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Foreword
Acknowledgments
Statistical Partners
Guide for Users

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Foreword

Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific 2008 or Key Indicators 2008 is the 39th edition of this series, a statistical data book presenting economic, financial, social, and environmental indicators for regional members of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). In this edition, the content and presentation of statistical information have been significantly revised in a manner that will help users understand the trends behind the numbers through analytical commentaries. This comes at an opportune moment, especially as this year, we pass the midterm of the timetable for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which target 2015 for the attainment of the goals on eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, reducing child mortality, and ensuring environmental sustainability, among others.

Assessing progress in the Asia and Pacific region is hindered by the lack of data for many countries. Helping regional members strengthen their statistical capabilities remains a priority task for ADB. In this regard, I am pleased to report one significant success in this area with the publication in December 2007 of a new set of purchasing power parities (PPPs) for the Asia and Pacific region under the 2005 International Comparison Program (ICP). These PPP indicators, benchmarked to 2005, are adopted for the first time in Key Indicators 2008. Twenty-one regional members and two nonmember economies participated in the 2005 ICP Asia-Pacific coordinated by ADB. A further 10 ADB regional members also participated in price comparisons organized by other regional agencies. With the inclusion of PPP indicators in Key Indicators 2008, it is now possible to compare real gross domestic product both within the Asia and Pacific region and with other regions in the world, since these price comparisons are linked to PPPs calculated for other regions.

The use of PPPs for poverty measurement is the subject of the Special Chapter in Part I. This chapter explains why PPPs are an essential tool for generating internationally comparable estimates of poverty, and shows how national PPPs can be adapted to reflect the living conditions of the poorest segments of society. These PPPs—referred to as poverty PPPs, to distinguish them from the more standard consumption PPPs commonly used for generating internationally comparable estimates of poverty, such as “$1 a day” poverty—involve the calculation of weights reflecting the expenditure patterns of the poor. They may also involve the identification and pricing of goods and services of particular relevance to the poor. The chapter shows that the use of poverty PPPs instead of consumption PPPs can lead to significant changes in estimates of poverty. This is particularly so for poverty PPPs that are based on the pricing of goods and services prevalent in the consumption basket of the poor.

Other innovations in this edition include a broader coverage with the inclusion of three developed regional members—Australia, Japan, and New Zealand. Other new statistical indicators in this edition include transport indicators related to roads and railways, and governance indicators that measure the ease of doing business and the extent of perceived corruption. The country tables, previously printed as Part IV in previous editions, will now just continue in CD-ROM format provided with this publication; they can also be accessed online through ADB’s website at www.adb.org/statistics. Country data are also available for downloading from ADB’s Statistical Database System at sdbs.adb.org.

Finally, short, nontechnical commentaries have been added to Part II: Millennium Development Goals, and Part III: Regional Tables. The commentaries in Part II assess each economy’s progress toward achieving the targets specified under the eight MDGs. The Regional Tables in Part III have been grouped into seven themes, namely “People”, “Economy and Output”, “Money, Finance, and Prices”, “International Flows”, “Infrastructure”, “Government and Governance”, and “Energy and Environment.” This thematic approach will facilitate identification of key trends within the region.

We appreciate the cooperation of the governments and international agencies in providing data to ADB and, in the process, enhancing this year’s issue of Key Indicators. We hope that Key Indicators will continue to be a valuable resource for monitoring the progress and addressing the development challenges in the region.

Haruhiko Kuroda
President

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Acknowledgments

Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific 2008 was prepared by the Development Indicators and Policy Research Division (ERDI), Economics and Research Department (ERD), Asian Development Bank (ADB) under the overall guidance of Bishnu Dev Pant and, following his retirement, Chellam Palanyandy. Benson Sim led the research team with the technical assistance of Modesta de Castro and Melissa Pascua.

The special chapter (Part I) was prepared by Rana Hasan, J. Salcedo Cain, and Rhoda Magsombol, drawing upon the ADB report, Research Study on Poverty Specific Purchasing Power Parities for Selected Countries in Asia and the Pacific, and with technical assistance provided by Eileen Capilit and Gaye Parcon. Valuable advice and suggestions were provided throughout the preparation of the chapter by Chellam Palanyandy and Prasada Rao, who also gave suggestions on how to restructure the Key Indicators. The chapter also benefited from suggestions by Kaushal Joshi, Niny Khor, Dalisay Maligalig, Vaskar Saha, Benson Sim, Hyun Son, Craig Sugden, and Guntur Sugiyarto and discussions with Olivier Dupriez, who also generously provided household expenditure survey data mapped to basic headings in the 2005 ICP Asia-Pacific. Manuscript editing was done by Jonathan Aspin.

