt obligation, including principal, interest and any late payment fees (IMF, 2014).
Debt sustainability A country’s capacity to finance its policy objectives through debt instruments and service the ensuing debt (IMF, 2014).
DFQF Duty-free and quota free
DGDS Division on Globalization and Development Strategies
DIAE Division on Investment and Enterprise
Digital delivery Digital delivery refers to transactions that are delivered remotely over computer networks.
Digital trade Digital Trade is “all international trade that is digitally ordered and/or digitally delivered.
direct economic loss Direct economic loss is the monetary value of total or partial destruction of physical assets existing in the affected area. Direct economic loss is nearly equivalent to physical damage (United Nations, 2023a).
DITC Division on International Trade and Commodities, UNCTAD
DMFAS Debt Management and Financial Analysis System Programme
Doha Development Round Also called the Doha Development Agenda is a round of trade negotiations among WTO members launched in 2001 at the WTO’s Fourth Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar. A fundamental objective of the Doha round is to improve the trading prospects of developing economies. (WTO, 2022a)
DPoA Doha Programme of Action for LDCs (United Nations, 2022a)
DSSI Debt Service Suspension Initiative (World Bank, 2022b)
DTAs Deep trade agreements (DTAs) between countries that cover not just trade but additional policy areas, such as international flows of investment and labor, and the protection of intellectual property rights and the environment. Their goal is integration beyond trade, or deep integration.
DTL Division on Technology, Innovation and Trade Logistics
Dutch disease When the growth of one economic sector can cause a decline in other sectors.
Duty-free Not subject to import tariffs.
E-commerce E-commerce is defined as the sale or purchase of goods or services, conducted over computer networks by methods specifically designed for the purpose of receiving or placing of orders. The goods or services are ordered by those methods, but the payment and the ultimate delivery of the goods or services do not have to be conducted online (UNCTAD, 2021d).
EBA Everything But Arms (EBA) is a European Commission’s ‘zero’ tariff initiative for LDCs covering all products except the arms trade.
EBOPS Extended Balance of Payments Services classification provides a breakdown of the Balance of Payments Trade in Services item (debit and credit) as defined in Balance of Payment Manual (IMF, 2009a), by types of services. The classification thereby meets a number of user requirements, including the provision of more detailed information on Trade in services as required in connection with the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).
ECA United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
ECLAC United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
ECOSOC Economic and Social Council
ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States
EEC Eurasian Economic Commission
Emission Emission is the discharge of pollutants into the atmosphere from stationary sources such as smokestacks, other vents, surface areas of commercial or industrial facilities and mobile sources, for example, motor vehicles, locomotives and aircraft (OECD, n.d.).
Employed in R&D in FTE Employed in R&D in FTE is the ratio of working hours spent on R&D during a specific reference period (usually a calendar year) divided by the total number of hours conventionally worked in the same period by an individual or by a group (OECD, 2015).
Empretec Empretec is a Spanish acronym which blends “emprendedores” (entrepreneurs) and “tecnología” (technology). The term was introduced in Argentina in 1988.
Energy intensity Energy intensity is the ratio between gross inland energy consumption and GDP. It measures how much energy is required to generate one unit of GDP.
ESCAP United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
ESCWA United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia
ESG Environmental, social and governance
ESRS European Sustainability Reporting Standards
EU European Union
EVI Economic Vulnerability Index
Excess mortality Term used in epidemiology and public health to define the number of deaths which occurred in a given crisis above and beyond what we would have expected to see under ‘normal’ conditions. The WHO define ‘excess mortality’ as “mortality above what would be expected based on the non-crisis mortality rate in the population of interest. Excess mortality is thus mortality that is attributable to the crisis conditions. It can be expressed as a rate (the difference between observed and non-crisis mortality rates), or as a total number of excess deaths.” To calculate ‘excess mortality’ in a given period, the number of people who had died over this period is compared with the number expected to have died (WHO, 2008).
Export concentration index This index measures, for each product, the degree of export market concentration by country of origin. It tells us if a large share of commodity exports is accounted for by a small number of countries or, on the contrary, if exports are well distributed among many countries. The index ranges from 0 to 1 with higher values indicating more market concentration (UNCTAD, 2018a).
Export restrictiveness The average level of tariff restrictions imposed on a country’s exports as measured by the MA-TTRI.
Export subsidies Export subsidies refer to the granting of support by governments to some beneficiary entity or entities to achieve export objectives. Export subsidiesmay involve direct payments to a firm, industry, producers of a certain agricultural product etc. to achieve some type of export performance. In addition, export subsidies may include low-cost export loans, rebates on imported raw materials and tax benefits such as duty-free imports of raw material. They can also take the form of government financed marketing. Most subsidies have existed in agriculture (United Nations, 2022b).
Export-commodity dependent A country is considered an export-commodity dependent when more than 60 per cent of its total merchandise exports are composed of commodities. (UNCTAD, 2023a)
External debt External debt is understood as outstanding amount of those actual current, and not contingent, liabilities that require payment(s) of principal and/or interest by the debtor at some point(s) in the future and that are owed to nonresidents by residents of an economy (IMF, 2014).
