2. The Human Development Index

3. What is it? 3. Knowledge (Literacy Rate, enrolment rates in school, etc.) - A yearly comparison of the development of nations around the world - A combined measure of 3 major areas: 1. Health (Life expectancy, Infant Mortality, etc.) 2. Standard of living (GDP per person, public debt, etc.)

4. Over 100 statistics are weighted and combined to generate a number between 0 and 1 A HDI below 0.5 is considered to represent low development A HDI of 0.8 or more is considered to represent high development

5. What does it say? -Citizens of most countries are living better lives today than they did 25 years ago -Some nations are falling behind in development (the gap between the “haves” and the “have nots” is widening)

6. World map indicating HDI of nation-states, 2005. The colour generalisation graduates from green (for high development), to yellow and orange (for medium development), to red (for low development).

7. “Most Livable” Countries, 2007 1.Iceland11.Finland 2.Norway 12.United States 3.Australia13.Spain 4.Canada14.Denmark 5.Ireland 15.Austria 6.Sweden 16.United Kingdom 7.Switzerland17.Belgium 8.Japan 18.Luxembourg 9.Netherlands 19.New Zealand 10.France20.Italy

8. “Least Livable” Countries, 2007 1.Sierra Leone 2.Burkina Faso 3. Guinea-Bissau 4.Niger 5.Mali 6.Mozambique 7.Central African Republic 8.Chad 9.Ethiopia 10. Congo, Dem. Rep. of LINK TO 2006 RANKINGS: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Development_Index http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Development_Index

9. Some HDI Indicators GDP (Gross Domestic Product): Total value of goods and services produced within a country Life Expectancy: Average lifespan of the population Literacy Rate: Rate of the population that has the ability to read and write Food Supply: Amount of energy (food) adequate to sustain the population Doctors per Person

10. Categorization of Countries Countries are placed in a category: DEVELOPED (High Human Develpment): A country with a highly developed economy. High incomes and abundance of food, good housing and many luxuries. NEWLY INDUSTRIALIZED (Medium Human Development): Countries are in the transition stage between developed and developing. Growing economies. DEVELOPING (Low Human Development): A country with a poorly developed economy. Low incomes, shortages of food, poor housing and people cannot afford luxuries.