The World Health Statistics series is WHO's annual compilation of health-related data for its 194 Member States, and includes a summary of the progress made towards achieving the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and associated targets. This year, it also includes highlight summaries on the ongoing commitment to end preventable maternal deaths; on the need to act now to combat rising levels of childhood obesity; on recent trends in both life expectancy and premature deaths; and on the crucial role of civil registration and vital statistics systems in national and global advancement.

The series is produced by the WHO Department of Health Statistics and Information Systems of the Health Systems and Innovation Cluster. As in previous years, World Health Statistics 2014 has been compiled using publications and databases produced and maintained by WHO technical programs and regional offices. A number of demographic and socioeconomic statistics have also been derived from databases maintained by a range of other organizations.

All the indicators shown have been included on the basis of their relevance to global public health, the availability and quality of the data, and the reliability and comparability of the resulting estimates. Taken together, these indicators provide a comprehensive summary of the current status of national health and health systems in key areas.

WHO presents World Health Statistics 2014 as an integral part of its ongoing efforts to provide enhanced access to comparable high-quality statistics on core measures of population health and national health systems. Unless otherwise stated, all estimates have been cleared following consultation with Member States and are published here as official WHO figures.