Development Indicators

Summary of Geography lesson on Thursday 16 April 2009
Development Indicators

What is development?
It is How wealthy a country and its people.
It is measured by GDP (Gross Domestic Product)
The world divided up using GDP :
-MEDCs : GDP Over $3000
-LEDCs : GDP Below $3000
-Least Economically Developed Countries : GDP Under $100
Economic factors are still Important.
If a country has a high GDP, it is likely its people have a good quality of life, but such wealth is often unevenly distributed.
Human well-being depends on a wide range of factors like health, education access to services like water, sanitation, electricity.
Freedom, democracy, security and equal opportunities are difficult to measured, yet are just as important.
Today HDI (the Human Development Index) is used rather than GDP on its own. It is based on :
-Wealth (Economic) : GDP measured in $US with an adjustment made for relative purchasing power.
-Knowledge (Social) : an education index based on adult literacy and the total enrolled in Primary, secondary and tertiary education.
-Health (Population) : Life expectancy at birth.
The final HDI figure is the average of the three indicators.

Measuring development
A wide range of data is used to help us measure levels of development. The United Nations annual report includes over 30 tables containing more than 200 sets of data (indicators). Certain indicators are grouped together to cover specific topic.It’s difficult to look at all these indicators in detail, so selected indicators are commonly used to assess economic, population, and social development.

Economic Indicators
GDP is still important and become one of three measurements which are used to calculate overall HDI.
e.g. In 2003, USA GDP : $35,750.
Bangladesh GDP : $ 1,700
Ethiopia GDP : $780
Trade and Industry are also important indicators. Generally MEDCs contribute a higher proportion of Exports than Imports. LEDCs : Higher Imports than Exports.
Employment Structure (The proportion of the workforce employed in each sector) is also a good indicator of economic development. Wealthier countries usually have the highest proportion of workers in the tertiary sector.
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