Indicator: 10.6.1
10.6.1/16.8.1
Last updated: 19 July 2016
ENG
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Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries
Target 10.6: Ensure enhanced representation and voice for developing countries in decision-making in global international economic and financial institutions in order to deliver more effective, credible, accountable and legitimate institutions
Indicator 10.6.1: Proportion of members and voting rights of developing countries in international organizations
Institutional information
Organization(s)
Financing for Development Office, DESA (FFDO)
Concepts and definitions
Definition
The proportion of members and voting rights of developing countries in international organizations has two components, the developing country proportion of voting rights and the developing country proportion of membership in international organisations. In some institutions these two components are identical.
Rationale
The United Nations is based on a principle of sovereign equality of all its Member States (Article 2, UN Charter). This indicator aims to measure the degree to which States enjoy equal representation in different international organizations.
Concepts
The indicator is calculated independently for eleven different international institutions: The United Nations General Assembly, the United Nations Security Council, the United Nations Economic and Social Council, the International Monetary Fund, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Finance Corporation, the African Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Trade Organisation, and the Financial Stability Board.
There is no established convention for the designation of “developed” and “developing” countries or areas in the United Nations system. In common practice, Japan in Asia, Canada and the United States in northern America, Australia and New Zealand in Oceania, and Europe are considered “developed” regions or areas. The aggregation across all institutions is currently done according to the United Nations M.49 statistical standard which includes designation of “developed regions” and “developing regions”, while an ongoing review seeks to reach agreement on how to define these terms for the purposes of SDG monitoring. The designations “developed” and developing” are intended for statistical convenience and do not necessarily express a judgement about the stage reached by a particular country or area in the development process.
Comments and limitations
Cross institutional comparisons needs to pay attention to the different membership of the institutions. Voting rights and membership in their institutions are agreed by the Member States themselves. As a structural indicator, there will be only small changes over time to reflect agreement on new States joining as Members, suspension of voting rights, membership withdrawal and negotiated voting rights changes.
Methodology
Computation method
The computation uses each institutions’ own published membership and voting rights data from their respective annual reports. The proportion of voting rights is computed as the number of voting rights allocated to developing countries, divided by the total number of voting rights. The proportion of membership is calculated by taking the number of developing country members, divided by the total number of members.
Disaggregation
Data is calculated and presented separately for each international organization.
Data sources
Description
Annual reports, as presented on the website of the institution in question, are used as sources of data.
Sources of information by institution:
United Nations General Assembly: website of the General Assembly
United Nations Security Council: Report of the Security Council for the respective year
United Nations Economic and Social Council: Report of the Economic and Social Council for the respective year
International Monetary Fund: Annual Report for the respective year
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development: Management’s Discussion & Analysis and Financial Statements for the respective year
International Finance Corporation: Annual Report (volume 2) for the respective year
African Development Bank: Annual Report for the respective year
Asian Development Bank: Annual Report for the respective year
Inter-American Development Bank: Annual Report for the respective year
World Trade Organisation: WTO Annual Report 2015
Financial Stability Board: Charters of the Financial Stability Board
List:
General Assembly website;
Report of the Security Council;
Report of the Economic and Social Council,
Report of the International Monetary Fund;
IBRD’s Management’s Discussion & Analysis and Financial Statements;
IFC Annual Report (volume 2);
AfDB Annual Report;
ADB Annual Report;
IADB Annual Report;
WTO Annual Report;
Charters of the Financial Stability Board
Data availability
Available for all countries.
Calendar
Data release
United Nations General Assembly:
continuous
United Nations Security Council:
annually in September
United Nations Economic and Social Council:
annually in October
International Monetary Fund:
annually in October
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development:
annually in September
International Finance Corporation:
annually in September
African Development Bank:
annually in May
Asian Development Bank:
annually in April
Inter-American Development Bank:
annually in April
World Trade Organisation:
annually in May
Financial Stability Board:
annually in January
(UNGA: continuous UNSC: September 2016 ECOSOC: October 2016 IMF: October 2016 IBRD: September 2016 IFC: September 2016 AfDB: May 2017 ADB: April 2017 IADB: April 2017 WTO: May 2017 FSB: January 2017)
Data providers
Name
UNGA, UNSC, ECOSOC, IMF, IBRD, IFC, AfDB, ADB, IADB, WTO, FSB
Description
The United Nations General Assembly, the United Nations Security Council, the United Nations Economic and Social Council, the International Monetary Fund, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Finance Corporation, the African Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Trade Organisation, and the Financial Stability Board.
Data compilers
Name
FFD/UN-DESA
Description
The data is compiled and the proportions calculated by the Financing for Development Office, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Reference
URL
https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/