F-gases Fluorinated GHGs ('F-gases') include mainly: hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, sulphur hexafluoride, and nitrogen trifluoride. They typically have relatively long lifetimes in the atmosphere and high global warming potentials (European Environment Agency, 2020)
FACTI International Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity for Achieving the 2030 Agenda
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
FCI Financial conditions indicator
FDI Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is an investment involving a long-term relationship and reflecting a lasting interest and control by a resident entity in one economy (foreign direct investor or parent enterprise) in an enterprise resident in an economy other than that of the foreign direct investor (FDI enterprise or affiliate enterprise or foreign affiliate) (UNCTAD, 2016).
FERDI Fondation pour les études et recherches sur le développement international (FERDI)
Fixed broadband Fixed broadband subscriptions refer to subscriptions to high-speed access to the public Internet (a TCP/IP connection), at downstream speeds equal to, or greater than, 256 kbit/s.
Food insecurity Food insecurity is a situation where an individual cannot reliably access or afford healthy food. The FAO describes a moderately food insecure person as someone who cannot afford a healthy diet. has experienced uncertainty about the ability to access food and is likely to skip meals occasionally because of lack of resources. A severely food insecure person has at times run out of food and has during the last year gone a whole day without food. For SDG indicator 2.1.2, food insecurity is estimated based on survey data using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale developed by FAO. It consists of eight questions pertaining to whether the respondents or their families have reduced the quantity or quality of consumed food over the last 12 months because of lack of resources. (FAO, 2022; United Nations, 2022b)
Food price anomalies Food price anomalies refer to abnormally high or low market prices for food commodities. The indicator relies on a weighted compound growth rate that accounts for both within-year and across-year price growth. The indicator directly evaluates growth in prices over a particular month over many years, taking into account seasonality in agricultural markets and inflation, allowing to answer the question of whether or not a change in price is abnormal for any particular period. The method is applied both to individual food commodities and to a basket of food items. It is measured by SDG indicator 2.c.1 (United Nations, 2022b).
Friend-shoring Friend-shoring involves increased trading with economies with politically aligned stances. (UNCTAD, 2023c)
FSIN Food Security Information Network
FTE Full Time Equivalent (FTE) unit of labour is the hours worked by one employee on a full-time basis. The concept is used to convert the hours worked by several part-time employees into the hours worked by an equivalent full-time employee (ideally the comparison is standardized for gender and industry sector).
g Grams
G20 Group of Twenty
GATS General Agreement on Trade in Services
GATT The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a multilateral agreement, originally negotiated in 1947 in Geneva among 23 countries, to reduce tariffs and other trade barriers. It provides a framework for periodic multilateral negotiations on trade liberalisation (WTO, 2021c).
GATT-94 The GATT 1994 is contained in Annex 1A of the WTO Agreement. It incorporates by reference the provisions of the GATT 1947, a legally distinct international treaty applied provisionally from 1948 to 1995 (WTO, 2021c).
GCRG On 14 March 2022, UN Secretary-General António Guterres established of a Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance (GCRG) to coordinate the global response to the widespread impacts of the war in Ukraine.
GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is an aggregate measure of production, income and expenditure of an economy. As a production measure, it represents the gross value added, i.e., the output net of intermediate consumption, achieved by all resident units engaged in production, plus any taxes less subsidies on products not included in the value of output. As an income measure, it represents the sum of primary incomes (gross wages and entrepreneurial income) distributed by resident producers, plus taxes less subsidies on production and imports. As an expenditure measure, it depicts the sum of expenditure on final consumption, gross capital formation (i.e., investment, changes in inventories, and acquisitions less disposals of valuables) and exports after deduction of imports (United Nations et al., 2009).
GERD Gross domestic expenditure on research and development
GFSN Global Financial Safety Net
GGGI Global Gender Gap Index produced by WEF annually benchmarks the current state and evolution of gender parity across four key dimensions (economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment).
GGPI Global Gender Parity Index is a composite index that assesses the relative achievements between women and men in four dimensions: life and good health (one indicator); education, skill-building and knowledge (two indicators); labour and financial inclusion (two indicators); and participation in decision-making (three indicators).
GHG Greenhouse gas (GHG) is an atmospheric gas that lets the solar radiation reach the Earth’s surface, but absorbs infrared radiation emitted by the Earth and thereby leads to the heating of the surface of the planet. The main GHGs the concentrations of which are rising are CO2, methane, nitrous oxide, F-gases, and ozone in the lower atmosphere. (WMO, 2019)
GHS Global Health Security
GIEWS Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture
GII Gender Inequality Index (GII) measures gender inequalities in three aspects of human development: reproductive health, measured by maternal mortality ratio and adolescent birth rates; empowerment, measured by proportion of parliamentary seats occupied by females and proportion of adult females and males aged 25 years and older with at least some secondary education; and economic status, expressed as labor market participation and measured by labor force participation rate of female and male populations aged 15 years and older (UNDP, 2020).
Gini index Gini index measures the extent to which the distribution of a variable over a population deviates from a perfectly equal distribution. A Gini index of zero represents perfect equality and 100, perfect inequality.
GLI Grubel-Lloyd Index (GLI) is calculated on products categorized as manufacturing intermediate inputs (e.g. parts and components), computed at the industry level (as defined by the 4 digit Harmonized System classification) and then aggregated at the sectoral level using bilateral trade shares. (UNCTAD, 2021a)
Global Diplomacy Index Global Diplomacy Index includes a full listing of all diplomatic representations abroad from 61 countries, for a total of 7320 missions (Lowy Institute, 2019).
