Editing Human Development Index (section)

{{Short description|Composite statistic of life expectancy, education, and income indices}}
{{Redirect|HDI}}
{{For|the complete ranking of countries|List of countries by Human Development Index}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}

[[File:HDI2023Incrimental2.svg|thumb|World map of countries or territories by HDI scores in increments of 0.050 (based on 2023 data, published in 2025) {{legend-col|thumb size = wide|{{Legend|#001a00|≥ 0.950}}|{{Legend|#003c00|0.900–0.950}}|{{Legend|#007f00|0.850–0.899}}|{{Legend|#00c400|0.800–0.849}}|{{Legend|#00f900|0.750–0.799}}|{{Legend|#d3ff00|0.700–0.749}}|{{Legend|#ffee00|0.650–0.699}}|{{Legend|#ffd215|0.600–0.649}}|{{Legend|#ffa83c|0.550–0.599}}|{{Legend|#ff852f|0.500–0.549}}|{{Legend|#ff5b00|0.450–0.499}}|{{Legend|#ff0000|0.400–0.449}}|{{Legend|#a70000|≤ 0.399}}|{{Legend|#C0C0C0|Data unavailable}}}}|alt=World map of Countries scored by HDI|400x400px]]

The '''Human Development Index''' ('''HDI''') is a statistical composite index of [[life expectancy]], [[Education Index|education]] (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the [[education system]]), and [[per capita income]] indicators, which is used to rank countries into four tiers of [[Human development (humanity)|human development]]. A country scores a higher level of HDI when the [[life expectancy at birth|lifespan]] is higher, the [[education]] level is higher, and the gross national income [[GNI (PPP) per capita]] is higher. It was developed by Pakistani economist [[Mahbub ul-Haq]] and was further used to measure a country's development by the [[United Nations Development Programme]] (UNDP)'s Human Development Report Office.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=A. Stanton|first=Elizabeth|date=February 2007|title=The Human Development Index: A History|url=https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1101&context=peri_workingpapers |publisher=ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst |journal=PERI Working Papers|pages=14–15|access-date=28 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190228191918/https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1101&context=peri_workingpapers|archive-date=28 February 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Human Development Index|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/definition/human-development-index|website=Definition of 'Human Development Index' |access-date=29 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201030929/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/definition/human-development-index|archive-date=1 December 2017|url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite web|title=About Human Development |url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/humandev/|publisher=UNDP|access-date=29 July 2011|website=HDR |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415134936/http://hdr.undp.org/en/humandev/|archive-date=15 April 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Human development index |url=https://www.who.int/data/nutrition/nlis/info/human-development-index |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220103061653/https://www.who.int/data/nutrition/nlis/info/human-development-index |archive-date=2022-01-03 |access-date=2024-06-26 |website=World Health Organization}}</ref>

The 2010 [[Human Development Report]] introduced an [[List of countries by inequality-adjusted Human Development Index|inequality-adjusted Human Development Index]] (IHDI). While the simple HDI remains useful, it stated that "the IHDI is the actual level of human development (accounting for this [[Social inequality|inequality]]), while the HDI can be viewed as an index of 'potential' human development (or the maximum level of HDI) that could be achieved if there was no inequality."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/understanding/indices |title= Composite indices — HDI and beyond |website=Human Development Reports |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810022820/http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/understanding/indices |archive-date=10 August 2016 |access-date=16 January 2021}}</ref>

The index is based on the human development approach, developed by Mahbub ul-Haq, anchored in [[Amartya Sen]]'s work on human capabilities, and often framed in terms of whether people are able to "be" and "do" desirable things in life. Examples include — being: well-fed, sheltered, and healthy; doing: work, education, voting, participating in community life. The freedom of choice is considered central — someone choosing to be hungry (e.g. when [[Fasting in religion|fasting for religious reasons]]) is considered different from someone who is hungry because they cannot afford to buy food, or because the country is going through a [[famine]].<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|title=What is Human Development|url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/what-human-development|publisher=UNDP|access-date=27 October 2017|date=February 19, 2015 |website=HDR |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171027132851/http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/what-human-development|archive-date=27 October 2017|url-status=live|quote=...&nbsp;human development approach, developed by the economist Mahbub Ul Haq&nbsp;...  }}</ref>

The index does not take into account several factors, such as the [[List of countries by wealth per adult|net wealth per capita]] or the relative [[Quality (business)|quality of goods]] in a country. This situation tends to lower the ranking of some of the most [[developed countries]], such as the [[G7]] members and others.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R2D0AAAAMAAJ|title=The Courier|date=1994|publisher=Commission of the European Communities|language=en}}</ref>