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STATISTICAL RELEASE
30 July 2010
Measuring Progress
Sustainable development
indicators 2010
A report published by Defra today brings together an extensive range of economic, social and
environmental indicators to provide a statistical overview of the country’s progress. The
publication covers a wide range of topics of everyday concern such as health, housing, jobs,
crime, education, and our environment, all of which may affect whether we can live more
sustainably in the future. It includes measures of wellbeing, how people rate their lives and
how satisfied they are with aspects that may affect them.
The aim of this publication is to make indicators easily accessible to a wide audience and to
enable everyone to judge where change, for better or worse, is occurring and where the
challenges are. It should be a useful reference to experts but also to others less familiar with
the concept of sustainable development or indicators.
Summary results
The 68 indicators comprise 126 measures and using these it is possible to obtain an overview
of change compared with earlier years, based on the number of measures showing
improvement, little change or deterioration. However it is essential to look at the individual
indicators too as this does not take account of the relative importance of particular indicators.
Key indicators
The twenty key indicators in the table below are selected to provide an overview of some of
the important goals for sustainable development.
40. Employment
41. Workless households
Before housing
43. Childhood cost
poverty After
housing cost
Before housing
45. Pensioner cost
poverty After
housing cost
1
Year as shown if not 1990
Indicator number Change Change Direction
and title since since in latest
19901 2003 2
year*
47. Educational attainment
2004
Infant mortality
49. Health gap 1994
Walking /
cycling 1995-7
55. Mobility
Public transport
use 1995-7
Fifty-seven measures show improvement since 2003 (representing over half of those for
which it is possible to make an assessment), and 24 show little or no change.
A wide range of measures show improvement include renewable electricity, emissions of air
pollutants and manufacturing emissions, fossil fuels used for electricity generation, waste and
land recycling, agricultural emissions and land stewardship, crime, fear of crime, mortality
rates, road accidents, rough sleepers and homeless households.
Also showing deterioration but not included in the summaries is the background measure on
carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation.
Theme summaries
The 68 indicators aim to provide an overview of progress across four themes, which are:
Indicators for sustainable consumption and production mainly cover emissions, resource use
and waste.
Twenty-three measures have shown improvement since 2003 whilst 21 measures have
improved since 1990. Those showing improvement include emissions of air pollutants from
the manufacturing sector, domestic material consumption, water resource use, agricultural
emissions, waste and land recycling.
Measures showing deterioration since 2003 are greenhouse gases from aviation and
shipping, carbon dioxide emissions from road freight and farmland bird populations.
Climate change and energy
Indicators for climate change and energy mainly cover greenhouse gas emissions, electricity
generation and energy supply.
Eight measures show improvement since 2003 and 5 show deterioration. Since 1990, 7
measures show improvement and 6 show deterioration.
Those showing improvement since 2003 include renewable electricity, sulphur dioxide and
nitrogen oxides emissions from electricity generation, fossil fuels used in electricity
generation, carbon dioxide emissions from private cars, the manufacturing sector and
households, and methane emissions from agriculture.
Those showing deterioration are aviation and shipping emissions of greenhouse gases,
energy supply, and carbon dioxide emissions from road freight and the service sector.
Protecting natural resources and enhancing the environment
Indicators for protecting natural resources and enhancing the environment mainly cover
wildlife and biodiversity, farming, land use, fish stocks, air pollution and rivers.
Thirteen measures show improvement since 2003, 5 show little or no change and 1 shows
deterioration.
Those showing improvement since 2003 include woodland bird populations, fish stocks,
chemical river quality, farming management and emissions, land recycling, air pollution and
dwelling density.
Farmland bird populations have declined since 2003, whilst seabird and wintering wetland
bird populations have seen little or no change.
Creating sustainable communities and a fairer world
Twenty-five measures show improvement since 2003, 18 show little or no change, and 4
show deterioration.
Those showing improvement since 2003 include crime, fear of crime, mortality rates, airborne
particulate pollution, road accidents, rough sleepers and homeless households in temporary
accommodation.
Those showing deterioration are fuel poverty, the difference in life expectancy between local
authorities, walking and cycling, and community participation.
Notes to editors
1. The publication is a Defra National Statistics compendium publication, which has drawn on indicators and
other National Statistics from across Government. The publication and associated data will be presented on
the sustainable development website :
www.defra.gov.uk/sustainable/government/progress
2. The latest figures on life satisfaction were published in May 2010 based on an omnibus survey
commissioned by Defra with a weighted sample of 1712 people in England.
3. For the indicator pie-chart summaries a number of indicators support more than one theme so there is some
overlap in the messages the summaries convey. Indicator measures do not contribute to the summaries if
(a) they are used in another indicator and are already counted within the same summary; (b) their trends are
strongly influenced by or directly reflect other measures within the same summary; or (c) they are for
contextual purposes. The compilation of the pie chart summaries differs slightly compared with previous
years in that if an indicator has data within five years of the stated baseline then it is included in the
summary.
National Statistics publication
National Statistics are produced to high professional standards set out in the National
Statistics Code of Practice. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that
they meet customer needs. They are produced free from any political interference.