Measuring Development
Development is when a country is improving
Development is the process in economic growth, use of technology and
improving welfare that a country has made. When a country develops it
basically gets better for the people living there - the quality of life improves
The level of development is different in different countries. The difference in development
between more and less developed countries is called the global development gap.
The are loads of measures of development
Some measures look at a country’s level of economic development, while others look
at social factors that provide information about people’s quality of life
However all these measures have limitations
GNI per head can be misleading when used on its own because it
is an average - variations within the country don’t show up.
Social indicators can also be misleading if they they are used on their own because as a country
develops some aspects develop before others. So it seems a country is more developed than it actually is.
, Measuring Development
Counties are often classified based on how wealthy they are.
Despite the problems with using one measure of development on
its own, the most common way of classifying a country
Higher Income Countries (HIC)
HIC’s are the wealthiest countries in the world, where the GNI is high.
E.g. UK, USA, Canada, France.
Lower Income Countries (LIC)
LIC’s are the poorest countries in the world, where the GNI is very low
E.g. Afghanistan, Somalia and Uganda.
Newly Emerging Economies (NEE)
A country’s wealth doesn’t stay the same. Some countries (NEE) are
rapidly getting richer as their economy moves from being based in
primary industry (e.g agriculture) to secondary industry (manufacturing.)
The Human Development Index Combines Different Measures
One way to avoid some of the problems of using individual
measures is to use the Human Development Index (HDI)
HDI is calculated using income (GNI), life expectancy and education level. Every
county has and HDI value between 0 (least developed) and 1 (most developed.)
The combination of measures means that a country’s HDI value tells you about the
country’s level of economic development and the quality of life for people who live there.
The classification of countries by HDI mostly looks similar to GNI per head, but there are some differences
Development is when a country is improving
Development is the process in economic growth, use of technology and
improving welfare that a country has made. When a country develops it
basically gets better for the people living there - the quality of life improves
The level of development is different in different countries. The difference in development
between more and less developed countries is called the global development gap.
The are loads of measures of development
Some measures look at a country’s level of economic development, while others look
at social factors that provide information about people’s quality of life
However all these measures have limitations
GNI per head can be misleading when used on its own because it
is an average - variations within the country don’t show up.
Social indicators can also be misleading if they they are used on their own because as a country
develops some aspects develop before others. So it seems a country is more developed than it actually is.
, Measuring Development
Counties are often classified based on how wealthy they are.
Despite the problems with using one measure of development on
its own, the most common way of classifying a country
Higher Income Countries (HIC)
HIC’s are the wealthiest countries in the world, where the GNI is high.
E.g. UK, USA, Canada, France.
Lower Income Countries (LIC)
LIC’s are the poorest countries in the world, where the GNI is very low
E.g. Afghanistan, Somalia and Uganda.
Newly Emerging Economies (NEE)
A country’s wealth doesn’t stay the same. Some countries (NEE) are
rapidly getting richer as their economy moves from being based in
primary industry (e.g agriculture) to secondary industry (manufacturing.)
The Human Development Index Combines Different Measures
One way to avoid some of the problems of using individual
measures is to use the Human Development Index (HDI)
HDI is calculated using income (GNI), life expectancy and education level. Every
county has and HDI value between 0 (least developed) and 1 (most developed.)
The combination of measures means that a country’s HDI value tells you about the
country’s level of economic development and the quality of life for people who live there.
The classification of countries by HDI mostly looks similar to GNI per head, but there are some differences