Global Presence Index Global Presence Index is a composite index that assesses 130 countries along three pillars: economic (investments and exports of goods, services and energy), military (troops and military equipment) and soft power (development cooperation, education, science, technology, culture, sports, tourism and migration) (Elcano Royal Institute, 2020).
Global Soft Power Index Global Soft Power Index is a composite index calculated from extensive public opinion surveys and expert assessments, evaluating the soft power of 60 countries, mostly high- and middle-income economies, along seven pillars: business and trade, governance, international relations, cultural and heritage, media and communication, education and science, and people and values. The data collection of the 2020 index took place in autumn 2019.
GNI Gross national income
GNP Gross national product
Goods discharged Merchandise destined for import, also referred to as “inbound trade volumes”. (UNCTAD, 2021b)
Goods loaded Merchandise destined for export, also referred to as “outbound trade volumes”. (UNCTAD, 2021b)
GPT Generalized preferential tariff
GRI Global Reporting Initiative
GSP Generalized System of Preferences
Gt Gigaton
GTA Global Trade Alert
GVC Global value chain
GW A gigawatt (GW) is a unit of measurement of electrical power. It is equal to one billion watts.
GWP Global Warming Potential (GWP) is an index measuring the radiative forcing following an emission of a unit mass of a given substance, accumulated over a chosen time horizon, relative to that of the reference substance, CO2. The GWPthus represents the combined effect of the differing times these substances remain in the atmosphere and their effectiveness in causing radiative forcing (IPCC, 2014).
HAI Human assets index
HDI Human development index
HHI Herfindahl-Hirschman Index is a common measure of market concentration
HICs High-income developing countries
HPCDP Holistic Productive Capacities Development Programme
HPCDPs Holistic Productive Capacities Development Programmes
HS The Harmonized System (HS) is an international nomenclature developed by the World Customs Organization, which is arranged in six-digit codes allowing all participating countries to classify traded goods on a common basis. Beyond the six-digit level, countries are free to introduce national distinctions for tariffs and many other purposes.
IAASB International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board
IAEG-SDG Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goals indicators
ICCS International Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes
ICD International Classification of Diseases
ICT Information and communications technology (ICT) is a diverse set of technological tools and resources used to transmit, store, create, share or exchange information. These resources include computers, the Internet, live broadcasting technologies, recorded broadcasting technologies and telephony (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2020).
ICT goods ICT goods are those goods that are either intended to fulfil the function of information processing and communication by electronic means, including transmission and display, which use electronic processing to detect, measure and/or record physical phenomena, or to control a physical process (UNCTAD, 2021d).
ICT services ICT services are defined in the alternate aggregation of the ISIC Rev.4 as a component of the ICT sector and include software publishing, telecommunications, computer programming, consultancy and related activities, data processing, hosting and related activities, web portals, and repair of computers and communication equipment (UNCTAD, 2021d).
IDA International Development Association
IDB Integrated Data Base
IEA International Energy Agency
IESBA International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants
IFAD International Fund For Agricultural Development
IFC International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group
IFF Illicit financial flow
IFFs Illicit financial flows
IFRS International Financial Reporting Standards
IFS International Financial Statistics
IFU Investment Fund for developing countries
IGI Inclusive growth index
IIA International Investment Agreement (IIA) are treaties with investment provisions (e.g. a free trade agreement with an investment chapter) between two or more countries include commitments regarding cross-border investments (foreign investment or FDI), typically for the purpose of protection and promotion of such investments. They include two types of agreements: (1) bilateral investment treaties and (2) treaties with investment provisions (UNCTAD, 2022).
IIP Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is a measure of the change in the volume of goods or services produced over time. Its main purpose is to provide a measure of the short-term changes in value added over a given reference period, usually a month or a quarter. The index covers the industrial sector, including mining, manufacturing, electricity and gas, and water and waste (United Nations, 2010).
IIRC International Integrated Reporting Council
Illegal economic activity Illegal production comprises (1) the production of goods or services whose sale, distribution or possession is forbidden by law; (2) production activities which are usually legal but which become illegal when carried out by unauthorised producers, e.g., unlicensed medical practitioners; (3) production which does not comply with certain safety, health or other standards could be defined as illegal; and (4) the scope of illegal production in individual countries depends upon the laws in place, e.g. prostitution (United Nations et al., 2009).
ILO International Labour Organization
IMF International Monetary Fund
IMO International Maritime Organization (IMO)
Import restrictiveness The average level of tariff restrictions on imports as measured by the tariff trade restrictiveness index (TTRI).
IMTS International Merchandise Trade Statistics
In-donor refugee costs In-donor refugee costs include the cost for the first year of receiving refugees and asylum seekers in donor countries. OECD DAC rules have allowed DAC members to report in-donor refugee costs as ODA for decades, but it was considered an exceptional item of ODA reporting, not envisaged to be a major component (Staur, 2023).
Indico Integrated Digital Conferencing (Indico) is an open-source web-based tool for event management system developed and maintained at (CERN, 2022). In this publication, Indico.UN refers to the event registration system of the United Nations based on CERN Indico and managed by the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG, 2022).
