Challenges in meeting the monitoring requirements of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): an examination of selected social statistics for four Caribbean small island developing states

This document seeks to characterise the challenges faced by Caribbean countries in meeting the monitoring requirements of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). An examination and analysis of infrastructural capacity and key data issues are presented. Requirements for capacity building in the field of social statistics in the subregion are also explored. Selected social indicators of the MDGs, accompanied by technical notes, definitions and relevant discussions on the indicators are detailed. The sources of data are the 1990 and 2000/2001 population census of the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize and Saint Lucia, housed at the ECLAC/CDCC secretariat social statistical database, and social statistical data sets drawn from databases of relevant, subregional and international agencies.