The Human Development Index (HDI) was created to emphasize that people and their capabilities should be the ultimate criteria for assessing the development of a country, not economic growth alone. The HDI can also be used to question national policy choices, asking how two countries with the same level of Gross National Income (GNI) per capita can end up with different human development outcomes. These contrasts can stimulate debate about government policy priorities.
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable, and have a decent standard of living. The HDI is the geometric mean of normalized indices for each of the three dimensions.
The health dimension is assessed by life expectancy at birth, the education dimension is measured by mean of years of schooling for adults aged 25 years and more and expected years of schooling for children of school entering age. The standard of living dimension is measured by gross national income per capita. The HDI uses the logarithm of income, to reflect the diminishing importance of income with increasing GNI. The scores for the three HDI dimension indices are then aggregated into a composite index using a geometric mean.
The HDI simplifies and captures only part of what human development entails. It does not reflect on inequalities, poverty, human security, empowerment, etc. The HDI offers the other composite indices as a broader proxy on some of the key issues of human development, inequality, gender disparity, and poverty.
Here is a look at the Human Development Index for Nigeria
- 2010: 0.482
- 2011: 0.492
- 2012: 0.500
- 2013: 0.519
- 2014: 0.523
- 2015: 0.526
- 2016: 0.526
- 2017: 0.531
- 2018: 0.534
- 2019: 0.539
What does the HDI values mean?
HDI value above 0.800 == Very High Human Development
HDI value between 0.700 and 0.799 (inclusive) == High Human Development
HDI value between 0.550 and 0.699 (inclusive) == Medium Human Development
HDI value between 0.000 and 0.549 (inclusive) == Low Human Development
As of 2019, Nigeria is ranked as the 161st country in the HDI ranking out of 195 countries. Nigeria has the following data on the Human Development Indicators for the year 2019.
Life expectancy at birth == 54.7 years
Number of years a newborn infant could expect to live if prevailing patterns of age-specific mortality rates at the time of birth stay the same throughout the infant’s life.
Expected years of schooling == 10.0 years
Number of years a newborn infant could expect to live if prevailing patterns of age-specific mortality rates at the time of birth stay the same throughout the infant’s life.
Gross National Income (GNI) per capita == $4,910 purchasing power parity (PPP)
The aggregate income of an economy generated by its production and its ownership of factors of production, less the incomes paid for the use of factors of production owned by the rest of the world, converted to international dollars using PPP rates, divided by midyear population.
Inequality-adjusted HDI (IHDI) == 0.348
Calculated as the geometric mean of the values in inequality-adjusted life expectancy index, inequality-adjusted education index and inequality-adjusted income index
Gender Development Index (GDI) == 0.881
Calculated from female and male HDI.
Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) == 46.4% of the population
Calculations based on data on household deprivations in education, health, and living standards from various household surveys
Employment to population ratio (% ages 15 and older) == 48.6
Percentage of the population ages 15 years and older that is employed.
Homicide rate per 100,000 people == 34.5
Number of unlawful deaths purposefully inflicted on a person by another person, expressed per 100,000 people.
Exports and imports (% of GDP) == 33.0
The sum of exports and imports of goods and services expressed as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP). It is a basic indicator of openness to foreign trade and economic integration and indicates the dependence of domestic producers on foreign demand (exports) and of domestic consumers and producers on foreign supply (imports), relative to the countryís economic size (GDP).
Internet users (% of population) == 42.0
People with access to the worldwide network.
Carbon dioxide emissions per capita (tonnes) == 0.6
Human-originated carbon dioxide emissions stemming from the burning of fossil fuels, gas flaring, and the production of cement, divided by the midyear population. Includes carbon dioxide emitted by forest biomass through depletion of forest areas.
Population (in millions) = 263.0
Skilled labour force (% of labour force) == 41.4
Quite useful. Thanks!
You’re welcome