INFF Integrated National Financing Framework
Informal economy The informal economy comprises (i) the production of goods and market services of households; and (ii) the activities of corporations (illegal, underground) that may not be covered in the regular data collection framework for compiling macroeconomic statistics. This scope of the informal economy considers not only the domestic activities, but also the cross-border transactions of resident units -—
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Intrapreneur Intrapreneur refers to a manager within a company who promotes innovative product development and marketing.
Investment guarantee An insurance, offered by governments or other institutions, to investors to protect against certain political risks in host countries, such as the risk of discrimination, expropriation, transfer restrictions or breach of contract (UNCTAD, 2015). (UNCTAD, 2015)
IP charges Charges for the use of intellectual property include charges for the use of proprietary rights, such as patents, trademarks, and copyrights, and charges for licenses to use, reproduce, distribute, and sell or purchase intellectual property.
IPA Investment Promotion Agency
IPBES Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
IPEA Institute for Applied Economic Research in Brazil
IPOA Istanbul Programme of Action for LDCs was adopted at the 4th UN Conference on the LDCs in May 2011
ISAR International Standards of Accounting and Reporting
IsDB Islamic Development Bank
ISMs International Support Measures
ISSB International Sustainability Standards Board
ITC International Trade Centre
ITU International Telecommunications Union
IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature
km kilometre
Laboratory-confirmed cases Cases where there has been detection of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid in a clinical specimen.
Land-use change Land-use change refers to a change in the use or management of land by humans, which may lead to a change in land cover (IPCC, 2014).
Latency rate Latency rate is a network performance metric, measured as the round-trip time that it takes for a packet of data to travel from a sending node to the nearest receiving server in each country and back. It is collected by Measurement Lab from a high number of tests performed across networks every day. A higher latency indicates a worse connection quality, therefore affecting network performance and opportunities to use ICTs for business or private connections.
LD Loss and damage
LDC Least developed country
LHS Left Hand Side
LICs Low-income developing countries
Living wage Living wage is defined by the Global Living Wage Coalition to mean the remuneration received for a standard workweek by a worker in a particular place sufficient to afford a decent standard of living for the worker and her or his family. Elements of a decent standard of living include food, water, housing, education, health care, transportation, clothing, and other essential needs including provision for unexpected events.
LLDC Landlocked developing country
Low carbon technology products Low carbon technology products produce less pollution than their traditional energy counterparts, and will play a vital role in the transition to a low carbon economy (IMF, 2023).
MA-TTRI An index measuring the average level of tariff restrictions imposed on exports.
Main bulks This category includes iron ore, grain, coal, bauxite/alumina and phosphate. Starting on 2006, the category was restricted to iron ore, grain and coal only, while bauxite/alumina and phosphate were moved to the category “other dry cargo”. (UNCTAD, 2021b)
Medium and high-tech industry Medium and high-tech industry is an industry in which producers of goods incur relatively high expenditure on research and development (R&D) per unit of output. The distinction between low, medium, and high-tech industries is based on R&D intensity, i.e. the ratio of R&D expenditure to an output measure, usually gross value added. For a list of the particular economic activities, considered to be medium and high-tech (UNIDO, 2021).
MFN Most-favoured-nation (MFN) is a status or level of treatment accorded by one state to another in international trade. Under the WTO agreements, countries cannot normally discriminate between their trading partners. (WTO, 2022b)
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MFN tariffs Most Favoured Nation (MFN) tariffs are a tariff level that a member of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade of the WTO charges on a good to other members, i.e. a country with a most favoured nation status (see UNCTAD, 2018b) It applies to imports from trading partners-members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), unless the country has a preferential trade agreement. It is the lowest possible tariff a country can assess on another country.
MHEWS Multi-hazard Early Warning System
MICs Middle-income developing countries
MIGA Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
Minimum reporting requirement Minimum reporting requirement refers to a core set of economic, environmental, social and governance elements of sustainability information requested from companies in their sustainability reports for the purpose of measuring SDG indicator 12.6.1. Only reports including this information are counted towards the indicator (UNCTAD, 2019).
MNC Multinational corporation
MNE Multinational enterprise group
Mobile money A service in which the mobile phone is used to access financial products and services (GSMA, 2010).
MOPAN Multilateral Organization Performance Assessment Network (MOPAN)
MoU Memorandum of Understanding
MPED Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, Egypt
MSMEs Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises
Mt Million tons. Ton refers to metric ton, as in 1 000 kg, throughout the publication.
Municipal solid waste Municipal solid waste per capita is an environmental indicator that measures the intensity of waste generation relative to population.
MVA Manufacturing value added (MVA) is the net-output of all resident manufacturing activity units. It is obtained by adding up their outputs and subtracting intermediate inputs (United Nations, 2021a). Manufacturing can broadly be understood as "the physical or chemical transformation of materials, substances, or components into new products" (United Nations, 2008), consisting of sector C in the International Standard Industrial Classification of all Economic Activities (ISIC) revision 4 (United Nations, 2021a).
MVI Multidimensional Vulnerability Index
MW Megawatt
N2O Nitrous oxide
NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement
Nairobi Package The Nairobi Package is a series of Ministerial Decisions adopted at the WTO’s Ministerial Conference in Nairobi, 2015. The issues covered relate to agriculture, cotton and LDCs (WTO, 2021d).
