Importance of Human Development Index

What is Human Development Index

Human Development Index or HDI is a statistical measure developed by Mahbub Ul Haq, a Pakistani economist. It was later adopted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for measuring the development of countries.

HDI measures development of a country based on certain parameters such as life expectancy, literacy rate (education) and per capita income.

UNDP releases a yearly report by assessing the countries of the world on the parameters mentioned above. It is regarded as one of the best indicators of the development of a nation as it consists of all the important indicators necessary to determine economic development.

Also read: Human Development Index Meaning And Its Indicators

Components of Human Development Index

The following are the components of Human Development Index.

1. Health: The first component of HDI is health and for determining a long and healthy life, life expectancy is the most important parameter.

2. Education: The development of a nation can be indicated by another important component which is education. Education can be measured in two stages, which can be as expected years of schooling that is based on entry level schooling age and mean years of schooling (total schooling age) for the adult population.

3. Income: The third parameter that is considered for determining a good standard of living is income and it is determined by the gross national income per capita.

Importance of Human Development Index

It is necessary to determine social measures of development for calculating the overall development of a nation. Human Development Index measures the socio economic factors and therefore, is considered very effective in measuring the performance of a country in terms of these factors.

HDI acts as a tool in evaluating the socio-economic status of nations around the world every year and as such acts as a reliable indicator of the development of the nations.

Also see: Difference Between Human Capital and Human Development

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