The HDI 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).
Each year, UN Member States Are Listed And Ranked according to these measures. Those high on the list often advertise it, as a means of attracting talented immigrants (economically, Individual Capital ) or discouraging emigration.
An alternative measure, focusing on the amount of poverty in a country, is the Human Poverty Index .
Method used to calculate the Human Development Index
In general to transform a raw Variable , say , into a unit-free Index between 0 and 1 (which allows different indices to be added together), the following Formula is used:
The report for , and Sub-Saharan Africa , both of which show steady decline. Worsening education, economies, and mortality rates have contributed to HDI declines amongst countries in the first group, while HIV/AIDS and concomitant mortality is the principal cause of decline in the second group.
Most of the data used for the 2005 report, indicating country HDIs for 2003 , are derived largely from 2003 or earlier. Not all UN Member States choose to or are able to provide the necessary statistics. Notable absences from the list (excluding micro-states) are Afghanistan , Iraq , Liberia , North Korea , Serbia And Montenegro , and Somalia . While these countries are either unwilling or unable to provide data, they are generally considered countries of medium to low human development.
A HDI below 0.5 is considered to represent ''low development'' and 30 of the 32 countries in that category are located in Africa , with the exceptions of Haiti and Yemen . The bottom ten countries are all in Africa. The highest-scoring Sub-Saharan country, South Africa , is ranked 120th (with an HDI of 0.658), which is well above most other countries in the region.
An HDI 0.8 or more is considered to represent ''high development''. This includes countries of northern and western Europe , Australia , Canada , the United States , and Japan . Other countries that exhibit high human development amidst countries with lower HDIs include (with their position) South Korea (28th), Costa Rica (47th), Cuba (52nd), and Panama (56th).
''Note: Number in parentheses indicates change in rank since last report.''
Top thirty countries (HDI range from 0.963 down to 0.878)
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Bottom ten countries (HDI range from 0.281 up to 0.379)
The Republic of China (Taiwan) has calculated its HDI to be 0.910 for 2003 based on the following data: life expectancy of 76.1 years, adult literacy rate of 97.0%, combined gross enrollment rate of 97%, and GDP per capita (PPP) of US$23,911. If included among UN HDI figures, Taiwan would rank 25th: behind Greece and in front of Singapore. {Link without Title}
