Key statistical concepts in a user-friendly manner Workshop title Location and Date
Session outline 1.Indicators, variables and populations 2.Proportions and percentages 3.Ratios 4.Rates 5.Practical activity
Skills for understanding statistics 1.Data awareness 2.Ability to understand statistical concepts 3.Ability to analyse, interpret and evaluate statistical information and 4.Ability to communicate statistical information
counting is complicated
2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4 Source: Blastland, M. and Dilnot, A The Tiger That Isn’t: Seeing Through a World of Numbers. Profile Books.
Statistical terms DefinitionExamples ConceptA statistical concept is a characteristic of a time series or an observation. For example, ‘unemployment’, ‘birth’, and ‘tertiary enrolment’ are all concepts. To be measured accurately and consistently, concepts must have clear definitions. Unemployment Live births Children Marriage VariableA variable is a characteristic of a unit being observed that may assume more than one of a set of values to which a numerical measure or a category from a classification can be assigned Income Age Weight Occupation Industry Cause of death PopulationThe set of elements about which information is wanted and estimates are required total number of people in a country or town Youth (aged 15-24) married/partnered women aged IndicatorAn indicator is a measure that signals the state or level of something. It represents statistical data for a specified time, place, and other characteristics. Indicators combine concepts, variables and populations to create a particular measure. Total Fertility Rate (average number of children per woman) Percentage of government budget spent on education Hourly gender pay gap Share of women in national parliament
Gender indicators - identify Proportion of women/men aged 15‐49 years, subjected to psychological violence in the past 12 months by the intimate partner Average hours spent in own‐use production work, by sex Employment rate of 25‐64 year‐olds, by sector of the economy and sex Share of females among graduates in science, engineering, manufacturing and construction Concept(s) Variable(s) Population(s)
Percentages, rates, ratios, etc. Some examples
Proportion or percentage Number of observations in a given category, relative to the total number… Most often, proportions are expressed in percentages
Part-time or full-time status of persons in employment, Republic of Moldova, 2013 Source: Moldova Labour Force Survey 2014 Age group Total MalePart-time41,2005,2007,8008,70010,2007,4001,800 Full-time550,90056,800156,300115,500127,50084,80010,000 Total592,10062,000164,100124,100137,70092,30011,800 Proportion working part-time Percentage working part-time FemalePart-time42,9003,30010,4009,00012,0006,1002,200 Full-time537,80039,000124,200144,700149,10070,40010,400 Total580,70042,300134,600153,600161,10076,50012,600 Proportion working part-time Percentage working part-time
Source: Moldova Labour Force Survey 2014
Ratios Relationship of one number to another by division Expresses the relative size of two numbers How many times one number contains the other Common examples sex ratio: the number of males per 100 females student to teacher ratio: number of students for every teacher
What is the sex ratio? FemaleMaleSex ratio European Union-28259,339,081247,291, Armenia1,573,5671,450, Azerbaijan4,679,6454,616, Georgia2,349,3942,141, Kazakhstan8,691,3138,100, Kyrgyzstan2,837,2422,770, Moldova, Republic of1,847,4831,712, Russian Federation76,936,81666,264, Tajikistan3,909,7963,987, Ukraine24,443,25920,969, Guide: 100 = same number males as females Less than 100 = more females More than 100 = more males
Rates Rates are used to study the dynamics of change Demographic rates such as fertility rates and mortality rates
Rates: Infant mortality rate Probability of a child dying before age 1 (per 1,000 live births) Source: UNECE Statistical Database, compiled from national and international (WHO European health for all database, Eurostat and UNICEF TransMONEE) official sources. Footnotes: Break in methodology (2000): Change in calculation methodology.
Rates: Total fertility rate Average number of children per woman Data source: Gapminder.org (
How to count gender issues? Standard gender indicators 1.Poverty 2.Education 3.Health 4.Violence 5.Economy 6.Power and decision-making 7.Human rights 8.Media 9.Environment 10.Children and adolescents 11.Demography
How to judge data quality Data Quality RelevanceAccuracyCredibilityTimelinessAccessibilityInterpretabilityCoherence Cost- efficiency Source: OECD (
Activity: practice calculating rates
Employment rates: % of female population who are employed % of male population who are employed
Activity: practice calculating rates 1.Which has the highest employment rate for men? 2.Which country has the highest employment rate for women? 3.Where are the employment rates the lowest? 4.Where is the gender gap between men and women the greatest?