Presents a common vocabulary to facilitate the indexing, retrieval and exchange of development-related information.

The subject area is economic and social development, hence the core areas are: International co-operation and international relations; Economic and social policy and planning; Economics conditions, research and systems; Institutional frameworks, including law, politics and government, and human rights. All of these topics are treated in some depth and impinge on virtually all types of human activity, a fact which is reflected in what ISO 2788 calls fringe areas. These are culture and society, education and training, agriculture, industry, trade, transport, public finance and banking, management, labour, demography and population, health and the sciences.