United Nations, Oct 21 (IANS) There are 57 million more men than women globally, the UN said in a report to mark the World Statistics Day.

The report titled "The World's Women 2010: Trends and Statistics", was released by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) Wednesday, Xinhua reported.

The UN General Assembly in June this year proclaimed Oct 20 as World Statistics Day to recognize the importance of statistics in shaping societies.

The report showed that women globally have "benefited" from the gender statistics in the last decade.

It said Europe has more women than men. But in some of the most populous countries, there is a "shortage" of women, such as in China where the ratio is 108 men per 100 women.

"We know that statistics are a vital tool for economic and social planning," Keiko Osaki-Tomita, chief of Demographic and Social Statistics Branch (DSSB) of DESA, said at a press conference. "Statistics are essential for academic research, business planning and budget allocation."