World Health Statistics 2018

Book excerpt: The World Health Statistics series is WHO's annual compilation of health statistics for its 194 member states. World health statistics 2018 focuses on the health and health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and associated targets by bringing together data on a wide range of health-related SDG indicators. It also links to the three SDG-aligned strategic priorities of the WHO's 13th General Programme of Work, 2019-2023. World health statistics 2018 is organised into three parts. First, in order to improve understanding and interpretation of the data presented, Part 1 outlines the different types of data used and provides an overview of their compilation, processing and analysis. The resulting statistics are then publicised by WHO through its flagship products such as the World Health Statistics series. In Part 2, summaries are provided of the current status of selected health-related SDG indicators at global and regional levels, based on data available as of early 2018. In Part 3, each of these three strategic priorities of achieving universal health coverage (UHC), addressing health emergencies and promoting healthier populations are illustrated through the use of highlight stories. In Annexes A and B, country-level statistics are presented for selected health-related SDG indicators. Annex B presents statistics at WHO regional and global levels.