World Development Information Day
A/RES/3038 (XXVII)
A/RES/3038 (XXVII)
This authority record treats the observance as a fixed annual date. The same month and day can be reused unless a stronger source changes the rule. Public-holiday or government status is never inferred from the observance name alone.
Overview
World Development Information Day is observed on 24 October. The General Assembly created it in 1972 to draw public attention to development problems and to the need for stronger international cooperation to address them.
The day reflects an early UN view that better public information, especially among young people, could strengthen understanding of development challenges and support international cooperation.
Why it matters
The observance links development policy with public understanding. Its institutional purpose is not simply to promote more information, but to improve awareness of development problems and the international cooperation needed to solve them.
Modern observance can use the day to examine how development data, media literacy, access to information and public communication affect understanding of poverty, inequality and sustainable development.
History
On 19 December 1972, the General Assembly adopted resolution 3038 (XXVII), instituting World Development Information Day.
The Assembly decided that the date should coincide in principle with United Nations Day, 24 October. That date also marked the 1970 adoption of the International Development Strategy for the Second United Nations Development Decade.
The first World Development Information Day was observed on 24 October 1973. The UN Yearbook records an open forum at Headquarters as part of that first observance.
How the observance developed
This timeline is assembled only from verified provenance fields. Missing stages are omitted rather than inferred.
United Nations General Assembly
UN General Assembly resolution 3038 (XXVII)
First documented observance
The 1973 UN Yearbook explicitly records the first observance on 24 October 1973.
What the evidence establishes
Verified institutional roles and milestones are shown first. Fields that the reviewed sources do not establish remain fail-closed and are available below without competing with the confirmed record.
4 fields not established in reviewed sources
Ways to observe
Use current UN development indicators to explain one development challenge with sources and definitions clearly stated.
Compare how the same development issue is reported by statistical agencies, governments and news organizations.
Create a short data-literacy activity showing how indicators can be misread without context.
Avoid presenting outdated development statistics as current simply because they appear in historical observance materials.
Useful facts
World Development Information Day is observed on 24 October.
The General Assembly established it through resolution 3038 (XXVII) on 19 December 1972.
The first observance was held on 24 October 1973.
24 October was chosen to coincide with United Nations Day and the anniversary of the 1970 International Development Strategy.
Topic and context
What this page does not assume
- Keep the source-defined country, community, organizer or institutional scope; do not silently broaden it.
- Do not treat the title alone as proof of government recognition or public-holiday status.
- Do not add a creator, founding story or origin claim unless the supporting evidence establishes it.
- Remembrance Civic Context Care.
Evidence & sources
Repeated links from the authority record, institutional provenance and editorial guide research are consolidated here. Badges show how each source is used; a contextual source is never treated as proof of establishment on its own.
United Nations Digital Library — resolution 3038 (XXVII) (opens in a new tab)
United Nations — World Development Information Day (opens in a new tab)
United Nations — List of International Days and Weeks (opens in a new tab)
United Nations — Observances: who chooses them and how (opens in a new tab)
United Nations Yearbook 1973 — first observance (opens in a new tab)
Understand it, compare it, then explore further
Start with the most common factual questions, then use reviewed distinctions and related authority records to understand where this observance fits.
Frequently asked questions
When is World Development Information Day?
24 October The stored recurrence guidance is: 24 October.
Does World Development Information Day fall on the same date every year?
The authority record classifies it as fixed annual, so its month and day are reusable unless stronger evidence changes the rule.
Is World Development Information Day an official public holiday?
The authority record verifies it within this scope: United Nations / international observance. That recognition does not by itself make it a statutory public holiday; the site only makes public-holiday claims when the supporting authority record explicitly does so.
Who established or recognizes World Development Information Day?
The reviewed provenance layer identifies United Nations General Assembly as the proclaiming or establishing body.
Is World Development Information Day international or country-specific?
The record has international or global institutional scope: United Nations / international observance. That does not mean every country treats the date as a public holiday or observes it in the same way.
How is this page verified?
The factual layer is source-backed and keeps its date rule, scope, provenance and editorial guardrails attached to the authority record. This record was checked on 2026-09-05.
When was World Development Information Day created?
The General Assembly instituted the Day through resolution 3038 (XXVII), adopted on 19 December 1972.
Why is it on 24 October?
The Assembly chose 24 October so the observance would coincide with United Nations Day and the anniversary of the 1970 adoption of the International Development Strategy for the Second United Nations Development Decade.
When was it first observed?
The UN Yearbook records the first observance on 24 October 1973.
Other observances on October 24
These records also resolve to October 24, 2026 under the current authority data.
Food Day
CSPI’s 2011 annual report documents the relaunch of national Food Day and its October 24 date, modeled as a public education and food-system campaign.
Independence Day
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade current National Days protocol register lists Zambia — Independence Day on 24 October. The source verifies the diplomatic national-day id…
Make A Difference Day
Points of Light documents Make A Difference Day as beginning in 1992 and taking place annually on the fourth Saturday in October.
National Kangaroo Awareness Day
National Today places National Kangaroo Awareness Day on October 24 annually, and Awareness Days independently uses October 24 for the Australian wildlife observance.
National One United Race Day
National Day Archives identifies One United Race as the 2019 founder and gives the fourth Saturday in October; current calendars preserve the same recurrence.
United Nations Day
A/RES/168 (II)