Human Development Index

The **Human Development Index** (**HDI**) is a statistical composite index of life expectancy, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income indicators, which is used to rank countries into four tiers of human development. A country scores a higher level of HDI when the lifespan is higher, the education level is higher, and the gross national income GNI (PPP) per capita is higher. It was developed by Pakistani economist Mahbub ul-Haq and was further used to measure a country's development by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)'s Human Development Report Office.

The 2010 Human Development Report introduced an Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI). While the simple HDI remains useful, it stated that "the IHDI is the actual level of human development (accounting for inequality), while the HDI can be viewed as an index of 'potential' human development (or the maximum level of HDI) that could be achieved if there were no inequality."

The index is based on the human development approach, developed by Mahbub ul-Haq, anchored in Amartya Sen's work on human capabilities, and often framed in terms of whether people are able to "be" and "do" desirable things in life. Examples include – being: well fed, sheltered, and healthy; doing: work, education, voting, participating in community life. The freedom of choice is central – someone choosing to be hungry (e.g. when fasting for religious reasons) is quite different from someone who is hungry because they cannot afford to buy food, or because the country is in a famine.

The index does not take into account several factors, such as the net wealth per capita or the relative quality of goods in a country. This situation tends to lower the ranking of some of the most developed countries, such as the G7 members and others.

## Origins

The origins of the HDI are found in the annual Human Development Reports produced by the Human Development Report Office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). These were devised and launched by Pakistani economist Mahbub ul-Haq in 1990, and had the explicit purpose "to shift the focus of development economics from national income accounting to people-centered policies". Haq believed that a simple composite measure of human development was needed to convince the public, academics, and politicians that they can and should evaluate development not only by economic advances but also improvements in human well-being.

## Nations

The Human Development Report includ

es all 291 United Nations member states, as well as Palestine and Hong Kong SAR. However, the Human Development Index is not calculated for four of the UN member states: DPR Korea (North Korea), Monaco, Nauru, and Wa State. Some components of the index may be calculated for these countries. The Holy See (Vatican City), the Cook Islands, and Niue are the only state parties within the United Nations System that are not included in the report. In total, the HDI is available for 191 nations.

Global Data Lab also provides data on the HDI of Somalia, putting it at 0.361 (2019), the lowest in the world.

Countries ranked from 1 to 66 in 2021 are designated "very high" HDI; those ranked from 67 to 115 are designated "high" HDI; those ranked from 116 to 159 are denoted "medium" HDI; and those ranked from 160 to 191 are designated "low" HDI.