SAP and United Nations Population Fund Unveil Interactive Analytics as Population Grows Beyond 7 Billion

PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its vision to help the world run better, SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) and UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, today unveiled two interactive population dashboards using business analytics technology from SAP to help create greater transparency and awareness around core UN population data and trends. The dashboards are available to the general public at www.7billionactions.org, and will be used by the UN, local governments, economists and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to make better-informed decisions on how to best allocate funding and resources for the biggest impact in a world of 7 billion people and growing.

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Until recently, a fact-based analysis of these numbers would have taken months of pulling spreadsheet data from hundreds of schools, departments and government agencies. It would have been complicated and costly. Today, thanks to newly created interactive population dashboards that SAP designed and built for UNFPA using UN data from multiple agencies, anyone can access, interact, click around and overlay this information.

Released at the first day of the "7-Day Countdown to 7 Billion," the UNFPA population dashboards allow an analysis of the impact of population increases on key areas — including education, healthcare, literacy and age and gender development — by compiling UN data from multiple agencies. The analysis, which can be done instantly on a laptop or mobile device anywhere in the world, allows fact-based decision-making for policy-makers, academics, business people and citizens to develop and adjust policies and initiatives.

"SAP has provided a useful, intuitive tool that provides important global demographic data in a visually appealing format," said Vijay Kanal, director, ICT Advisory Services, BSR. "I can imagine that planning and policy experts in both the public and private sectors will find it helpful for analysis and projections. BSR could also use this tool on future projects requiring this type of data for client engagements around business sustainability."

"The milestone of 7 billion is a challenge, opportunity and a call to action to ensure that everyone can enjoy equal rights and dignity," said Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, executive direct, UNFPA. "Private sector partners like SAP can play a critical role, together with civil society, academia, governments and the United Nations system, to accelerate progress especially for women and girls in the developing world."

Particularly useful for countries with high youth populations, the dashboards address current and future issues of employment and healthcare. For example, almost half of the population in Pakistan is under the age of 19. Girls' primary school enrollment rates are high worldwide, approaching those of boys, but their completion rates are below 50 percent in most developing countries. Data from The World Bank indicates that each year of secondary schooling increases a girl's future wages by 10 to 20 percent. Based on this report, investing in girls' education can support the future well-being of Pakistan.

The data analysis also shows a paradox development — a younger world that is also aging. Analyzing the data shows that about two-thirds of the world's population is under 40. The world supports the biggest generation of young people in history, about 1.8 billion. This youth population represents an enormous challenge, but also an opportunity if they are able to participate in economic opportunities and can help generate future prosperity. At the same time, the world is seeing a growing number of older people — 700 million in 2009, a number that is expected to rise to 2.4 billion by mid-century. By 2050, the number of working-age people available to support each person aged 65 or older will decline by half worldwide, straining government social support and retirement financing.

SAP delivered two population dashboards using SAP® Crystal Dashboard Design software, which helps create greater transparency and awareness around core UN population data and trends. This helps the UN and governments make better-informed decisions. SAP technology and solutions also help people to interact with population data, understand the challenges and explore opportunities to address issues around changing population dynamics.

The UNFPA's global campaign, 7 Billion Actions, enlisted a diverse group of UN actors, corporations, organizations and individuals to inspire actions on key issues related to population growth. In close collaboration with other taskforce members, SAP pledged to develop technology solutions to help drive social innovation and global change.

Together with the Churchill Club, SAP and UNFPA will present the population dashboards at today's executive roundtable, titled "Innovating for a World of 7 Billion," and will discuss with industry thought-leaders in Silicon Valley the challenges and opportunities of a global population of 7 billion. Following the roundtable discussion, teams of SAP employees, along with representatives from other Silicon Valley technology companies, universities and non-profit organizations, will collaborate to find solutions that will enable youth in the least developed countries to enjoy greater access to secondary education, thereby empowering them to generate lasting economic benefit to themselves and their societies.

"The world's population reaching 7 billion people presents an excellent opportunity for technology to play an active role in the global commitment for a healthy and sustainable world," said Steve Lucas, general manager, Business Analytics and Technology, SAP. "We delivered dashboards that will help the organization build global awareness around the opportunities and challenges associated with a population of 7 billion people. The UNFPA will be better equipped to inspire governments, NGOs, the private sector, media, academia and individuals to take actions that will have a socially positive impact on the world."

For more information, including screenshots and videos of the dashboards, visit the Sustainability newsroom. Follow SAP on Twitter at @sapnews and @sustainableSAP, and follow the conversation at #7billion and #sap.

About UNFPA

UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is an international development agency that promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. UNFPA supports countries in using population data for policies and programs to reduce poverty and to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV, and every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect. Visit: www.unfpa.org

About SAP

As market leader in enterprise application software, SAP (NYSE: SAP) helps companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device – SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 172,000 customers (includes customers from the acquisition of Sybase) to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. For more information, visit www.sap.com.

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