General development terms

GNI – Gross National Income – A term used to describe the total national income of a country. Essentially, it measures everything that nationals of a certain country are doing/producing – the output – whether they are living in that country or not. This differs from Gross Domestic Product, which measures the economic value of what is happening in that specific country by foreigners + nationals alike (but doesn’t count any activities happening outside the country.)

Data relevance: when you’re thinking about how ‘rich’ a country is, make sure you’re comparing similar statistics, as GNI can (in some cases) differ greatly from GDP)

Gross Domestic Product, GDP – A term used to measure a country’s economic productivity or national wealth, based purely on geographical location of production (ie. within the respective country).

Data relevance: this is often used as a measure of how ‘developed’ a country is – the higher the GDP (especially GDP per capita, or per person), the more developed the country.

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – A set of eight international development goals officially established following the UN Millennium Summit in 2000, to be met by 2015. It looks like some goals will be met, and others won’t. The goals include poverty and hunger, education, gender equality and empowering women, child mortality, maternal health, HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, environmental sustainability and a global partnership for development.

Data relevance: the MDGs have been at the centre of the development agenda for almost the last 15 years. This means that measuring ‘progress’ in global development has largely been understood through the framework of measuring different areas against MDG indicators, and many are keen to use the data to display that as many goals as possible have been met. Keep an eye out for such claims, and wherever possible, have a look into the data behind these claims yourself. *

Official Development Assistance, (ODA): a grant or loan from a high-income country to a low-income country, with the aim of promoting economic development or welfare. Misleadingly, ODA does not always result in the actual transfer of money to the country “receiving” the ODA. It can be defined as debt relief, or technical cooperation, for example.

Read more:
*Fact sheet: Is it ODA? from the OECD, and a shorter description of what the OECD defines as ODA. (short definition) and longer fact sheet http://www.oecd.org/dac/stats/34086975.pdf

Data relevance: ODA is the official, or more politically correct, term for what is sometimes termed “foreign aid”, and the amounts spent by high-income countries on ODA is wildly misunderstood by the public. Be aware of public (mis)perceptions around how much is spent, as well as representing ODA accurately when looking at financial flows between high- and low- income countries.

Sustainable Development Goals, SDGS – A set of goals which will supercede the Millennium Development Goals (see above), and are due to be set in September 2015. Work is ongoing in establishing these by a designated UN working group.

Data relevance: it’s likely that these will be the basis of the development agenda for the next 15 years or so. So it’s good to be aware that they are being set, but for now (December 2014) there is nothing specific to keep an eye out for.