The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite statistical measure used to assess and compare the social and economic development levels of countries. It focuses on three key dimensions of human development:
- A long and healthy life , measured by life expectancy at birth.
- Knowledge , assessed through mean years of schooling for adults and expected years of schooling for children entering school.
- A decent standard of living , measured by gross national income (GNI) per capita adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP).
The HDI combines these indicators into a single index by normalizing each dimension to a scale from 0 to 1 and then calculating the geometric mean of the three dimension indices. This results in a score between 0 and 1, where higher values indicate higher human development
. The HDI was developed by economist Mahbub ul-Haq and is published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to emphasize that development should be assessed by people's capabilities and well-being, not just economic growth alone. It serves as a tool to evaluate and compare countries’ development progress, highlight disparities within and between countries, and stimulate policy discussions on health, education, and income
. Countries are often classified into tiers based on their HDI scores: very high, high, medium, or low human development
. However, the HDI does not capture all aspects of development such as inequality, poverty, human security, or empowerment, and other indices may be used alongside it for a fuller picture
