The following snapshots of progress — or lack of progress, in some cases — give an overview of a range of key areas, in each case looking at changes that took place between 1990 and 2010 (or the nearest years for which data are available). Our objective is to illustrate the direction of travel rather than to suggest that any given problem is hopeless or has been “solved”. Where has there been progress that needs to be built on, and where are we off track?

Sources: Data collected from various sources, including the United Nations, the United Nations Environment Programme, the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the International Energy Agency, the World Meteorological Organization, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund.