The Portal’s Interactive Data interface serves to understand the progress made over time per country and region as well as to shed light on existing data gaps.
Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right but also necessary to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To help the international community and national governments to gather information and mobilize resources to meet the SDG goals, each SDG includes targets to specify the goals and indicators to represent the metrics by which the world aims to track whether the targets are achieved. Goal 5 on gender equality has 9 targets and 14 indicators. Efforts have been directed toward increasing the availability of gender data and statistics to support monitoring and reporting on such progress.
Of the 9 indicators of Goal 5, only two have sufficient data, namely, 5.5 "Ensure full participation in leadership and decision-making" and 5.1 "End all forms of discrimination against women and girls everywhere". Based on the measured indicators, the biggest challenge in the region is to close gender gaps in wage and labour force participation. Available data for related indicators underscores that the attention must be directed towards critical areas such as violence against women and girls (target 5.2), harmful practices (target 5.3), and unpaid care and domestic work (target 5.4). The region is unlikely to achieve SDG 5 by 2030 unless Governments make significant investments to accelerate the progress to meet the agreed-upon global targets.
The data per indicators are available in the SDG Global Database and serve to understand the progress made over time per country and region towards SDG 5 as well as to shed light on existing data gaps.
Data Availability by Indicator
5.1 End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere
5.1.1 Whether or not legal frameworks are in place to promote, enforce and monitor equality and non-discrimination on the basis of sex (see metadata here)
This indicator measures government efforts to put in place legal frameworks that promote, enforce and monitor gender equality. The custodian agencies used for this target are provided by UN Women, OECD and UNDP. They are proposed to assess this indicator using a questionnaire comprising 44 binary questions under four areas: overarching legal frameworks and public life; violence against women; employment and economic benefits; and marriage and family. Given that the trend data in the region is limited—for example, less have been achieved regarding legal frameworks for employment and economic benefits—, gender equality outcomes have shown a mixed picture. To provide a broader trend analysis, related sources of this indicator are available in ESCAP SDG database, including 5.a.2, ‘Proportion of countries where the legal framework (including customary law) guarantees women’s equal rights to land ownership and/or control’ and 5.6.2, ‘Number of countries with laws and regulations that guarantee full and equal access to women and men aged 15 years and older to sexual and reproductive health care, information and education’. Supplementary data to refer to this indicator such as Women, Business and the Law Data and Women Business and the Law Index Score (scale 1-100) measure legal differences between men’s and women’s access to economic opportunities in 190 economies for the period of 1971-2022 (calendar years 1970 to 2021). By comprehensively measuring the 8 indicators (mobility, workplace, pay, marriage, parenthood, entrepreneurship, assets and pension), Women, Business and the Law strengthens insights into how women’s employment and entrepreneurship are affected by legal gender discrimination, and in turn, how this affects economic outcomes. There is legislation specifically addressing domestic violence (1=yes; 0=no) provided by The World Bank to indicate the legislation concerning violence against women. Another related source is SheTrades Outlook which is an online tool that uses first of its kind data to explore and compare how countries are addressing gender in trade policies and practices. It has compiled extensive data from countries to assess the level of women’s empowerment across six areas: trade policy, legal and regulatory framework, business environment, access to skills, access to finance, work, and society. These related sources provide similar data closely related to the definition and methodology of indicator 5.1.1. In doing so, the data provide suitable complements to this indicator and can be further explored as a reference for legal frameworks and regulation progress concerning gender equality and women’s empowerment. It must be emphasized that the supplementary data sources are provided by organizations other than the custodian agencies and not endorsed by the UN.
5.2 Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation
5.2.1 Proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by form of violence and by age (see metadata here)
This indicator measures the proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual, or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months by form of violence and by age. The custodian agencies used for this indicator are provided by UN Women, UNICEF, UNSD, WHO, UNFPA and the data is not sufficient. Related indicator 5.6.1 - Proportion of women aged 15-49 years who make their own informed decisions regarding sexual relations, contraceptive use and reproductive health care (as includes a component on saying no to sex) and 16.2.3 population aged 18-29 who experienced sexual violence by age 18 (% of female aged 18-29) are also available in the ESCAP SDG database. Supplementary data to refer to this indicator, mainly to physicial and sexual violence against women and girls, are provided by the World Bank Group and are focused on the Proportion of women who have ever experienced any form of sexual violence (% of women age 15-49), the Proportion of women subjected to physical and/or sexual violence in the last 12 months (% of women age 15-49) and the Proportion of women who have sought help to stop physical or sexual violence (% of women age 15-49). The proportion of lifetime non-partner sexual violence can be found on WHO Global Database on the Prevalence of Violence Against Women[1]. Although these sources provide similar data closely related to the definition and methodology for this indicator and are suitable complements, they are also limited in the assessment of violence against women, mainly in providing data related to psychological violence.
5.2.2 Proportion of women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to sexual violence by persons other than an intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by age and place of occurrence (see metadata here)
There is no data of indicator 5.2.2 available in the ESCAP SDG database up to now, but related indicator 16.2.3 population aged 18-29 who experienced sexual violence by age 18 (% of female aged 18-29) and 5.2.1 - violence against women (by intimate partner) are available in the database. The proportion of lifetime non-partner sexual violence can be found on WHO Global Database on the Prevalence of Violence Against Women. Please note that only regional data is provided and that the membership of WHO regions is not consistent with ESCAP regions. The World Bank Group also provides related data sources of indicator 5.2.2, such as Proportion of women who have ever experienced any form of sexual violence (% of women age 15-49), Proportion of women subjected to physical and/or sexual violence in the last 12 months (% of women age 15-49) and Proportion of women who have sought help to stop physical or sexual violence (% of women age 15-49). These sources provide similar data closely related to the definition and methodology of indicator 5.2.2 which are suitable complements to the data collection of this indicator and can be further explored in reference to violence against women.
[1] Only regional data is provided and that the membership of WHO regions is not consistent with ESCAP regions.
5.3.1 Proportion of women aged 20–24 years who were married or in a union before age 15 and before age 18 (see metadata here)
5.3.1 Proportion of women aged 20–24 years who were married or in a union before age 15 and before age 18 (see metadata here)
This indicator is defined as the percentage of women aged 20-24 years who were married (formal union) or in a cohabiting union (informal union) before age 15 and before 18. The custodian agency used for indicator is UNICEF and the data collection of this indicator provide information in the region and presents the percentage of women who were married or in a union by differentiating urban and rural areas as well as four wealth quintiles—1st wealth quantile (poorest), 2nd wealth quantile, 3rd wealth quantile, and 4th wealth quantile (richest). A related indicator 3.7.2 - Adolescent births is available on ESCAP SDG database. Supplementary data to refer to this indicator is provided by the World Bank Group: Adolescent fertility rate (births per 1,000 women ages 15-19) and Female's mean age at first marriage. These data sources provide similar data closely related to the definition and methodology of indicator 5.3.1 and are suitable complements to this indicator to further explore women’s marriage situation in the region. Please note that the supplementary data are external data not endorsed by the UN.
5.3.2 Proportion of girls and women aged 15–49 years who have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting, by age (see metadata here)
This indicator is defined as the percentage of girls and women aged 15-49 who have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting and refers to all procedures involving partial or total removal of the female external genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. Household surveys such as UNICEF-supported MICS and DHS have been collecting data on this indicator in low- and middle-income countries since the late 1980s. The practice of FGM is customary in many parts of Asia-Pacific according to reports FGM In The Asia Pacific Region. However, most national statistical offices do not collect data, which made the data available in this region very limited. Supplementary data, such as one provided by the World Bank Group, offer global data of indicator 5.3.2 female genital mutilation prevalence (%) of different regions in the world. Most countries with available data are from Africa and only the Republic of Maldives in the ESCAP region provide few data points. The prevalence of female genital mutilation can be interpreted alongside with other indicators about women’s well-being, including those on women’s health under Goal 3 (3.7.2 - Adolescent births, 3.1.1 - Maternal mortality), those on the status of women under Goal 5, and those around violence against women under Goal 16 16.2.3 - population aged 18-29 who experienced sexual violence by age 18 (% of female aged 18-29) .These data sources provide similar data closely related to the definition and methodology of indicator 5.3.2 and are suitable complements for this indicator as reference of information concerning harmful practices to women. Please note that the supplementary data to refer to this indicator are external data not endorsed by the UN.
5.4 Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate
5.4.1 Proportion of time spent on unpaid domestic and care work, by sex, age and location (see metadata here)
This indicator is defined as the proportion of time spent in a day on unpaid domestic and care work by men and women. Unpaid domestic and care work refers to activities related to the provision of services for won final use by household members, or by family members living in other households. The custodian agencies for this indicator are DESA-UNSD, UN Women and UNSD and the data collection is based on the activities listed by ICATUS 2016 and differentiated by rural and urban areas and by ages between women and men (15 age to 65+) as well as girls and boys (age 6 to 15). Supplementary data, such as the one provided by the International Labour Organization (ILO), offer related data sources of this indicator, namely, Children in domestic work by sex and age (thousands) and Children in child labour in domestic work by sex and age (thousands). These data sources provide similar data closely related to the definition and methodology of indicator 5.4.1 and are suitable complements to this indicator as a reference of information concerning women’s unpaid domestic and care work. Please note that the supplementary data to refer to this indicator are external data not endorsed by the UN.
5.5 Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life
5.5.1 Proportion of seats held by women in (a) national parliaments and (b) local governments (see metadata here)
Sub-indicator (a) measures the number of seats held by women members in single or lower chambers of national parliaments as a percentage of all occupied seats. While it covers the single chamber in unicameral parliaments and the lower chamber in bicameral parliaments, it does not cover the upper chamber of bicameral parliaments. Sub-indicator (b) expresses the percentage of elected positions held by women in legislative/deliberative bodies of local government. Most countries in Asia Pacific region have sufficient data of this indicator. The custodian agencies used for this target are IPU and UN Women. A related indicator 16.7.1 - Population representativity in public institutions is also available in ESCAP SDG database and measures how representative of the general population are the individuals occupying key decision-making positions in national legislatures. More specifically, it measures the proportional representation of various demographic groups (women, age groups) in Supplementary data, such as the proportion of women in ministerial level positions (%), is provided by the World Bank Group and reflects women’s leadership in public sectors. This data source provides similar data closely related to the definition and methodology of indicator 5.5.1 and serves as a suitable complement to the topic of this indicator and as a reference of information concerning women’s effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life. Please note that the supplementary data to refer to this indicator are external and not endorsed by the UN.
5.5.2 Proportion of women in managerial positions (see metadata here)
This indicator refers to the proportion of women in the total number of persons employed in managerial popsitions. Two different measures are recommended to use jointly: the share of females
in (total) management and the share of females in senior and middle management (thus excluding junior). The joint calculation of these two measures provides information on whether women are more represented in junior management than in senior and middle management, thus pointing to an eventual ceiling for women to access higher-level management positions. In these cases, calculating only the share of women in (total) management would be misleading, in that it would suggest that women hold positions with more decision-making power and responsibilities than they actually do. The custodian agency for this indicator is ILO (ILOSTAT) and the data collection comprises all persons of working age who are engaged in any activity to produce goods or provide services for pay or profit. A related indicator 8.5.1 Average hourly earnings of employees, by sex, age, occupation and persons with disabilities is available in ESCAP SDG database to provide comparison of income of male and female in different countries, which can indirectly indicate their different status in workplace. Supplementary data, provided by the World Bank Group, are Firms with female top manager (% of firms) and Proportion of women in ministerial level positions (%) and reflect the depth and breadth of female’s leadership in business and public sectors. These data sources provide similar data closely related to the definition and methodology of indicator 5.5.2, which are suitable complements to the topic of this indicator and serve as a reference of information concerning women’s effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic, and public life. Please note that the supplementary data to refer to this indicator are external data and not endorsed by the UN.
5.6 Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on
5.6.1 Proportion of women aged 15–49 years who make their own informed decisions regarding sexual relations, contraceptive use and reproductive health care (see metadata here)
This indicator is defined as the percentage of women aged 15-49 years who are married (or in union) and make their own decision in all three areas of: sexual intercourse with their partner (can say no to sexual intercourse with their husband or partner if they do not want), use of contraceptive, and their healthcare. The custodian agency for this indicator is UNFPA and the data availability of this indicator is insufficient. Related indicators are available in ESCAP SDG database, including 3.1.1 - Maternal mortality, 3.1.2 - Births attended by skilled health personnel, 3.7.1 - Family planning satisfied with modern methods (the components of the indicator are contraceptive and unmet need for family planning) and 3.7.2 - Adolescent births. Supplementary data for this indicator are provided by the World Bank Group and offer related data sources, namely, Women who believe a wife is justified refusing sex with her husband (%), Unmet need for contraception (% of married women ages 15-49), Contraceptive prevalence (% of women ages 15-49), Women participating in decisions related to health care, purchases, visiting family, and cooking (%) and Demand for family planning satisfied (% of married women with demand for family planning). These data sources provide similar data closely related to the definition and methodology of this indicator. They are suitable complements to the topic of this indicator and can be further explored as reference of information concerning women’s independent decision on sexual relations, contraceptive use and reproductive health care. Please note that these supplementary data to refer to this indicator are external data and not endorsed by the UN.
5.6.2 Number of countries with laws and regulations that guarantee full and equal access to women and men aged 15 years and older to sexual and reproductive health care, information and education (see metadata here)
This indicator seeks to measure the extent to which countries have national laws and regulations that guarantee full and equal access to women and men aged 15 years and older to sexual and reproductive health care, information and education. The indicator is a percentage (%) scale of 0 to 100 (national laws and regulations exist to guarantee full and equal access), indicating a country’s status and progress in the existence of such national laws and regulations. This indicator only measures the existence of laws and regulations not their implementation. Indicator 5.6.2 is calculated based on official government responses collected through the United Nations Inquiry among Governments on Population and Development. However, the data availability of it is still not sufficient. According to the definition, the indicator measures the legal and regulatory environment across four thematic sections, defined as the key parameters of sexual and reproductive health care, information and education according to these international consensus documents and human rights standards: maternity care, contraception and family planning, comprehensive sexuality education and information, HIV and HPV. Related indicators are available in ESCAP SDG database, including 3.1.1 - Maternal mortality, 3.1.2 - Births attended by skilled health personnel, 3.7.1 - Family planning satisfied with modern methods (the components of the indicator are contraceptive and unmet need for family planning) and 3.7.2 - Adolescent births. Related supplementary data for indicator 5.6.2 are provided by the World Bank Group and include The government administers 100% of maternity leave benefits (1=yes; 0=no), Unmet need for contraception (% of married women ages 15-49), Contraceptive prevalence (% of women ages 15-49), Women participating in decisions related to health care, purchases, visiting family, and cooking (%), Demand for family planning satisfied (% of married women with demand for family planning), Comprehensive correct knowledge of HIV/AIDS (2 prevent ways and reject 3 misconceptions), Prevalence of HIV (% ages 15-24), and There is legislation specifically addressing domestic violence (1=yes; 0=no). These data sources provide similar data closely related to the definition and methodology of indicator 5.6.2 and are suitable complements to the topic of this indicator. They can be further explored as reference of information concerning government’s laws and regulations that guarantee women’ full and access to sexual and reproductive health care, information and education. Please note that the supplementary data for this indicator are external data not endorsed by the UN.
