This is a
list of countries by Human Development Index as included in the
United Nations Development Program's Human Development Report 2007/2008, compiled on the basis of
2005 data and published on
November 27,
2007. It covers 175
U.N. member countries (out of 192), along with
Hong Kong (SAR of China) and
PA-governed territories. 17 U.N. member countries are not included due to lack of data. The average HDI of regions of the World and groups of countries are also included for comparison. The Human Development Index (HDI) is a comparative measure of
life expectancy,
literacy,
education, and
standards of living for
countries worldwide. It is a standard means of
measuring well-being, especially
child welfare. It is used to distinguish whether the country is a
developed, a
developing, or
an under-developed country, and also to measure the impact of economic policies on quality of life. The index was developed in
1990 by
Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq and
Indian economist
Amartya Sen.
[1]Countries fall into three broad categories based on their HDI high, medium, and low human development.
href="/List_of_countries_by_carbon_dioxide_emissions_related.html" title="List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions">Carbon&_160;dioxide&_160;emissions&_160;(per&_160;capita)&_160;• Greenhouse&_160;gas&_160;emissions&_160;per&_160;capita&_160;• GDP&_160;per&_160;emissions&_160;• Sustainability&_160;• Environmental Performance&_160;• Happy Planet Index