National recycling rate National recycling rate is defined as the quantity of material recycled in the country plus quantities exported for recycling minus material imported intended for recycling out of total waste generated in the country. Note that recycling includes codigestion/anaerobic digestion and composting/aerobic process, but not controlled combustion (incineration) or land application. 𝑅𝑒𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 = (𝑀𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑑 + 𝑀𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 − 𝑀𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔) × 100 / 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑤𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 (United Nations, 2023b).
Net private capital flows Net private capital flows include net FDI, net portfolio investment and net other investment, as defined in the balance of payments.
Net-exporter of CO2 Net-exporter of CO2 is a country in which more emissions are generated by the production of goods it exports to other countries than by the production goods it imports from other countries.
NO2 Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is a product of combustion, for instance emitted by road transport, and is generally found in the atmosphere in close association with other primary pollutants. Nitrogen dioxide is toxic, and its concentrations are also often strongly correlated with those of other toxic pollutants. As it is easier to measure, it is often used as a proxy for them. There is growing concern about rising levels of NO2 in fast-growing cities with large numbers of vehicles (WHO, 2006).
Non-observed economy According to the OECD, the groups of activities most likely to be non-observed are those that are underground, illegal, informal sector, or undertaken by households for their own final use. Activities may also be missed because of deficiencies in the basic statistical data collection programme (OECD, 2002).
NPCGAs National Productive Capacities Gap Assessments
NSO National statistical office
NTBs Non-tariff Barriers
NTFC National Trade Facilitation Committee
NTMs Non-tariff measures (NTMs) are policy measures other than ordinary customs tariffs that can potentially have an economic effect on international trade in goods, changing quantities traded, or prices or both such as technical barriers to trade, price-control measures, etc. (UNCTAD, 2021c)
Oceans economy Oceans economy is defined as “a vehicle toward a more sustainable and inclusive economic path on the marine and coastal environment. It encompasses all industries that sustainably utilize and contribute to the conservation of ocean, seas and coastal resources for human benefit in a manner that maintains all ocean resources over time“.
OCHA Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
ODA Official Development Assistance (ODA) are resource flows to countries and territories which are: (a) undertaken by the official sector; (b) with promotion of economic development and welfare as the main objective; (c) at concessional financial terms (implying a minimum grant element depending on the recipient country and the type of loan). In addition to financial flows, technical co-operation is also included (OECD, 2021).
OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
OECD/TOSSD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development/Total Official Support for Sustainable Development
OFDI Outward foreign direct investment
OFDI Outward foreign direct investment
Official international support For the purpose of the SDGs, official international support refers to assistance in the form of official development assistance and other official flows (United Nations, 2021a).
OIE World Organisation for Animal Health
ONS Office for National Statistics of the United Kingdom
OOF Other official flows (OOF) are transactions by the official sector with countries and territories which do not meet the conditions for eligibility as ODA, either because they are not primarily aimed at development or because they do not meet the minimum grant element requirement (OECD, 2021).
OS Optimal scenario
P&C Principles and Criteria
PAHO Pan American Health Organization
Pandemic Commonly described by the WHO as ‘the worldwide spread of a new disease’, no strict definition is provided. In 2009, they set out the basic requirements for a pandemic:

  1. New virus emerges in humans
  2. Minimal or no population immunity
  3. Causes serious illness; high morbidity/mortality
  4. Spreads easily from person to person
  5. Global outbreak of disease.

The US Centre for Disease Control uses a similar approach, but with a reduced set of criteria. It is very difficult to gauge whether the spread of a disease should be termed an outbreak, epidemic or pandemic. In other words, when to declare a pandemic isn’t a black and white decision (Doshi, 2011).

Paris Climate Agreement The Paris Agreement is an agreement within the UNFCCC aiming is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further, to 1.5°C. It aims to strengthen countries’ ability to deal with the impacts of climate change. To reach these ambitious goals, appropriate financial flows, a new technology framework and an enhanced capacity building framework are intended to support developing countries, in line with their national objectives (UNFCCC, 2016).
PBL Planbureau voor de Leefomgeving
PCA Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is a multivariate statistical technique that reduces the observed variables to orthogonal principal components that explain as much of the variance in the data as possible (Jolliffe, 2002).
PCI Productive Capacities Index (PCI) is a multidimensional composite index that measures productive capacities of economies by using eight categories: natural and human capital, energy, institutions, private sector, structural change, transport and information, and communication technologies, which together yield the multidimensional productive capacity index (UNCTAD, 2024)
PCM+ Partner Country Method Plus
PFM+ Price Filter Method Plus
PHEIC Public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC): Serious public health events that endanger international public health. This term is defined in as “an extraordinary event which is determined [...]:

  • to constitute a public health risk to other States through the international spread of disease; and
  • to potentially require a coordinated international response”.

This definition implies a situation that: is serious, unusual or unexpected; carries implications for public health beyond the affected State’s national border; and may require immediate international action. The responsibility of determining whether an event is within this category lies with the WHO Director-General and requires the convening of a committee of experts, the IHR Emergency Committee. This committee advises the Director-General on the recommended measures to be promulgated on an emergency basis, known as temporary recommendations. Temporary recommendations include health measures to be implemented by the State Party experiencing the PHEIC, or by other States Parties, to prevent or reduce the international spread of disease and avoid unnecessary interference with international traffic (WHO, 2005).
