Violence against women remains widespread across the world, exacerbated by traditions and customary practices that determine the way women are treated in families, places of work and communities, according to a United Nations report unveiled today.

The scourge "is an obstacle to the achievement of the objectives of equality, development and peace," according to The World's Women 2010: Trends and Statistics, published by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).

"In all societies, to a greater or lesser degree, women and girls are subjected to physical, sexual and psychological abuse that cuts across lines of income, class and culture. The low social and economic status of women can be both a cause and a consequence of this violence," the report, whose release coincided with the first-ever UN World Statistics Day, notes.

The publication also provides the latest data on the status of women in the areas of population, health, education, work, power and decision-making, environment and poverty.

"This 2010 report finds overall progress in many areas, including school enrolment, health, as wells as economic participation, but it makes it very clear that much more needs to be done to close the gender gap in public life and to prevent many forms of violence against women," Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, at the launch of the report in New York.

Other highlights of the report include the fact that there are approximately 57 million more men than women in the world, with some regions having less numbers of men and others lower numbers of women. Europe in general has more women than men, while the ratio in China is 108 men per 100 women.

"The trend of women marrying later and later continues throughout the world. This has obvious consequences for fertility which has declined globally to 2.5 births per woman," said Mr. Sundaram.

"But there are parts of the world where women marry early and bear more than five children on average. This has the effect of diminishing opportunities for women in education, employment and life chances," he added.

According to the new publication, in the realm of health, women are more likely than men to die from heart diseases globally. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 270,000 maternal deaths in 2005 – half of the world's deaths related to pregnancy and childbirth – were recorded, despite increases in the proportion of women receiving prenatal care.