Today, all countries have access to computers and other communication tools to send, receive, store and retrieve data in a convenient manner, and the number of information and communications technology (ICT) applications is increasing at great speed. However, within changing health scenarios, the questions often asked by both ICT providers and users are : what data needs to be collected at service delivery level, and what minimum essential data should be forwarded for international statistical reporting. To address these issues, the WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia assists in strengthening national health information systems, and maintains and regularly updates a database on a set of core indicators of health and its determinants for all countries in the South-East Asia Region. These data are presented in a brochure accompanying this publication. It is important to note that data only become information once they are processed, analysed, interpreted and available for decision-making. Thus, this publication presents-in the form of graphs, charts, text and table-the information gleaned from the data provided in the brochure. Those interested in gauging progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals in the countries of the Region may refer to The Health-related Millennium Development Goals 2014 , a brochure and analytical information kit published by the WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia.