What is the Human Development Index? (HDI)
In 2019, the three countries ranked the highest in human development were Norway, Switzerland, and Ireland, with values of 0.954, 0.946, and 0.942, respectively. The nation that ranked the lowest was Niger, with a value of 0.377. These numbers, part of a statistical tool established by the United Nations as the Human Development Index (HDI), are measured on a scale of 0 to 1. They are used to compare different countries' economic and social development levels based on three main aspects of human development: access to knowledge, a long and healthy life, and a decent standard of living.
Most people understand that having a country rank higher on the list is cause for celebration, but is there no hope for the countries ranked the lowest?
The usage of HDI
Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq was the first to develop the concept of human development as he worked at the World Bank and as Pakistan's minister of finance. He published the first Human Development Report in 1990, setting the stage for the United Nations Development Programme to adopt it.
Analysts use the HDI to track various countries' changes in development levels through the years. According to the United Nations Development Programme, the HDI was created to highlight that the people should be the main focus of any country's development. The HDI allows analysts to look at countries with similar economic levels and determine why their human development differs, eventually sparking change in national policy.
Focus is put on each nation's health, income, and education because they are considered the foundation of a people's well-being and access to opportunity.
How HDI is measured
One can determine a country's HDI by calculating the average indexes of each of the three main aspects of human development. Each component receives a score on a scale of 0 to 1. Measuring the health and long life portion of a country's HDI would entail measuring the population's life expectancy. A value of 0 equates to a life expectancy of 20, while a value of 1 equates to a life expectancy of 83.
The knowledge aspect of the HDI, on the other hand, is divided into two components. The first measures the mean years of schooling for residents, while the second measures the expected years of education for children. If the country measures 15 mean years of education, the measure is a value of 1. If the nation offers 18 years of conventional education, the value is also 1. One then calculates the mean of these two values to calculate the knowledge component of the HDI.
As for the standard of living, each country's gross national income (GNI) per capita is measured depending on their purchasing power parity. The state receives a value of 1 if its GNI per capita reaches $75,000, but it gets a value of 0 if its GNI per capita is only at $100.
After all of these are calculated, analysts compute the mean of the values given to each aspect of human development to come up with a country's final HDI.
Most people understand that having a country rank higher on the list is cause for celebration, but is there no hope for the countries ranked the lowest?
The usage of HDI
Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq was the first to develop the concept of human development as he worked at the World Bank and as Pakistan's minister of finance. He published the first Human Development Report in 1990, setting the stage for the United Nations Development Programme to adopt it.
Analysts use the HDI to track various countries' changes in development levels through the years. According to the United Nations Development Programme, the HDI was created to highlight that the people should be the main focus of any country's development. The HDI allows analysts to look at countries with similar economic levels and determine why their human development differs, eventually sparking change in national policy.
Focus is put on each nation's health, income, and education because they are considered the foundation of a people's well-being and access to opportunity.
How HDI is measured
One can determine a country's HDI by calculating the average indexes of each of the three main aspects of human development. Each component receives a score on a scale of 0 to 1. Measuring the health and long life portion of a country's HDI would entail measuring the population's life expectancy. A value of 0 equates to a life expectancy of 20, while a value of 1 equates to a life expectancy of 83.
The knowledge aspect of the HDI, on the other hand, is divided into two components. The first measures the mean years of schooling for residents, while the second measures the expected years of education for children. If the country measures 15 mean years of education, the measure is a value of 1. If the nation offers 18 years of conventional education, the value is also 1. One then calculates the mean of these two values to calculate the knowledge component of the HDI.
As for the standard of living, each country's gross national income (GNI) per capita is measured depending on their purchasing power parity. The state receives a value of 1 if its GNI per capita reaches $75,000, but it gets a value of 0 if its GNI per capita is only at $100.
After all of these are calculated, analysts compute the mean of the values given to each aspect of human development to come up with a country's final HDI.
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