Human Development Index

The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite statistic of life expectancy, education, and per capita income indicators, which are used to rank countries into four tiers of human development. It was developed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as a way to measure and compare the overall development and well-being of countries.

Components

The HDI considers three main dimensions:

• Life expectancy at birth: This dimension assesses the ability to live a long and healthy life.
• Education index: This dimension is measured by mean years of schooling for adults aged 25 years or older and expected years of schooling for children entering school.
• Income index: This dimension is measured by Gross National Income (GNI) per capita.

Calculation

The HDI is calculated as the geometric mean of normalized indices for each of the three dimensions. The formula is:

HDI = (I_health * I_education * I_income)^(1/3)

where:

• I_health = (Life expectancy - 20) / (85 - 20)
• I_education = (Mean years of schooling index + Expected years of schooling index) / 2
• I_income = (ln(GNI per capita) - ln(100)) / (ln(75000) - ln(100))

Categories

Countries are categorized into four levels of human development based on their HDI scores:

• Very high human development: HDI of 0.800 and above
• High human development: HDI of 0.700 to 0.799
• Medium human development: HDI of 0.550 to 0.699
• Low human development: HDI below 0.550

Criticisms

The HDI has faced several criticisms, including:

• It does not account for inequality, poverty, human rights, and other factors that affect human development.
• The use of GNI per capita as a measure of income does not reflect the distribution of income within a country.
• The HDI does not consider environmental sustainability.

Related Indices

The UNDP also publishes other indices that complement the HDI, including:

• Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI)
• Gender Development Index (GDI)
• Gender Inequality Index (GII)
• Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)

See also

• Gross Domestic Product
• Quality of life
• Sustainable Development Goals
• World Happiness Report