Skip to: Site navigation - top | Site navigation - side

Access UNCDB data using BY2020

All international macro databases at ESDS International are delivered via Beyond 20/20 Web Data Server (WDS).  It can be used to display, subset and download data, runs on a standard web browser and is accessibility compliant.

In this activity you will access the United Nations Common Database using Beyond 20/20 to find, subset and visualize data from the following two indicators under Goal 5: Improve maternal health and Target 5A: Reduce by three quarters between 1990 – 2015 the maternal mortality ratio:

Note:  Access to all macro databases at ESDS International is restricted to users from UK Higher and Further Educational (UKFE/HE) Institutions. This activity assumes you are already registered with ESDS and have agreed to appropriate dataset specific special conditions - if not, please see the Access Requirements pages for information on the registration process. If you are not a UK HE/FE user you will be able to access the data via the Official United Nations web site for the MDG Indicators- see the Access data via UN web interface activity.

e-tutorial

Video: Access UNCDB data using BY2020


The "Access UNCDB data using BY2020 " tutorial is available as an "e-tutorial".

An e-tutorial is a video screen capture demonstration

Step 1: Access the data

Access the UN Common Database using the Direct links to macro data drop down list on the right hand side of the ESDS International website as shown in the screen shot below. Alternatively go directly to http://esds.mcc.ac.uk/wds_un/.

You will be prompted to login either via the UK Federation (Shibboleth) or via Athens (note: the service moves solely to UK Federated access in July 2009).

Login via whichever method your institution supports (see ESDS login help for further information)

You should now see a screen showing the UN Common Database (Data download: 22 Nov 2007) folder within Beyond 20/20. (Note: the UN Common Database is no longer updated at ESDS International so this is the most recent data hosted. For more up to date data use the Official United Nations web site for the MDG Indicators).

Step 2: Find the MDG indicators

Type MDG into the search input box on the right hand side of the Beyond 20/20 opening screen. This will return all indicators related to the MDGs included in the UN Common Database in alphabetical order.

Scroll down the resulting tables to find 'Births attended by skilled health personnel, per cent (UNICEF estimates/MDG) [code 25730]' and 'Maternal mortality ratio per 100,000 live births (WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA/MDG) [code 1000]'.

Click on the table to view the data for Maternal mortality ratio. You will see a list of countries in rows along the left hand side and the years represented in columns.

Notice the footnotes in brackets in particular data cells. These footnotes tell you pertinent information about the data contained in that cell (for example how the value has been derived). Hover your mouse over the different footnote numbers for further details.

A the top of the screen you will see a the title of the table followed by a small 'i' information icon. Click to view information about this table. You will see for this table some brief notes telling you that this 'Table contains data for 184 countries and covers the period 1990-2000'. Click return to report.

Step 3: Subset the data

Use the drop down Actions menu to Select items to view > Country or area.

Use the cross icon to clear existing selections and choose a selection of countries, for example:

Click on the table icon to view the data you have selected in table format.

Step 4: Chart the data

Click on the chart icon to view the selected data as a chart to show any trends. The chart type can be altered using the Actions drop drop menu.

A printable version of the chart can be seen using the Actions drop down menu.

Step 5: Download the data

Click back to the table format view (as data cannot be downloaded from chart format view).

The data will be downloaded in the exact same layout as is shown on this screen, so make any changes you require (i.e. setting dimension order in from the Actions drop down menu) prior to download.

Click on Actions > Download report data and choose your preferred download format. Footnotes are downloaded with the data.

To ensure you can successfully run Beyond 20/20 Web Data Server (WDS) on your machine, view the system requirements. If you do have any problems running the application, please do not hesitate to contact us at  international@esds.ac.uk