We appreciate the contribution of our statistical partners in the regional members and international organizations that shared data with us. ADB resident missions in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, People’s Republic of China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Uzbekistan, and Viet Nam provided support in compiling the data from their respective countries. The Japanese Representative Office, the Pacific Liaison and Coordination Office, the South Pacific Subregional Office, and the Special Office in Timor-Leste also provided invaluable help in data compilation.

The tables for the Millennium Development Goals (Part II) and Regional Tables (Part III), including the country tables in the accompanying CD-ROM were prepared by Christopher Ivo Bacani, Marissa Barcenas, Marie Anne Cagas, J. Salcedo Cain, Eileen Capilit, Amador Foronda, Virginia Gañac, Rhoda Magsombol, Gaye Parcon, Aleli Rosario, and Eric Suan. Evelyn Andrada, Ma. Rosel Babalo, Clarita Dalaguit-Truong, and Rowena Vicente proofread the country tables with Barbara Dizon who also prepared the definitions of the indicators with Lutgarda Labios.

The commentaries for Parts II and III were prepared by Derek Blades, under the general guidance of Benson Sim. An interdepartmental review refined the drafts of these commentaries. Invaluable suggestions were also provided by ERDI staff and consultants.

Parts II and III and the Country Tables sections were reviewed by Rana Hasan, Kaushal Joshi, Dalisay Maligalig, Chellam Palanyandy, Benson Sim, and Guntur Sugiyarto, with Cherry Lynn Zafaralla as copy editor. Typesetting was done by Mercedita Cabañeros, Fatima De Ramos-Blanco, Joe Mark Ganaban, and Rhommell Rico, who also took charge of preparation of the web files for upload and the CD-ROM. The ADB Printing Unit under the supervision of Raveendranath Rajan was responsible for printing. Omana Nair planned and coordinated the dissemination of Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific 2008.

Ifzal Ali
Chief Economist

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Statistical Partners

The preparation and publication of Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific 2008 would not have been possible without the support, assistance, and cooperation of the Asian Development Bank’s partners in the regional members and international, private, and nongovernment organizations. These partners, who shared their data, knowledge, expertise, and other information, will provide ADB, policymakers, as well as other data users a better understanding of the performance of countries around the Asia and Pacific region, in order that better policies can be formulated to improve the quality of life of people around the region.

REGIONAL MEMBERS
Afghanistan	Central Statistics Office Da Afghanistan Bank
Armenia	Central Bank of Armenia National Statistical Service of the Republic of Armenia
Australia	Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics Australian Bureau of Statistics Reserve Bank of Australia
Azerbaijan	National Bank of Azerbaijan State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan
Bangladesh	Bangladesh Bank Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics
Bhutan	Ministry of Finance National Statistical Bureau Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan
Brunei Darussalam	Department of Statistics Ministry of Finance
Cambodia	Ministry of Economy and Finance National Bank of Cambodia National Institute of Statistics
People’s Republic of China	National Bureau of Statistics People’s Bank of China State Administration of Foreign Exchange
Cook Islands	Cook Islands Statistics Office
Fiji Islands	Bureau of Statistics Reserve Bank of Fiji
Georgia	Department of Statistics Ministry of Finance of Georgia National Bank of Georgia
Hong Kong, China	Census and Statistics Department Hong Kong Monetary Authority
India	Central Statistical Organization Labour Bureau, Ministry of Labour and Employment Ministry of Finance Reserve Bank of India
Indonesia	Bank Indonesia Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS-Statistics Indonesia)
Japan	Bank of Japan Economic and Social Research Institute Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry of Finance Statistics Bureau
Kazakhstan	Agency of Statistics of the Republic of Kazakhstan National Bank of Kazakhstan
Kiribati	Kiribati National Statistics Office
Republic of Korea	Bank of Korea National Statistical Office
Kyrgyz Republic	National Bank of Kyrgyz Republic National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic
Lao PDR	Bank of Lao PDR Ministry of Finance National Statistical Centre
Malaysia	Bank Negara Malaysia Department of Statistics
Maldives	Maldives Monetary Authority Ministry of Finance and Treasury Ministry of Planning and National Development
Marshall Islands	Economic Policy, Planning and Statistics Office
Federated States of Micronesia	Statistics Unit, Department of Economic Affairs
Mongolia	Bank of Mongolia National Statistical Office of Mongolia
Myanmar	Central Bank of Myanmar Central Statistical Organization Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development
Nauru	Nauru Bureau of Statistics
Nepal	Central Bureau of Statistics Nepal Rastra Bank
New Zealand	Reserve Bank of New Zealand Statistics New Zealand The Treasury
Pakistan	Federal Bureau of Statistics Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs State Bank of Pakistan
Palau	Office of Planning and Statistics, Bureau of Budget and Planning
Papua New Guinea	Bank of Papua New Guinea National Statistical Office
Philippines	Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Bureau of the Treasury National Statistical Coordination Board National Statistics Office
Samoa	Central Bank of Samoa Government of Western Samoa Samoa Treasury Department, Ministry of Finance Statistical Services Division
Singapore	Economic Development Board International Enterprise Singapore Ministry of Finance Ministry of Manpower Monetary Authority of Singapore Singapore Department of Statistics
Solomon Islands	Central Bank of Solomon Islands Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning National Statistics Office
Sri Lanka	Central Bank of Statistics Department of Census and Statistics
Taipei,China	Central Bank of China Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics Ministry of Education Ministry of Finance
Tajikistan	National Bank of Tajikistan State Committee on Statistics of the Republic of Tajikistan (Goskomstat)
Thailand	Bank of Thailand National Economic and Social Development Board National Statistical Office
Timor-Leste	Banking and Payments Authority of Timor-Leste National Statistics Directorate
Tonga	Department of Statistics Ministry of Finance National Reserve Bank of Tonga
Turkmenistan	National Institute of State Statistics and Information (Turkmenmillihasabat)
Tuvalu	Central Statistics Division
Uzbekistan	Cabinet of Ministers, Government of Uzbekistan Center for Effective Economic Policy, Ministry of Economy of Uzbekistan Central Bank of Uzbekistan Ministry of Finance State Committee on Statistics
Vanuatu	Department of Finance Reserve Bank of Vanuatu Vanuatu National Statistics Office
Viet Nam	General Statistics Office Ministry of Finance State Bank of Viet Nam

