Exploring The United Nations Human Development Index Gary Chen

Part A Indicators of Human Well-Being

1. A) Life Expectancy is, statistically, the average period that a person may expect to live after
birth.
Gross Domestic Product is the total market value of goods produced and services provided in a
country during one year. It is one of the primary indicators of a country's economic
performance.
B) Access to healthcare, distribution of wealth, form of government, gender equality,
environmental sustainability, fertility rate, population
C) Gender equality, sustainability, distribution of wealth
D) Urban Population (%):
Countries that have a higher percentage of their population living in urban environments are
generally more developed. Cities are a pooling ground for a wide variety of skills and ideas, and
they are supplied by a nearly constant flow of goods, capital, and labour. As a result, cities are a
source of continuing innovation and development. A country with a high urban population is not
dependent on subsistence based farming and agriculture for income, and is able to devote its
resources to the industrial and service sectors. This usually results in a higher income for both
the country and its population, which means that there is a surplus of capital to invest in public
facilities (healthcare, water and sewage infrastructure, high density residential buildings). Better
public facilities usually increase the living standard of the population, and therefore the HDI as
well.
GDP per Capita (US Dollars):
People living in countries with a higher GDP per capita generally have more disposable income,
allowing them a higher standard of living and a higher HDI.
CO
2
emissions per capita (tons):
Generally, countries that are more developed have more expansive industries, and industrial
processes give off higher levels of CO
2
emissions.
E) GDP per Capita

Part B Twelve Countries to Research

2. Canada, United States, China, Qatar, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Columbia, Ukraine, Indonesia, New
Zealand, Botswana, France.
3. There are some countries that have very restrictive media rights (Democratic Peoples Republic
of Korea) or who have regimes that are too unstable (Somalia) and these factors can affect or
inhibit the collection of data.
Part C Data Collection
4. Chart
Country HDI value
GDP per capita
(US Dollars)
Canada 0.909 35716
United States 0.934 42486
China 0.689 7418
Qatar 0.827 77987
Tanzania 0.466 1334
Sierra Leone 0.346 769
Columbia 0.714 8861
Ukraine 0.733 6359
Indonesia 0.62 4094
New Zealand 0.917 24818
Botswana 0.633 12939
France 0.891 29819
Part D Analysis
5. Graph


6. The HDI is calculated from a wide variety of indicators, and the final result is based on the value
of the indicators. Since GDP per capita is an indicator, and the HDI changes depending on the
value of its underlying indicators, the value of the HDI depends on the value of the GDP per
capita. Therefore the HDI is the dependent variable, which means that GDP per capita is the
independent variable.
7. The outlier in my graph/data set is Qatar. Although it has an above average HDI value, its GDP
per capita is drastically higher than some other countries that have higher HDI value, going
against the pattern of a positive correlation between the HDI value and the GDP per capita. This
is because Qatar is a country that has a very high wealth due to the discovery and exploitation of
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Human Development Index Value
Correlation between HDI and GDP
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expansive petroleum reserves. But most of this wealth is in the hands of a few wealthy families
and/or individuals, while portions of the rest of the population live in poverty. But since GDP per
capita is the total GDP divided by the population, and Qatar has a small population and a high
GDP, it seems like the average person in Qatar has a high income. But living conditions in Qatar
are not as high as one would assume when first looking at the GDP per capita, and therefore
that is why the HDI doesnt quite have the strongest correlation with the GDP per capita of
Qatar.
8. The GDP per capita to HDI graph indicates a pattern with an accelerating (increasing) trend, a
positive correlation, and a non-linear pattern.
9. Graph

10. Graph

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Human Development Index Value
Correlation between HDI and GDP
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