Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by 2015.
Progress: People living in extreme poverty fell from 42 per cent of the world population in 1990 to 26 per cent (1.4 million) in 2005. Up to 75 per cent of the population is employed, except in parts of Africa and Asia. The number of undernourished children under five years old dropped from 33 per cent in 1990 to 26 per cent in 2006.
Success/failure: Success is still possible by 2015 but there is lack of progress in sub-Saharan Africa, where many workers earn less than $1 a day.
Goal 2: Universal primary education by 2015.
Progress: 570 million children worldwide are enrolled in school. Those not enrolled fell from 103 million in 1999 to 73 million in 2006. Primary school enrolment reached 88 per cent in 2006, up 5 per cent per cent from 2000.
Success/failure: This goal may not be achieved by 2015. 38 million children in sub-Saharan Africa and 18 million in southern Asia do not attend school, and in a number of countries girls are still discouraged from participating in education.
Goal 3: Help more girls enter secondary education by 2015 and empower women.
Progress: 55 per cent of children not in school are girls. Women occupy about 30 per cent of parliamentary seats in 20 countries. Women occupy 40 per cent of all paid jobs, up 5 per cent on 1990.
Success/failure: 113 countries have failed to achieve equality of enrolment, only 18 of which will meet the target by 2015. Since 2000, the proportion of female politicians has risen from 13.5 to 17.9 per cent.
Goal 4: Reduce the number of children who die before their fifth birthday by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015.
Progress: Deaths of under-fives declined from 93 to 72 deaths per 1,000 live births between 1990 and 2006, and child deaths dropped below 10 million a year in 2006.
Success/failure: Children born in developing countries are still 13 times more likely to die before they are five years old. Between 1990 and 2006, 26 countries made no progress in reducing childhood deaths, while in 27 others the mortality rate is increasing.
Goal 5: Reduce the number of women who die in childbirth by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015.
Progress: Maternal mortality decreased by almost 1 per cent per year between 1990 and 2005; 60 per cent of births were attended by health professionals in 2006, up 10 per cent since 1990.
Success/failure: 500,000 women a year in developing countries die during pregnancy, which represents the least progress of all eight goals.