- For other uses of the abbreviation HDI, see HDI (disambiguation).
World map indicating HDI of
UN member states, 2003.
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██ 0.950 and higher
██ 0.900-0.949
██ 0.850-0.899
██ 0.800-0.849
██ 0.750-0.799
██ 0.700-0.749
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██ 0.650-0.699
██ 0.600-0.649
██ 0.550-0.599
██ 0.500-0.549
██ 0.450-0.499
██ 0.400-0.449
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██ 0.350-0.399
██ 0.300-0.349
██ lower than 0.300
██ n/a
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The UN Human Development Index (HDI) is a comparative measure of poverty, literacy, education, life expectancy, childbirth, and other factors for countries worldwide. It is a standard means of measuring well-being, especially child welfare. The index was developed in 1990 by the Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq, and has been used since 1993 by the United Nations Development Programme in its annual report.
The HDI measures the average achievements in a country in three basic dimensions of human development:
Each year, UN member states are listed and ranked according to these measures. Those high on the list often advertise it, as a means of attracting talented immigrants (economically, individual capital) or discouraging emigration.
Method used to calculate the Human Development Index
The Human Development Index (HDI) represents the average of the following three indices:
- Life Expectancy Index =
- Education Index =
-
- Adult Literacy Index (ALI) =
-
- Gross Enrolment Index (GEI) =
- GDP Index =
The subtractions are necessary to subtract "minimum values" from each index. For instance, the minimum life expectancy a country can have is 25, so 25 is subtracted from both the LE index and the maximum LE of 85.
LE: Life expectancy
ALR: Adult literacy rate
CGER: Combined gross enrolment ratio
GDPpc: GDP per capita at PPP in USD
2005 report
The report for 2005 shows that, in general, the HDI for countries around the world is improving, with two major exceptions: Post-Soviet states, and Sub-Saharan Africa, both of which show steady decline. Worsening education, economies, and mortality rates caused declines in the HDIs amongst the first group while HIV/AIDS is the principal cause of decline in the second group.
Most of the data used for the 2005 report, indicating country HDIs for 2003, are derived largely from 2003 or earlier. Not all UN member states choose to or are able to provide the necessary statistics. Notable absences from the list (excluding micro-states) are Afghanistan, Iraq, Liberia, North Korea, Serbia and Montenegro, Somalia and Taiwan. While these countries are either unwilling or unable to provide data, they are generally considered countries of medium to low human development, with the exception of Taiwan (see below).
In the first 21 positions there is a gradual drop from 0,936 to 0,928, followed by a somewhat faster drop to 0,878 for position 30 and another gradual drop to 0,720 at position 107. After that, there is an intermittent rapid drop to 0,281 at the lowest position of 177. Note that until position 107 there is an average drop of about 0,002 points per position. Below that the drop is much higher at 0,007 per position.
An HDI below 0.5 is considered to represent low development and 30 of the 32 countries in that category are located in Africa, with the exceptions of Haiti and Yemen. The bottom ten countries are all in Africa. Even the highest-scoring Sub-Saharan country, South Africa, is ranked 120th (with an HDI of 0.658), which is well above most other countries in the region.
An HDI 0.8 or more is considered to represent a high development. This includes countries of northern Europe (e.g., Scandinavian countries), Australia, Canada, USA, and Japan. French depedencies often stand out as having the highest rating in the region, such as New Caledonia and French Guyana, but do not appear on the list because they are part of France. Other countries that exhibit high human development amidst countries with lower HDIs include (with their position) South Korea (28th), Costa Rica (47th), Cuba (52nd), and Panama (56th).
Note: Number in parentheses indicates change in rank since last report.
Top thirty countries (HDI range from 0.963 down to 0.878)
Bottom ten countries (HDI range from 0.281 up to 0.379)
Top/bottom three countries by region
Past top countries
The number one ranked country in each year of the index.
Countries not included
The following countries are not ranked in the 2005 Human Development Index.
* The Republic of China (Taiwan) has calculated its HDI to be 0.910 for 2003 based on the following data: life expectancy of 76.1 years, adult literacy rate of 97.0%, combined gross enrolment rate of 97%, and GDP per capita (PPP) of US$23,911. If included among UN HDI figures, Taiwan would rank 25th: behind Greece and in front of Singapore. [1]
See also