PIANC The World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure (PIANC)
PMI Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) is a monthly indicator of expected economic activity, collected by surveying senior executives at private sector companies. The PMI is a weighted average of five sub-indices measuring new orders, output, employment, suppliers’ delivery times and stocks of purchases. It is calculated for the total economy as well as for specific sectors, such as manufacturing, construction, services, etc. A figure of 50 indicates that no change in economic production is expected; a value above 50 means that the economy is expected to grow, a value below 50 that it is expected to contract (Refinitiv, 2022).
PNG Publicly Non-Guaranteed debt (PNG) is an external debt of the private sector that is not contractually guaranteed by a public sector unit resident in the same economy (IMF, 2014). Unless otherwise indicated, only long-term debt (maturity of more than one year) is included.
PPE Personal protective equipment
PPG Publicly guaranteed debt (PPG) is an external obligation of the private sector, the servicing of which is contractually guaranteed by a public unit resident in the same economy as the debtor (IMF, 2014). Unless otherwise indicated, only long-term debt (maturity of more than one year) is included.
PPI Private Participation in Infrastructure
PPP Purchasing power parity
PPPs Public Private Partnerships
Preferential status Trade preferences, such as lower or zero tariffs, which a member may offer to a trade partner unilaterally.
PRGT The Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust is a trust housed in the IMF which provides concessional assistance to low‐income member countries.
Private flows Private flows consist of flows at market terms financed out of private sector resources and private grants. They include FDI, private export credits, securities of multilateral agencies and bilateral portfolio investment. Private flows other than FDI are restricted to credits with a maturity of greater than one year (OECD, 2021).
Productive capacities UNCTAD defines productive capacities as consisting of the productive resources, entrepreneurial capabilities and production linkages that together determine a country’s ability to produce goods and services that will help it grow and develop (UNCTAD, 2006)
PTA Preferential Trade Arrangement (PTA) This includes what WTO refers to as regional trade agreements and also free trade agreements, custom unions, common markets, or enlargement and accession agreements.
Public bond debt Public debt in the form of sovereign international bonds traded in international capital markets (UNCTAD, 2017).
Public sector debt All debt liabilities of resident public sector units to other residents and nonresidents (IMF, 2014).
R&D Research and development (R&D) comprise creative and systematic work undertaken in order to increase the stock of knowledge – including knowledge of humankind, culture and society – and to devise new applications of available knowledge (OECD, 2015) (see also United Nations et al., 2009, para 10.103).
R&D intensity R&D intensity is defined as the ratio of gross domestic expenditure on research and development (GERD) to GDP (OECD, 2015).
R&D services Research and experimental development (R&D) comprise creative and systematic work undertaken in order to increase the stock of knowledge
– including knowledge of humankind, culture and society – and to devise new applications of available knowledge. (The OECD Frascati Manual)
The definition used for international trade (MSITS 2010) includes testing and product development that may give rise to patents, as an addition.
Ratio of debt service on long-term external PPG as a percentage of government revenue This indicator measures a government’s ability to meet external creditor claims on the public sector through government revenues.
Red List Index The Red List Index (RLI) allows countries to track their progress towards targets for reducing biodiversity loss shows trends in overall extinction risk for species. It is based on changes in the number of species in each category of extinction risk on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. A value of 1 equates to all species qualifying as least concern, i.e., not expected to become extinct in the near future. A value of 0 equates to all species having gone extinct. (IUCN, 2022)
Remittances The term remittances can refer to three concepts, each encompassing the previous one. “Personal remittances” are defined as current and capital transfers in cash or in kind between resident households and non-resident households, plus net compensation of employees working abroad. “Total remittances” include personal remittances plus social benefits from abroad, such as benefits payable under social security or pension funds. “Total remittances and transfers to non-profit institutions serving households (NPISHs)” includes all cross-borders transfers benefiting household directly (total remittances) or indirectly (through NPISHs) (IMF, 2009b).
Resilience The ability of a system, community or society exposed to hazards to resist, absorb, accommodate, adapt to, transform and recover from the effects of a hazard in a timely and efficient manner, including through the preservation and restoration of its essential basic structures and functions through risk management (United Nations, 2016).
Revealed comparative advantage in exports Revealed comparative advantage in exports is the proportion of a country group’s exports by service category divided by the proportion of world exports in the corresponding category.
RFA Regional Financial Agreements
RHS Right Hand Side
RO/RO ships Roll-on/Roll-off ships are cargo ships which are used to transport wheeled cargo, such as cars, buses, etc.
RTA Regional Trade Agreement. Refer to reciprocal trade agreement between two or more partners, not necessarily belonging to the same region. RTA is an exception to the WTO rule of non-discrimination. WTO members are permitted to enter into an RTA under specific conditions. (WTO, 2023a). WTO members are obliged to notify the RTAs in which they participate. All of the WTO's members have notified participation in one or more RTAs (some members are party to 20 or more). Notifications may also refer to the accession of new parties to an agreement that already exists.
SAR Special Administrative Region
SASB Sustainability Accounting Standards Board
SDFA Sustainable Development Finance Assessment
SDG Sustainable Development Goal
SDG index SDG Index is a global assessment of countries' progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. It is a complement to the official SDG indicators and the voluntary national reviews (SDG Index, 2023).