 

INTERNATIONAL, PRIVATE, AND NONGOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS

CEIC Data Company Ltd.
Energy Information Administration
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Food and Agriculture Organization
German Agency for Technical Cooperation
International Energy Agency
International Labour Organization
International Monetary Fund
International Telecommunication Union
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Secretariat of the Pacific Community
Transparency International
United Nations Children’s Fund
United Nations Development Programme
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
United Nations Population Division
United Nations Statistics Division
United States Department of Energy
World Bank
World Health Organization
World Resources Institute

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Guide for Users

The Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific has the following structure. Part I contains a special chapter that varies every year and deals with a special topic on policy issues, measurement issues, or development challenges. This year’s special chapter is measurement of poverty rates in selected developing member countries using purchasing power parities.

Part II comprises the indicators for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The indicators are presented according to the United Nations revised MDG framework, which has been expanded to include new targets for full and productive employment and decent work for all, access to reproductive health, access to treatment for HIV/AIDS, and protection of biodiversity, as agreed by member states at the 2005 World Summit. This year’s Key Indicators 2008 includes as many of the indicators for the new targets as possible. Tables in Part II represent an MDG target and contain indicators associated with that target.

Part III consists of regional tables, numbering 103, which are not part of the MDG framework. To help readers identify the indicators more easily, the regional tables are grouped into seven themes: People; Economy and Output; Money, Finance, and Prices; International Flows; Infrastructure; Government and Governance; and Energy and Environment. Each theme is further divided into subtopics. Accompanying tables in Part III contain indicators related to a subtopic.

The MDGs and themes in Parts II and III start with a short commentary with charts and boxes describing progress made by countries toward selected targets and key trends of selected indicators. Accompanying statistical tables are disaggregated into developing and developed member countries of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The developing member countries are further divided into country groups aligned with those of ADB’s regional departments.

Finally, Part IV defines the indicators in the MDGs and regional tables. The publication also has a CD-ROM containing Parts I, II, III, and IV, plus individual country tables for 48 regional members of ADB.

Data for the MDG indicators, regional tables, and country tables are mainly obtained from two sources: ADB’s statistical partners in regional members, and international statistical agencies. Data obtained from the regional members are comparable to the extent that the regional members follow standard statistical concepts, definitions, and estimation methods recommended by the United Nations and other applicable international agencies. Nevertheless, regional members invariably develop and use their own concepts, definitions, and estimation methodologies to suit their individual circumstances; and these may not necessarily comply with the recommended international standards. Thus, even though attempts are made to present the data in a comparable and uniform format, they are subject to variations in the statistical methods used by regional members, such that full comparability of data may not be possible. These variations are reflected in the footnotes of the statistical tables.