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60 S Development Indicators

Development indicators are used to measure and compare levels of development between countries. There are economic indicators like GDP that measure financial development and social indicators like literacy rates that measure non-economic development factors. While indicators provide insights, they have limitations as averages may hide inequalities and single indicators don't show the full picture. Indices like the Human Development Index combine multiple indicators into a single score to offer a more holistic view of a country's development level.

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47 views1 page

60 S Development Indicators

Development indicators are used to measure and compare levels of development between countries. There are economic indicators like GDP that measure financial development and social indicators like literacy rates that measure non-economic development factors. While indicators provide insights, they have limitations as averages may hide inequalities and single indicators don't show the full picture. Indices like the Human Development Index combine multiple indicators into a single score to offer a more holistic view of a country's development level.

Uploaded by

Kamil Rasul
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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A 60 SECOND GUIDE TO . . .

Development Indicators

Definition
A method used to measure how developed a country or region is compared with others.

Economic Indicators Social Indicators


Economic indicators measure how developed a country Social indicators measure how developed a country may
may be through financial and industrial means. For be through non-financial and economic means. For
example: example:
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) This is the total Literacy Rate This measures the percentage of
value of goods and services (in $US) produced by adults in a country who are able to read and
a country in a year. Gross National Product write their common language. A higher literacy
(GNP) is similar but also includes foreign rate is an indication of higher standards of
investments. These measures indicate that level education and the good ability of the population
of economic activity as well as the productivity of to find formal employment.
a population.
Life Expectancy This measures the average age
Economic Structure This measures the at which a person of that country is likely to die.
percentage of the GDP that is created through This is a good indicator of the quality of the
the different sectors of the economy. An country healthcare provided by a country as well as the
that produces its wealth through secondary and ability of the population to access adequate
tertiary industries is likely to be more developed sanitation and simple disease prevention
than a country which relies on primary methods.
industries.
People per doctor This measures the average
Aid received This measures the amount of number of people that could be seen by a
money a country receives as a percentage of doctor at any one time. The higher the number
their GDP. Higher values would suggest that the greater the indication of low central funding
countries are unable to create enough wealth for healthcare and low education levels that
domestically to provide for their population. would allow people to train in the profession.

Limitations
 Many indices that are used to calculate development are averages for the whole population. This method means that
one cannot see any regional inequalities there may be within a population.
 Using a single indicator means it is not possible to judge the whole development level of a country. A combination of
indicators in the form of an index may offer a more holistic view of a country’s development.

Using Indices - the Human Development Index


Using a combination of indicators can be a more accurate way of measuring development. The Human Development
Index (HDI) is one such example. The HDI combines data for life expectancy, adult literacy and GDP per capita (a
country’s wealth divided by its population) to produce one single measure that is put on a
scale from zero to one, where a scores closer to one indicate higher levels of development.

Other indices such as the Gender Inequality Index (GII) and the Human Freedom Index (HFI)
work in a similar way, by combining sets of data together to give a more accurate indication
of relative development level.

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