SDR Special Drawing Rights (SDR) (IMF, 2021)
SEGIB Ibero-American General Secretariat
Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR, 2015) is a global agreement endorsed by member states following the 2015 Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. It aims to guide actions to reduce disaster risk and increase the resilience of communities and countries to disasters. The framework outlines seven global targets to be achieved by 2030, namely, the substantial reduction of: (I) global disaster mortality, (II) number of affected people globally, (III) direct economic loss in relation to GDP. These indicators are also included in the 2030 Agenda. The framework also aims to increase the number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies, enhance international cooperation in developing countries, and increase the availability of and access to multi-hazard early warning systems.
Serological tests Tests that do not detect the virus itself but instead detect antibodies produced in response to an infection.
Seroprevalence Level of a pathogen in a population, as measured in blood serum.
SFM Stochastic frontier model
SG Secretary General
Shadow economy The shadow economy includes all economic activities which are hidden from official authorities for monetary, regulatory, and institutional reasons (Medina and Schneider, 2018).
Shallow Trade Agreements Shallow Trade Agreements are reciprocal agreements between countries that cover tariffs and other border measures.
Short-term debt Debt liabilities having a maturity of one year or less; maturity can be defined on an original or reminaing basis (IMF, 2014). Interests in arrears on long-term debt are included within short-term debt.
SIDS

Small island developing states (SIDS) were recognized as a distinct group of developing countries at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. More information on UNCTAD official page.
SIDVS Small island developing and vulnerable states
Simple average MFN tariff Simple average of MFN applied duties.
SITC Standard International Trade Classification. The commodity groupings of SITC reflect (a) the materials used in production, (b) the processing stage, (c) market practices and uses of the products, (d) the importance of the commodities in terms of world trade, and (e) technological changes.
SITS Statistics of International Trade in Services
SME Small- and medium-sized enterprise
SNA System of national accounts
Soft infrastructure Ideas and conceptual frameworks that give shape and direction to what is eventually physically manifest (FutureStructure, 2013).
SPS Sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS): Any measure applied: (a) to protect animal or plant life or health within the territory of the trade partner from risks arising from the entry, establishment or spread of pests, diseases, disease-carrying organisms or disease-causing organisms; (b) to protect human or animal life or health within the territory of the trade partner from risks arising from additives, contaminants, toxins or diseases causing organisms in foods, beverages or feedstuffs; (c) to protect human life or health within the territory of the trade partner from risks arising from diseases carried by animals, plants or products thereof, or from the entry, establishment or spread of pests; or (d) to prevent or limit other damage within the territory of the trade partner from the entry, establishment or spread of pests (UNCTAD, 2003).
SSA Sub-Saharan Africa
SSC

Broad framework of collaboration among countries of the Global South in the political, economic, social, cultural, environmental and technical domains. It includes trade, FDI, regional integration efforts, technology transfers, sharing of solutions and experts, and other forms. Involving two or more developing countries, it can take place on a bilateral, regional, intraregional or interregional basis  (UNOSSC, 2020).
Stocks-to-use ratio Stocks-to-use ratio for a given commodity in an economy is the ratio of market-year ending stock over domestic consumption (Bobenrieth et al., 2013). For the world it is as world stocks divided by world use.
Structural transformation Structural transformation or change can be broadly defined as the reallocation of economic activity across three broad sectors, agriculture, manufacturing and services, which accompanies the process of economic growth (Kuznets, 1966). It usually refers to the transfer or shift of production factors — especially labour, capital and land — away from activities and sectors with low productivity to those with higher productivity, which are typically different in location, organization and technology (UNCTAD, 2006; Rodrik, 2013).
sustainability of fisheries Sustainability of fisheries is measured by SDG indicator 14.4.1. A fish stock that can produce the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) is classified as biologically sustainable. In contrast, when the abundance of the fish stock falls below the MSY level, the stock is considered biologically unsustainable (FAO, 2023).
Sustainability report Sustainability report is a document published by an entity describing the economic, social, environmental impacts caused by its activities; it is composed of a certain number of disclosures along the main pillars of sustainable development (GRI, 2019).
Tariff line A single item in a country’s tariff schedule (United Nations, 2021a).
Tariff peak A single tariff or a small group of tariffs that is/are particularly high.
Tariffs Tariffs “are customs duties on merchandise imports, levied either on an ad valorem basis (percentage of value) or on a specific basis (e.g. $7 per 100 kg). Tariffs can be used to create a price advantage for similar locally produced goods and for raising government revenues. Trade remedy measures and taxes are not considered to be tariffs.” (United Nations, 2021a)
TBT Technical barriers to trade (TBT) are measures referring to technical regulations, and procedures for assessment of conformity with technical regulations and standards.
TDB UNCTAD Trade and Development Board
TEU Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit
TFA The WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation came into force on 22 February 2017 following its ratification by two-thirds of the WTO membership. The TFA contains provisions for expediting the movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit. It also sets out measures for effective cooperation between customs and other appropriate authorities on trade facilitation and customs compliance issues. It further contains provisions for technical assistance and capacity building in this area.
Tier I Tier I means that a SDG indicator has been classified by the IAEG-SDG as being conceptually clear, has an internationally established methodology and standards are available, and data are regularly produced by countries for at least 50 per cent of countries and of the population in every region where the indicator is relevant.
