Human Development Index
What is HDI?
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite statistic used to rank countries by level of "human development", taken as a synonym of the older terms "standard of living" and/or "quality of life", and distinguishing "very high human development", "high human development", "medium human development", and "low human development" countries. HDI was devised and launched by Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq, followed by Indian economist Amartya Sen in 1990. The HDI is a comparative measure of life expectancy, literacy, education, and standards of living of a country. It is a standard means of measuring well-being, especially child welfare. It is also used to distinguish whether the country is a developed, a developing or an underdeveloped country, and also to measure the impact of economic policies on quality of life. There are also HDI for states, cities, villages, etc. by local organizations or companies which have interest in the matter. The HDI formula result is a number from 0 to 1, 1 being the best outcome possible.
Components of HDI
What does HDI tell us?
The HDI was created to emphasize that people and their capabilities should be the ultimate criteria for assessing the development of a country, not economic growth alone. The HDI can also be used to question national policy choices, asking how two countries with the same level of GNI per capita can end up with such different human development outcomes. For example, the Bahamas and New Zealand have similar levels of income per person, but life expectancy and expected years of schooling differ greatly between the two countries, resulting in New Zealand having a much higher HDI value than the Bahamas. These striking contrasts can stimulate debate about government policy priorities.
What are the criteria for a country to be included in the HDI?
The Human Development Report Office strives to include as many UN member countries as possible in the HDI. To include a country in the HDI we need
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite statistic used to rank countries by level of "human development", taken as a synonym of the older terms "standard of living" and/or "quality of life", and distinguishing "very high human development", "high human development", "medium human development", and "low human development" countries. HDI was devised and launched by Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq, followed by Indian economist Amartya Sen in 1990. The HDI is a comparative measure of life expectancy, literacy, education, and standards of living of a country. It is a standard means of measuring well-being, especially child welfare. It is also used to distinguish whether the country is a developed, a developing or an underdeveloped country, and also to measure the impact of economic policies on quality of life. There are also HDI for states, cities, villages, etc. by local organizations or companies which have interest in the matter. The HDI formula result is a number from 0 to 1, 1 being the best outcome possible.
Components of HDI
What does HDI tell us?
The HDI was created to emphasize that people and their capabilities should be the ultimate criteria for assessing the development of a country, not economic growth alone. The HDI can also be used to question national policy choices, asking how two countries with the same level of GNI per capita can end up with such different human development outcomes. For example, the Bahamas and New Zealand have similar levels of income per person, but life expectancy and expected years of schooling differ greatly between the two countries, resulting in New Zealand having a much higher HDI value than the Bahamas. These striking contrasts can stimulate debate about government policy priorities.
What are the criteria for a country to be included in the HDI?
The Human Development Report Office strives to include as many UN member countries as possible in the HDI. To include a country in the HDI we need