Comprehensive, timely, and reliable health and health-related statistics are fundamental for assessing the state of a population’s health and how it is changing. The World Health Organization (WHO) established a Reference Group on Health Statistics in 2013 to provide advice on population health statistics to WHO with a focus on methodological and data issues related to the measurement of mortality and cause-of-death patterns. Recent developments in global health and an increased focus on monitoring and accountability suggest that the role, responsibilities, scope and membership of the Reference Group must be renewed to ensure that WHO and its Member States continue to benefit from the best possible scientific and strategic advice and support in the generation, use, interpretation, and dissemination of global health statistics.

Find out more about the RGHS, including how to join, here.

• Reference Group on Health Statistics (RGHS)

World health statistics 2019 summarizes recent trends and levels in life expectancy and causes of death, and reports on the health and health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and associated targets. Where possible, the 2019 report disaggregates data by WHO region, World Bank income group, and sex; it also discusses differences in health status and access to preventive and curative services, particularly in relation to differences between men and women.

• Read the overview
• Read the press release
• Browse the SDG data visualizations dashboard

Dashboard of SDG health-and health-related indicators:

35 data visualizations giving an overview of the latest annual estimates by country and WHO region, and illustrating the scale of the challenge.

• – Browse data visualizations dashboard