1.

4 Human Development Index (HDI)

The Human Development Index (HDI) was developed by the United Nations as a metric to assess the social and
economic development levels of countries (Investopedia, 2016).

Visit the United Nations (UN) HDI website to complete the following questions -
http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/human-development-index-hdi

1. Why was the HDI developed?

2. Complete the table below on the three dimensions and their indicators of HDI

Wellbeing Dimension Indicator/s Dimension Index

Long and healthy

life
Knowledge

A decent standard
of living

3. What does the HDI not measure?

4. Visit the data download and select “All Tables” -

https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/documentation-and-downloads

Open the spreadsheet and using the data from ‘Table 1’ complete the following table for the top 5 countries.
Long and Knowledge A decent
healthy life standard of
living

Rank Country HDI Value Life Expected Mean years Gross

expectancy years of of schooling national
at birth schooling (years) income (GNI)
(years) (years) per capita

5. Using the data from ‘Table 1’, complete the following table
 Country HDI Score

Highest HDI Score

Lowest HDI Score

6. If the HDI just used Gross National Income (GNI) per capita, would the rankings be the same? Give an
example?

7. Where does Australia rank? In which indicators should Australia be commended? In which areas is there room
for improvement?

8. Visit the HDI Map to estimate the average HDI for the following countries for each decade -
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/human-development-index?year=1999

1980 1990 2000 2010 2020

USA

Brazil

France

Kenya

China

9. Based on the HDI Map answer the following questions (in relation to 2020)

Which continent has the highest HDI?

Which continent has the lowest HDI?

Which continent has the greatest difference between countries?

HDI Mapping Task
Highlight the map below of in four colours - one for each category of country
Very High Human Development High Human Development Medium Human Development Low Human Development
1 Switzerland 67 Albania 116 Philippines 160 Tanzania (United Republic of)
2 Norway 68 Bulgaria 117 Botswana 161 Pakistan
3 Iceland 68 Grenada 118 Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 162 Togo
4 Hong Kong, China (SAR) 70 Barbados 118 Kyrgyzstan 163 Haiti
5 Australia 71 Antigua and Barbuda 120 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 163 Nigeria
6 Denmark 72 Seychelles 121 Iraq 165 Rwanda
7 Sweden 73 Sri Lanka 122 Tajikistan 166 Benin
8 Ireland 74 Bosnia and Herzegovina 123 Belize 166 Uganda
9 Germany 75 Saint Kitts and Nevis 123 Morocco 168 Lesotho
10 Netherlands 76 Iran (Islamic Republic of) 125 El Salvador 169 Malawi
With reference to the HDI Map, answer the following questions. One paragraph per question is enough.

10. Which areas of the world (continents and countries) are dominated by high levels of human
development?

11. Which areas of the world (continents and countries) are dominated by low levels of human
development?

12. Hypothesise two reasons for high levels of human development in Europe.

13. Hypothesise two reasons for low levels of human development in Africa.

14. Explain how one country's level of human development impacts another?