Desarrollo Humano en el Mundo: Educación, Planificación Familiar e Índice de Desarrollo Humano (IDH)
1- One of the most important measures to adopt is the education of women in the developing world.
2- The development of family planning programmes is essential.
3- Contraception must be made more available to more people.
4- Population control is essential for the maintenance of the quality of life.
5- Developed countries must contribute to the economies of the developing world in order to improve world conditions.
6- Better conditions in developing countries, and lower infant mortality will encourage women to have fewer children, and will reduce the reasons for emigrating to developed countries.
Human Development Index (HDI)
Countries are usually classified according to per capita income. This index relates welfare directly to production. Other factors should be considered in order to measure welfare:
- The fair distribution of wealth
- The sharing of wealth with the poor
- The employment statistics
- The quality of life for the elderly
- The adequacy of working conditions
- Concern for health and education
Basic Human Rights
The HDI also takes into account the following Basic Human Rights:
- A way to obtain clean drinking water
- Decent housing
- Enough suitable food
- An adequate environment
- Protection against violence and arbitrary arrest
- Equal opportunities
- The means to earn daily sustenance
- The right to express an opinion
- Access to public health services
- Education
A New Measure of Development
As you studied last year, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), starting in 1990, has used a new index instead of GDP to reflect reality more accurately. This index takes three principal components into account:
- Citizens' life expectancy (nutrition, hygiene, the importance of health...)
- Level of education
- Living standards or average family income
Calculation and Ranking
It is not easy to calculate the HDI because many facts and indices must be considered. There are 187 countries, ranked in a type of "League Table". The number 1 country is the highest, such as Norway, and the least developed country is the Republic of the Congo.