5.a Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws
5.a.1 (a) Proportion of total agricultural population with ownership or secure rights over agricultural land, by sex; and (b) share of women among owners or rights-bearers of agricultural land, by type of tenure (see metadata here)
Indicator 5.a.1 focuses on adult individuals living in agricultural households. The data reporter is Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the data required to estimate the indicator is recommended to be collected through agricultural surveys/censuses or national household-based surveys having a suitable coverage of agricultural households. Related indicators are 1.4.2 - Land tenure rights and 5.a.2 - Legal framework on equal rights to land ownership and are available in ESCAP SDG Database. Supplementary data are provided by the World Bank Group: Women who own land alone (% of women age 15-49). This data provide similar data closely related to the definition and methodology of indicator 5.a.1 and serve as suitable complement to the topic of this indicator. They can be further explored as reference of information concerning women’ ownership of agricultural land. Please note that supplementary data to refer to this indicator are external data not endorsed by the UN.
5.a.2 Proportion of countries where the legal framework (including customary law) guarantees women’s equal rights to land ownership and/or control (see metadata here)
Sources of data for measuring Indicator 5.a.2 are the official versions of national policies, primary law and secondary legislation which must be publicly available. More specifically, the relevant laws include land, family, marriage, inheritance, land registration, gender equality laws, constitution, and agrarian reform. Relevant policies include land, agriculture, and gender policies. According to the definition, indicator 5.a.2 “measures” the level to which a country’s legal framework supports women’s land rights, by testing that framework against six proxies drawn from international law and internationally accepted good practices. Related indicators are 1.4.2 - Land tenure rights, 5.1.1 - Legal frameworks on gender equality and 5.a.1 - Secure rights over agricultural land and are available in ESCAP SDG database. Supplementary data for indicator 5.a.2, include: Men and married women have equal ownership rights to immovable property (1=yes; 0=no), Ownership of a house (%), The law grants spouses equal administrative authority over assets during marriage (1=yes; 0=no), and Female and male surviving spouses have equal rights to inherit assets (1=yes; 0=no). These data sources provide similar data closely related to the definition and methodology of indicator 5.a.2 and are suitable complements to the topic of this indicator. They can be further explored as reference of information concerning women’s equal rights to land ownership and/or control. Please note that the supplementary data to refer to this indicator are external data not endorsed by the UN.
5.b Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women
5.b.1 Proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex (see metadata here)
The UN source for this indicator is ITU. A related indicator is 1.4.1 - Household access to basic services (information technologies included) and is available in ESCAP SDG database. Supplementary data, such as the one provided by the World Bank Group, offer related data of this indicator. For example: Used the internet to pay bills in the past year (% age 15+), Used the internet to pay bills or to buy something online in the past year (% age 15+), Used the internet to buy something online in the past year(% age 15+), Used a mobile phone or the internet to access an account (% with an account, age 15+). These data sources provide similar data closely related to the definition and methodology of indicator 5.b.1 and are suitable complements to the topic of this indicator. They can be further explored as reference of information concerning women’s equal rights and ownership of information and communications technology. Please note that supplementary data to refer to this indicator are external data not endorsed by the UN.
5.c Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels
5.c.1 Proportion of countries with systems to track and make public allocations for gender equality and women’s empowerment (see metadata here)
This indicator seeks to measure government efforts to track budget allocations for gender equality throughout the public finance management cycle and to make these publicly available, focusing on three criteria: programs/policies and resource allocations, planning and budget tools, transparency. The first focuses on the intent of a government to address gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE) by identifying if it has programs/policies on GEWE and corresponding resource allocations to support implementation. The second criterion assesses if a government has mechanisms throughout the public financial management cycle to track resource allocations towards these policy goals. The third focuses on transparency by assessing existence of provisions to make information about allocations for GEWE publicly available. The custodian agencies for this indicator are UN Women, OECD, UNDP and the data collection is based on a questionnaire with 13 questions in total. A related indicator “Gender Budgeting Tier” is available on IMF, which shows whether a country has gender budgeting by different tier. There is also country profilethat shows the details of gender budgeting status of different countries, including origins, selected components of fiscal policy, indicators to place gender budgeting in the fiscal process, legal basis, role of government and role of civil society. Please note that these proxy sources are external data not endorsed by the UN.