Tier II indicator SDG indicator that is conceptually clear, has an internationally established methodology and standards are available, but data are not regularly produced by countries (United Nations Statistics Division, 2020).
Tier III indicator SDG indicator for which there is no internationally established methodology or standards yet available, but methodology or standards are being (or will be) developed or tested (United Nations Statistics Division, 2020).
TORs Terms Of References
TOSSD Total Official Support for Sustainable Development
Total resource flows In the context of the IAEG-SDG, these flows quantify the overall expenditures that donors provide to developing countries, including official and private flows, both concessional and non-concessional. Specifically, they include ODA, OOFs and private flows (United Nations, 2021a).
Tourism direct GDP Tourism direct GDP measures direct contributions of tourism to the national economy, since tourism does not exist as a separate industry in the standard industrial classification. Instead, it is embedded in various other industries. (no SDG metadata)
Tourism sector Tourism sector is the cluster of production units in different industries that provide consumption goods and services demanded by visitors. Such industries are called tourism industries because visitor acquisition represents such a significant share of their supply that in the absence of visitors, the production of these would cease to exist in meaningful quantities (UNWTO and ILO, 2014).
TP Transition Pathways
Trade in services In the international trade in services context, services are understood as the result of a production activity that changes the conditions of the consuming units or facilitates the exchange of products or financial assets (IMF, 2009a). Following the balance-of-payments classification, trade in services refers to manufacturing services, repair services, transport, travel, construction, telecommunications, computer services, financial services, insurance, intellectual-property related and other business services, as well as personal and cultural services, and government services.
Trade misinvoicing Trade misinvoicing refers to the act of misrepresenting the price or quantity of imports or exports in order to hide or accumulate money in other jurisdictions (United Nations, 2021b).
TRAINS Trade Analysis and Information System
TRIPS Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
TTRI Tariff trade restrictiveness index (TTRI) is an index measuring the average level of tariff restrictions imposed on imports.
TWG Technical Working Group
UN -Habitat United Nations Human Settlements Programme
UN Women UN Women is the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women (UN Women).
UNCCD United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
Underground economy Underground production consists of activities that are productive in an economic sense and quite legal (provided certain standards or regulations are complied with), but which are deliberately concealed from public authorities for the following reasons: (i) to avoid the payment of income, value added or other taxes; (ii) to avoid payment of social security contributions; (iii) to avoid meeting certain legal standards such as minimum wages, maximum hours, safety or health standards, etc; or (iv) to avoid complying with certain administrative procedures, such as completing statistical questionnaires or other administrative forms (United Nations et al., 2009).
Undernourishment For the purposes of SDG Indicator 2.1.1, undernourishment is defined as a dietary energy intake that is below what is needed to retain a minimum acceptable BMI at low physical activity. The prevalence of undernourishment in a population is estimated based on mean and variation of consumption in calories in that population (United Nations, 2022b).
UNDESA United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNDRR United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
Unemployment The unemployed comprise all persons of working age who were: (a) without work during the reference period, i.e. were not in paid employment or self-employment; (b) currently available for work, i.e. were available for paid employment or self-employment during the reference period; and (c) seeking work, i.e. had taken specific steps in a specified recent period to seek paid employment or self-employment. Future starters, that is, persons who did not look for work but have a future labour market stake (made arrangements for a future job start) are also counted as unemployed, as well as participants in skills training or retraining schemes within employment promotion programmes, and persons “not in employment” who carried out activities to migrate abroad in order to work for pay or profit but who were still waiting for the opportunity to leave (ILO, 2020).
UNEP United Nations Environment Programme
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNESCO UIS United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Institute of Statistics
UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
UNFPA United Nations Population Fund
UNGC United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) is a voluntary initiative based on company-level commitments to adopt sustainability and socially responsible principles and to take steps to support UN goals (United Nations Global Compact, 2020).
UNICEF United Nations Children's Fund
UNITAR United Nations Institute for Training and Research
UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
UNOG United Nations Office in Geneva
UNOSSC United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation
UNSD United Nations Statistics Division
UNSDCF United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework
UNU-EHS United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security
VAR Vector autoregression
W Watt
WCO World Customs Organization
WEF World Economic Forum
WEI Women’s Empowerment Index is a composite index that measures the level of women’s empowerment across five dimensions: life and good health (two indicators); education, skill-building and knowledge (two indicators); labour and financial inclusion (two indicators), participation in decisionmaking (three indicators); and freedom from violence (one indicator).
Weighted mean applied tariff The average of effectively applied rates weighted by the product import shares corresponding to each partner country (World Bank, 2022a).
Weighted tariff-average Weighted average of tariffs applied to imports of goods in HS chapter 01-97. The tariffs are weighted by the value of the imported goods to which they are applied. It is expressed as percentage of the value of goods imported. The average level of customs tariff rates applied worldwide can be used as an indicator of the degree of success achieved by multilateral negotiations and regional trade agreements. See metadata for indicator 17.10.1 (United Nations, 2021a).
WFP World Food Programme
WHO World Health Organization
WMO World Meteorological Organization
WRI World Resources Institute
WTO World Trade Organization
WTO TFA World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade Facilitation (WTO TFA)

References