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___ Human Development

Human development is first and foremost about allowing people
to lead the kind of life they choose - and providing them with the
tools and opportunities to make those choices.

Human development is about much more than the rise or fall of national incomes. It is about creating an environment in which people can develop their full potential and lead productive, creative lives in accord with their needs and interests. People are the real wealth of nations. Development is thus about expanding the choices people have to lead lives that they value. And it is thus about much more than economic growth, which is only a means - if a very important one - of enlarging people's choices.

Fundamental to enlarging these choices is building human capabilities - the range of things that people can do or be in life. The most basic capabilities for human development are to lead long and healthy lives, to be knowledgeable, to have access to the resources needed for a decent standard of living and to be able to participate in the life of the community. Without these, many choices are simply not available, and many opportunities in life remain inaccessible.
(cited from UN Human Development Report 2004)

Below you will find the chart of the Human Development Index (HDI) about the world's nations state of developing. The Index, published annually by the UN, is a summary measure of human development. It measures the average achievements in a country in three basic dimensions of human development:

A long and healthy life
as measured by life expectancy at birth.

Knowledge
as measured by the adult literacy rate (with two-thirds weight) and the combined primary,secondary and tertiary gross enrolment ratio (with one-third weight).

A decent standard of living
as measured by GDP per capita* (PPP US$).

* Gross Domestic Product, the value of all goods and services produced in the economy divided by the population.

Each year, countries are ranked according to these measures. 		HDI Human Development Index Map
Worldmap of Human Development Index (click to enlarge)
 

Human Development Index - Top 30 Countries with high human development

#

Country

Life expectancy at birth (years) 2002

Adult literacy rate (%ages 15 and above) 2002

Combined gross enrolment ratio for primary, secondary and tertiary schools (%) 2001/02

GDP per capita (PPP US$) 2002

Life
expectancy
index

Education index

GDP index

Human development index (HDI) value 2002

GDP per capita (PPP US$) rank minus HDI rank
 
1 Norway
78.9
..
98
 36,600
0.90
0.99
0.99
0.956
1
2 Sweden
80.0
..
114
 26,050
0.92
0.99
0.93
0.946
19
3 Australia
79.1
..
113
 28,260
0.90
0.99
0.94
0.946
9
4 Canada
79.3
..
95
 29,480
0.90
0.98
0.95
0.943
5
5 Netherlands
78.3
..
99
 29,100
0.89
0.99
0.95
0.942
6
6 Belgium
78.7
..
111
 27,570
0.90
0.99
0.94
0.942
7
7 Iceland
79.7
..
90
 29,750
0.91
0.96
0.95
0.941
1
8 USA
77.0
..
92
 35,750
0.87
0.97
0.98
0.939
-4
9 Japan
81.5
..
84
 26,940
0.94
0.94
0.93
0.938
6
10 Ireland
76.9
..
90
 36,360
0.86
0.96
0.98
0.936
-7
11 Switzerland
79.1
..
88
 30,010
0.90
0.95
0.95
0.936
-4
12 UK
78.1
..
113
 26,150
0.88
0.99
0.93
0.936
8
13 Finland
77.9
..
106
 26,190
0.88
0.99
0.93
0.935
6
14 Austria
78.5
..
91
 29,220
0.89
0.96
0.95
0.934
-4
15 Luxembourg
78.3
..
75
 61,190
0.89
0.91
1.00
0.933
-14
16 France
78.9
..
91
 26,920
0.90
0.96
0.93
0.932
0
17 Denmark
76.6
..
96
 30,940
0.86
0.98
0.96
0.932
-12
18 New Zealand
78.2
..
101
 21,740
0.89
0.99
0.90
0.926
6
19 Germany
78.2
..
88
 27,100
0.89
0.95
0.94
0.925
-5
20 Spain
79.2
97.7
92
 21,460
0.90
0.97
0.90
0.922
5
21 Italy
78.7
98.5
82
 26,430
0.89
0.93
0.93
0.920
-3
22 Israel
79.1
95.3
92
 19,530
0.90
0.94
0.88
0.908
5
23 Hong Kong
79.9
93.5
72
 26,910
0.91
0.86
0.93
0.903
-6
24 Greece
78.2
97.3
86
 18,720
0.89
0.95
0.87
0.902
5
25 Singapore
78.0
92.5
87
 24,040
0.88
0.91
0.92
0.902
-3
26 Portugal
76.1
92.5
93
 18,280
0.85
0.97
0.87
0.897
6
27 Slovenia
76.2
99.7
90
 18,540
0.85
0.96
0.87
0.895
3
28 Korea, South
75.4
97.9
92
 16,950
0.84
0.97
0.86
0.888
9
29 Barbados
77.1
99.7
88
 15,290
0.87
0.95
0.84
0.888
11
30 Cyprus
78.2
96.8
74
 18,360
0.89
0.89
0.87
0.883
1

Source: UN Human Development Report 2004

Related Categories:
to Countries and Corruption
159 nations surveyed in 2005 Corruption Perceptions Index.
to Human Development Index (HDI)
Countries by standards of the UN Human Development Index.
to Countries and their Regard of Press Freedom
Index of countries according to their respect for press freedom.
to List of Least Developed Countries (LDCs)
to Universal Declaration of Human Rights
to First, Second and Third World


For in-depth information about the report please go to:
United Nations Human Development Report
Cultural Liberty in Today's Diverse World.



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