We
utilize a number of publicly available data sources on this blog and today we highlight those sources to encourage data utilization. Data is important because it can be used to generate evidence to make informed decisions, to help solve problems, to plan and make predictions, provide support of arguments etc.
Most international development agencies have databases with a variety of indicators that do not require any statistical analysis and can be used by anyone. These include demographic data from the U.N; health data from the WHO; development data from the World Bank; labour force data from the ILO; and education data from UNESCO.
The Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) collect a wealth of demographic and health information and conduct repeated surveys in countries which allows for looking at time trends. These surveys produce detailed reports that present a considerable amount of data.