Indicators of Human Development Index

While we may think that we live in paradise with an abundance of everything and an ever-developing environment, the reality is not very different from our expectations. The Theory of Human Development Index has given us a new identity. It tells us how to improve our way of life and be a step ahead of others. Human development means living standards and opportunities that are entire. In 1990 the United Nations came up with a human development index (HDI) concept. The HDI is considered an index of human development because it indicates the level of human well-being in a country.

Human Development Index Indicators

The Human Development Index (HDI) is a comparative measure of life expectancy, literacy, education, standards of living, and quality of life for countries worldwide. The G8 index evaluates the wealth of countries in terms of their GDP (PPP) per capita. It is a less useful indicator than the Human Development Index and other indices.

Following are the major Human Development indicators:

Standard of Living

The standard of living in a country depends on its per capita income. Our living standards depend on how much we earn and how much we spend relative to others. Over the last decade, many countries have experienced strong economic growth and dramatic poverty reduction. But just as important as the number of poor people (absolute poverty) is the proportion of the poor population (relative poverty). In many countries, absolute poverty is still falling rapidly, but relative poverty is rising. The reason is that some people are benefiting much more from economic growth than others, so inequality increases and some people become poor. Income inequality has risen steeply in most countries, and wealth inequality – what people own rather than what they earn – has risen even faster.

Per Capita Income

A country’s level of human development is determined based on its per capita GDP. The level of human development will be higher in those countries where per capita GDP is higher and vice-versa. Thus, the level of per capita GDP determines human development.

Educational Attainment

A country will develop or decline based on the level of education the people have access to. This is what differentiates a developed country from an undeveloped one. A partial measure of development is educational attainment, defined here as the percentage of the adult population that, by their 16th birthday, have either completed three years or more of schooling or have completed an initial family training program or a secondary schooling program.

Life Expectancy

If you want to know the level of human development of a country, look at the life expectancy of its people. Life expectancy is one of the most widely used indicators of a country’s level of human development. It tells us how long we can reasonably expect to live under current circumstances. The higher the life expectancy at birth, the more developed a country is. In contrast, poorer countries tend to have lower life expectancies.

To know the life expectancy, a sample survey has to be conducted. Because different surveys have different results, it is important to have enough representative samples. After that data has been collected, it should be analysed, and some conclusions can be drawn from them. Many factors play an important role in increasing or decreasing life expectancy in a country.

Level of Human Rights

The level of human rights is considered an indicator of human development. At present, through international human rights instruments, its scope has been gradually enlarged, and its nature has been roughly determined. It is in the process of development and improvement. People can better enjoy their rights if human development is high.

Fulfilment of Basic Needs

Today, no one can live freely without fulfilling their basic needs. The provision of basic needs is one of the main tasks that human development index authorities look upon. In order of importance, these are the most basic needs: housing, food, and clothing.

Other human development index indicators are the human development index rank, infant mortality rate, maternal mortality rate, adult literacy ratio, etc.

Inequality-Adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI)

The Inequality-Adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI) measures the average health, education and income achievements that a country’s citizens attain and its inequality.

The IHDI is the human development index of a country that has been adjusted for inequality in the distribution of health, education and income within the country.

For example, if half of a country’s population lives on less than $1 per day while the other half lives on $100 per day, the average income per capita would be $50.50. By taking into account income inequality, the poverty line will be used as a threshold for the proportion of people living below it, represented in this case as 50%. This way, we see that although the average income per capita is $50.50 in this example, 50% of its population lives on less than $1 per day.

The IHDI can be presented as either a number between 0 (no inequality) and 1 (inequality causes maximum loss in human development) or as a percentage.

The higher inequalities within a country, the bigger its IHDI; the reduction will be relative to its HDI. By comparing this IHDI reduction with other countries in the same HDI group, one can see how different countries have been affected by inequalities of outcomes within their populations.

Conclusion

If we want to measure and understand the concept of indicators of human development, then we will be required to consider factors such as –

• A person’s capability to lead a long and healthy life
• The ability to acquire knowledge and develop skills to enjoy an intellectual and creative life
• The ability to access resources required for living with dignity, i.e., freedom from fear, hunger, violence and exploitation
• The availability of resources needed for economic growth and social developments, such as capital goods, financial resources and skilled labour force