Facing the challenge of measuring the unmeasurable

UN DESA’s Statistics Division plays a vital role in collecting and analyzing data from around the world. Leading this work is Professor Paul Cheung, known worldwide for his contributions to the development of official statistics. “Statistics are crucial to economic and social development,” he says in an interview for DESA News. Read more

Making strides towards extreme poverty eradication

As the global economy remains fragile at the outset of 2012, the need to eradicate extreme poverty is clearer than ever. UN DESA renews its commitment to work with stakeholders to promote sustained, inclusive and equitable growth, and reach the Millennium Development Goal of halving extreme poverty by 2015. Read more

New ECOSOC President outlines focus for 2012

“While some nations escape the poverty-trap, many more desperately need help. In 2012, ECOSOC must therefore carve out its niche as the forum for frank, free-flowing discourse on development cooperation,” said H.E. Mr. Miloš Koterec, its newly elected President at the handover ceremony on 10 January in New York. Read more

Technical reports

World Youth Report 2011: youth perspectives on the pursuit of decent work in changing times

The World Youth Report, to be officially released on 6 February, explores the transition of young people from schools and training institutions into the labour market, a phase marking a critical period in the life cycle. The current employment scenario for young people, worsened by the global economic crisis, poses an urgent challenge with long-term implications for both young people and society as a whole. Read more

Ms. Hania Zlotnik, Director of UN DESA’s Population Division, retired at the end of January 2012. A Mexican national, Ms. Zlotnik studied mathematics at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) and holds a Ph.D. in Statistics and Demography from Princeton University. Read more