Human development growth
Imagine a number that is averaged over millions, perhaps, billions of numbers and whose minor change can impact the lives of millions. A single number based on facts of life that takes into account people's health, education and living standard all together gives an indication of where a country is heading for. Perhaps the most important number to indicate a country's development and people's quality of life is the Human Development Index Value (HDIV). The United Nation's Human Development Index (HDI) for a country is based on this HDIV computed from three leading indicators: long healthy life, achievement of knowledge and living standard. It measures these factors, 1. life expectancy at birth, 2. literacy rate and school enrolment and 3. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita adjusted for purchasing power (PPP). Unlike Corruption Perception Index (CPI), HDI is based on robust quantitative measures and is more objective allowing for year-to-year comparison. All these measures are defined the same way in all countries allowing for reliable worldwide comparisons. This HDIV is the average of millions of numbers and hardly fluctuates unless there is real change on the ground.
Change to any of the above three factors will impact HDIV and determine a country's relative ranking in the index. From the UNDP's HDI trend data it is possible to compare a country's past and present and get a sense of where the country is heading for. While the current score and ranking in HDI is important, it is more important to look at the trend. The trend provides us with tools to project where a country is going. While there are discussions and analyses on the index and the ranking it provided, few have looked at the trend and future projections of our country.
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