The Human Development Index
Geography: KS3, topic 4.1.4
The Human Development Index (HDI)
The HDI index is a social measure of development that tries to overcome some of the problems of economic measures of development.
What is HDI?
- HDI stands for the Human Development Index.
- It is a composite measure of development because it takes into account data from more than one measure.
Three parts of HDI
- HDI is made up of the following three parts:
- The life expectancy of a country.
- The education level of people in that country.
- The income of people.
- The HDI combines all three of these measures to give one overview score.
Life expectancy and income
- The life expectancy of a country tells you about its development because if people are living longer, their quality of life is most likely higher.
- For the same reasons as GDP, the income of people can tell you how developed a country is.
Education
- The education level of people in that country tells you about its development because if people have received a good education and have then got a good job, then their quality of life will be higher.
Scores
- A score of 0 is a very low HDI.
- 1 is the highest possible score.
- Currently, Switzerland has the highest HDI score, followed by Norway and Iceland.
- The UK has the 14th highest HDI score.
- Developing countries dominate the bottom of the HDI rankings with countries like Sierra Leone, Mozambique and South Sudan having a very low score.
Evaluation
- Overall, HDI is a better measure of development because it gives an indication of how the money is spent in a country.
Test yourself on The Human Development Index
What does the missing H, D, or I in HDI stand for?
What is NOT a measure of development used by the HDI?
Which country has the highest HDI score?