World Development Information Day (October 24): Meaning & Facts

October 24 is best known as United Nations Day, but it is also World Development Information Day. Proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1972, it reminds the world that good information — reliable data, free flow of knowledge and access to technology — is essential for solving development problems such as poverty, hunger, poor health and inequality.

Why the UN Created This Day

In resolution 3038 (XXVII), adopted on December 19, 1972, the General Assembly decided to draw the attention of world public opinion each year to development problems and the need to strengthen international cooperation to solve them. The UN chose October 24 because it is UN Day and also the anniversary of the adoption, in 1970, of the International Development Strategy for the Second United Nations Development Decade. The first observance took place in 1973.

Overview
Date	October 24 every year
Established	1972 (UN resolution 3038)
First observed	1973
Main idea	Better information leads to better development decisions
Today’s focus	Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), digital inclusion and reliable data

Information and the Sustainable Development Goals

SDG	How information helps
Goal 1: No poverty	Data reveals who is poor and where support is needed
Goal 3: Good health	Disease surveillance and health information save lives
Goal 4: Quality education	Internet access opens learning to remote students
Goal 5: Gender equality	Sex-disaggregated data shows hidden inequalities
Goal 9: Innovation	Digital infrastructure drives new industries
Goal 13: Climate action	Early warning systems protect communities from disasters
Goal 16: Strong institutions	Access to information makes governments accountable

The Digital Divide

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) estimates that roughly a third of the world’s population — about 2.6 billion people — were still offline in 2024, most of them in low-income countries and rural areas. Women, older people and people with disabilities are more likely to be left out. Closing this gap is now one of the central goals of development information work.

A Short History of Development Information

Year	Milestone
1945	The United Nations is founded on October 24
1961	The UN launches its First Development Decade
1970	International Development Strategy for the Second Development Decade adopted on October 24
1972	World Development Information Day proclaimed
2000	Millennium Development Goals agreed
2003 & 2005	World Summit on the Information Society (Geneva and Tunis)
2015	The 17 Sustainable Development Goals adopted

Ways to Observe the Day

• Explore open data from the World Bank, UN Data or your national statistics office.
• Teach someone in your family how to check facts and spot misinformation.
• Support libraries and community digital centres.
• Use social media to share one development fact with #DevelopmentInformationDay.
• In classrooms, compare development indicators between countries and discuss the reasons for the differences.

👉 Same day: United Nations Day — October 24

👉 Also October 24: World Polio Day

Frequently Asked Questions