Themes

The Global City Indicators Facility is structured around 20 “themes” organized into two Categories that measure a range of city services and quality of life factors. These Categories and themes are listed below:

City Services – includes services provided by city governments and other entities.

Education
Finance
Recreation
Governance
Electricity
Transportation
Wastewater

Fire and Emergency Response
Health
Safety
Solid Waste
Urban Planning
Water

Quality of Life – includes critical contributors to overall quality of life, but are not the direct responsibility of any local service provider.

Civic Engagement
Economy
Shelter
Culture

Environment
Social Equity
Technology and Innovation

City performance relative to each of these themes is measured by a number of indicators, which collectively tell a “story”. Overall, 115 indicators have been developed. Recognizing the differences in resources and capabilities between developed and developing world cities, the overall set of 115 indicators has been divided into 31 “core” indicators, which all cities participating would be expected to report on, and 43 “supporting” indicators, which all cities would be encouraged, but not expected, to report on, along with 41 "profile" indicators which provide basic statistics and background information to help cities determine which cities are of interest for comparisons.

This set of global city indicators was selected based on significant input from the partner cities, ensuring that these indicators reflect city information needs and interests, and a rigorous screening process. The indicators must be:

Available, up to date, and able to be reported annually;
Readily comparable among cities globally;
Relevant for public policy decision making and/or linked to established goals (e.g. MDG);
Cost effective to collect;
Meaningful to cities across the globe regardless of geography, culture, affluence, size, or political structure;
Understandable and not overly complex;
Clear as to whether changes in the indicators are good or bad.

GCIF Profile Indicators



People	Total city population
	Population density (per square kilometer)
	Percentage of country's population
	Percentage of population that are children (0-14)
	Percentage of population that are youth (15-24)
	Percentage of population that are adult (25-64)
	Percentage of population that are senior citizens (65+)
	Male to female ratio (# of males per 100 females)
	Population percentage change since base year (base year is 1991)
	Population Dependency Ratio (Employment Adjusted)
	Percentage of population that are new immigrants
	Percentage of population that are migrating from elsewhere in the country
Housing	Total number of households
	Total number of occupied dwelling units (owned & rented)
	Persons per unit
	Dwelling density (per Square Kilometer)
Economy	Average household income (US$)
	Annual inflation rate based on average of last 5 years
	Cost of living
	Income distribution (Gini Coefficient)
	GDP per capita (US$)
	Percentage of Country's GDP
	Total employment
	Employment percentage change since base year (Base Year is 1991)
	Number of Businesses per 1000 Population
	Annual average unemployment rate
	Commercial/industrial assessment as a percentage of total assessment
Government	Type of government (e.g. Local, Regional, County)
	Gross operating budget (US$)
	Gross operating budget per capita (US$)
	Gross capital budget (US$)
	Gross capital budget per capita (US$)
Geography and Climate	Region
	Climate Type
	Land Area (Square Kilometers)
	Percentage of non-residential area (square kilometers)
	Annual average temperature (Celsius)
	Average annual rain (mm)
	Average annual snowfall (cm)

GCIF Performance Indicators

	Core Indicator	Supporting Indicator
City Services
Education	Student/teacher ratio	Percentage of school-aged population enrolled in school
	Percentage of students completing primary and secondary education: survival rate	Percentage of male school-aged population enrolled in school
	Percentage of students completing primary education	Percentage of female school-aged population enrolled in school
	Percentage of students completing secondary education
	Future Indicators – under discussion • Number of libraries per 100,00 population • Number of visits to library per 100,000 population • Performance on standardized tests • Number of institutions of higher learning within 500km • Percentage of city population enrolled in institutions of higher learning
Fire and Emergency Response	Number of firefighters per 100,000 population	Response time for fire department from initial call
	Number of fire related deaths per 100,000 population
	Future Indicators – Under discussion · Emergency medical services indicator · Number of fire trucks per 100,000 · Number of ambulances per 100,000 · Response time for emergency services from initial call · Outcome indicators such as rates of fire or property damage and ultimate health/survival rates of patients
Health	Number of in-patient hospital beds per 100,000 population	Number of nursing and midwifery personnel per 100,000 population
	Number of physicians per 100,000 population
	Average life expectancy
	Under age five mortality per 1,000 live births
	Future Indicators – Under discussion • Annual HIV/AIDS death rate per 100,000 population • Disaggregation of immunization against infectious childhood diseases
Recreation		Square metres of public indoor recreation space per capita
		Square metres of public outdoor recreation space per capita
	Future Indicators – Under discussion · An indicator of recreational use levels · Recreation and Culture Index
Safety	Number of police officers per 100,000 population	Violent crime rate per 100,000 population
	Number of homicides per 100,000 population
	Future Indicators – Under discussion · Perception of safety · Juvenile crime (gangs and youth related crimes)
Solid waste	Percentage of city population with regular solid waste collection	Percentage of the city’s solid waste that is disposed of in an incinerator
	Percentage of city’s solid waste that is recycled	Percentage of the city’s solid waste that is burned openly
		Percentage of the city’s solid waste that is disposed of in an open dump
		Percentage of the city’s solid waste that is disposed of in a sanitary landfill
		Percentage of the city’s solid waste that is disposed of by other means
	Future Indicators – Under discussion · Indicator to capture informal waste (waste-pickers, sorters, etc.)
Transportation	Km of high capacity public transit system per 100,000 population	Number of two-wheel motorized vehicles per capita
	Km of light passenger transit system per 100,000 population	Commercial Air Connectivity (number of nonstop commercial air destinations)
	Number of personal automobiles per capita	Transportation fatalities per 100,000 population
	Annual number of public transit trips per capita
	Future Indicators – Under discussion · Total municipal road and transit expenditure per capita · Indicator regarding shape/condition of infrastructure · Urban accessibility index
Wastewater	Percentage of city population served by wastewater collection	Percentage of the city’s wastewater receiving primary treatment
	Percentage of the city’s wastewater that has received no treatment	Percentage of the city’s wastewater receiving secondary treatment
		Percentage of the city’s wastewater receiving tertiary treatment
	Future Indicators – Under discussion · An indicator of wastewater treatment effectiveness · Percent of assimilative capacity of receiving water body used
Water	Percentage of city population with potable water supply service	Total water consumption per capita (litres/day)
	Domestic water consumption per capita (litres/day)	Percentage of water loss
	Percentage of city population with sustainable access to an improved water source	Average annual hours of water service interruption per household
	Future Indicators – Under discussion · Disaggregate of percentage of city population with potable water supply service into three classes of household connection: shared facility, private distribution (trucks, donkeys, head etc.) and other · Water quality (relative to national standards and boil water advisories) · Incidence of water borne diseases · Water quality index
Electricity	Percentage of city population with authorized electrical service	Total electrical use per capita (kWh/year)
	Total residential electrical use per capita (kWh/year)	The average number of electrical interruptions per customer per year
		Average length of electrical interruptions (in hours)
	Future Indicators – Under discussion · Share of renewable energy use out of primary energy supply · Residential energy use per household by types of energy · Total energy use index
Finance	Debt service ratio (debt service expenditure as a percent of a municipality’s own-source revenue)	Tax collected as percentage of tax billed
		Own-source revenue as a percentage of total revenues
		Capital spending as a percentage of total expenditures
	Future Indicators – Under discussion · Disaggregate of own-source revenue as a percent of total revenues into categories of property tax, sales tax, user fees and charges and other revenue sources
Governance		Percentage of women employed in the city government workforce
Governance	Future Indicators - Under discussion · Average number of days to get a business license · Requests for service response time · Under discussion to incorporate civic engagement in governance indicator · City governance Index
Urban Planning	Jobs/Housing ratio	Areal size of informal settlements as a percent of city area
		Green area (hectares) per 100,000 population
	Future Indicators – Under discussion · Frequency of official reviews of master plan/ official plan · Percentage of land parcels with a registered title · Mechanisms for enforcement; regulation, planning standards (building codes, zoning by-laws, informal)

	Core Indicator	Supporting Indicator
Quality of Life
Civic Engagement	Voter participation in last municipal election (as a percent of eligible voters)	Citizen’s representation: number of local officials elected to office per 100,000 population
Culture		Percentage of jobs in the cultural sector
Culture	Future Indicators – Under discussion · Attendance at cultural events per capita · Multiculturalism - under discussion · Creative cities index
Economy	City product per capita	Percentage of persons in full time employment
	City unemployment rate
	Future Indicators – Under discussion · Investment levels · Competitiveness index
Environment	PM10 concentration	Greenhouse gas emissions measured in tonnes per capita
Environment	Future indicators – Under discussion • Number of days with PM10 exceedences • Indicator linking air quality to respiratory problems • Sustainable cities/Climate change Plans • Greenhouse gas emissions from municipal operation • Greenhouse gas index
Shelter	Percentage of city population living in slums	Percentage of households that exist without registered legal titles
		Number of homeless people per 100,000 population
	Future Indicators – Under discussion • Housing price/income ratio • Housing rent/income ratio • Homelessness
Social Equity		Percentage of city population living in poverty
Social Equity	Future Indicators – Under discussion • Cost of basic necessities or Market Basket Measure • Percentage of population receiving government financial assistance • Social Programs • Gini co-efficient/ income distribution • Social Capital Index
Technology	Number of internet connections per 100,000 population	Number of new patents per 100,000 per year
		Number of higher education degrees per 100,000
		Number of telephone connections (landlines and cell phones) per 100,000 population
		Number of landline phone connections per 100,000 population
		Number of cell phone connections per 100,000 population
	Future Indicators – Under discussion · Venture capital investment · Broadband penetration rate · Creativity index

Future Indices – Under development

	Future Index
Economy	Competitiveness Index
Energy	Total Energy Use Index
Environment	Greenhouse Gas Index
Governance	Governance Index
Recreation and Culture	Recreation and Culture Index
Social Equity	Social Capital Index
Subjective Well-Being	Subjective Well-Being Index
Transportation	Urban Accessibility Index
Technology	Creativity Index
Water	Water Quality Index