Indices of Social Development

Social development is about putting people at the centre of development. Since the 1990s there has been growing recognition that social development is critical for broader development outcomes, including sustainable economic growth. But until now, data limitations have hindered international comparative research capable of showing weaknesses and strengths across countries, as well as the links between social development and other development outcomes.The Indices of Social Development (ISD) hosted by the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) has the potential to change this. It brings together 200 indicators, synthesising them into a usable set of measures to track how different societies perform along six dimensions of social development:• Civic Activism, measuring use of media and protest behaviour• Clubs and Associations, defined as membership in local voluntary associations• Intergroup Cohesion, which measures ethnic and sectarian tensions, and discrimination• Interpersonal Safety and Trust, focusing on perceptions and incidences of crime and personal transgressions• Gender Equality, reflecting gender discrimination in home, work and public life.• Inclusion of Minorities, measures levels of discrimination against vulnerable groups such as indigenous peoples, migrants, refugees, or lower caste groups.The indices are composed from 25 reputable data sources for 193 countries, over the period from 1990 to 2010, and are updated as new data become available. The indices are aggregated using the innovative method of ‘matching percentiles’.The results reveal the achievements and challenges facing societies across the world: from the richness of community life in Sub-Saharan Africa, to the high levels of personal safety and security in the Persian Gulf, to violence in the Caribbean. And we can monitor improvement over time: the growth of civic engagement in Eastern Europe, gender empowerment in the Middle East, or inclusion of minorities in Southern Africa. The indicators show that while economic and social development are closely correlated, many high income societies continue to face problems of discrimination and exclusion, while some developing countries have overcome these challenges.The indices allow estimating the effects of social development for a large range of countries on indicators like economic growth, human development, and governance.

社会发展始终以人民为发展的核心。自20世纪90年代以来，国际社会逐渐形成广泛共识：社会发展对于包括可持续经济增长在内的更广泛发展成果至关重要。但此前受限于数据不足，相关跨国比较研究难以开展——此类研究本可展现各国社会发展的优劣态势，并揭示社会发展与其他发展成果之间的内在关联。由国际社会研究所（International Institute of Social Studies, ISS）托管的**社会发展指数（Indices of Social Development, ISD）**有望打破这一僵局。该指数整合了200项指标，并将其整合为一套便于使用的测度体系，用以追踪不同社会在社会发展六大维度上的表现：
• 公民行动主义（Civic Activism）：衡量媒体使用与抗议行为
• 俱乐部与社团（Clubs and Associations）：统计地方志愿社团的成员参与情况
• 群体间凝聚力（Intergroup Cohesion）：测度族群与教派紧张关系及歧视现象
• 人际安全与信任（Interpersonal Safety and Trust）：聚焦犯罪与个人越轨行为的认知与发生情况
• 性别平等（Gender Equality）：反映家庭、职场与公共生活中的性别歧视状况
• 少数群体包容度（Inclusion of Minorities）：衡量针对原住民、移民、难民或低种姓群体等弱势群体的歧视程度

该系列指数基于1990年至2010年间193个国家的25个权威数据源构建而成，并会随新数据的发布持续更新。指数通过创新性的「百分位匹配法（matching percentiles）」进行聚合计算。

指数结果展现了全球各地社会面临的成就与挑战：从撒哈拉以南非洲地区蓬勃的社区生活，到波斯湾地区极高的人身安全保障水平，再到加勒比地区频发的暴力冲突。同时，该指数也可用于追踪社会发展的时序变化：例如东欧公民参与度的提升、中东地区的性别赋权进展，以及南部非洲的少数群体包容度改善。

指标数据显示，尽管经济发展与社会发展高度相关，但诸多高收入社会仍面临歧视与排斥问题，而部分发展中国家已成功攻克此类难题。该系列指数可用于测算社会发展对多国经济增长、人类发展与治理水平等指标的影响效应。