PILOT PROJECT

Metropolitan Indicators

Resulting from pioneering comparative research on 58 metropolitan spaces and including 69 Metropolis members, the 38 metropolitan indicators provide new empirical insights, comparable across jurisdictions, about metropolitan realities across the world. 

The indicators refer to six overarching themes: Metropolitan Governance, Economic Development, Social Cohesion, Gender Equality, Sustainability, and Quality of Life. The framework also adopts a gender perspective, disaggregating data whenever possible. They can be accessed through the website indicators.metropolis.org

Context and governance

  • 1. Metropolitan population **
  • 2. Metropolitan area
  • 3. Density
  • 4. Leadership of policy sectors (survey) ***
  • 5. Fiscal decentralisation
  • 6. Territorial fragmentation
  • 7. Metropolitan coordination
  • 8. National prominence (budget)
  • 9. Fiscal autonomy
  • 10. Total budget per capita

Economic development

  • 1. GDP per capita
  • 2. GDP or Employment share by sector
  • 3. Prominence (GDP)
  • 4. Unemployment***
  • 5. Economic density
  • 6. Informal economy (% of jobs)

Social cohesion

  • 1. Literacy rate*
  • 2. Poverty rate**
  • 3. Income inequality
  • 4. Foreign born population*
  • 5. Murder rate*

Gender equality

  • 1. Share of elected women in local government
  • 2. Women in work force
  • 3. Enrolment of female school-aged population
  • 4. Gender pay gap
  • 5. Legislation on gender equality (survey)****

Environmental sustainability

  • 1. Air quality
  • 2. CO2 emissions
  • 3. Car ownership
  • 4. Green space
  • 5. Waste generated per capita
  • 6. Wastewater collection (% access)
  • 7. Renewable energy (%)

Quality of life

  • 1. Life expectancy*
  • 2. Affordability of housing
  • 3. Affordability of transport
  • 4. Higher education enrolment*
  • 5. Urban fragility index

* Data disaggregated by sex

** Data disaggregated by sex and age

*** See next page

**** This indicator will be developed further based on discussions with Metropolis