- Composite measure of development
- A composite measure of development combines several indicators, such as life expectancy, schooling and income, into one index that can be compared across countries.
- Single indicator of development
- A single indicator of development tracks one part of people's lives, such as the share of homes with clean water or the infant mortality rate.
Measures published alongside the HDI
Can you name three kinds of measure the United Nations publishes alongside the Human Development Index?
Each fills a gap in the HDI, an average over everyone.
The inequality-adjusted HDI marks down each HDI dimension by how unequally it is shared, so the more unequal a country, the further it falls.
Can you think of an example?
Two countries have the same HDI, but in one a small group takes most of the income and schooling. That one has the lower inequality-adjusted HDI.
The Multidimensional Poverty Index counts the people who go without several basics at once in health, schooling and living standards, and how many they go without.
Can you think of an example?
A household cooks over wood, has no electricity, has a child out of school and has no adult who finished six years of schooling. It counts as poor even if someone earns a wage.
The Gender Development Index divides the HDI for women by that for men; the Gender Inequality Index measures inequality between the sexes in reproductive health, empowerment and work, higher meaning more unequal.
Can you think of an example?
Girls leave school years earlier than boys, few women sit in parliament and many die in childbirth, so both indices show women faring worse.