# data[].attributes.body
By: Ashley Anderson

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When it comes to health and prosperity, there's no topping (CNN) - Norway.

For the 12th year in a row, the land of lefse and lutefisk has earned the number one spot on the United Nations' 2015 Human Development Index (HDI), released as part of its annual Human Development Report.

The HDI measures countries in three basic areas -- life expectancy, education and income/standard of living.

Norway earned high marks in all areas to get an overall score of 0.944. Its life expectancy at birth is 81.6 years, while its gross national income (GNI) per capita is $64,992.

Rounding out the top five are: Australia (0.935), Switzerland (0.930), Denmark (0.923) and the Netherlands (0.922).

The HDI covers 188 countries and territories. This year's index has one new addition -- South Sudan.

According to the UN, the HDI -- launched in 1990 -- is intended to emphasize that expanding human choices should be the ultimate criteria for assessing development results.

"Economic growth is a mean to that process, but is not an end by itself," said the report.

"The HDI can also be used to question national policy choices, asking how two countries with the same level of [Gross National Income] per capita can end up with different human development outcomes."

The countries with the steepest drops on the 2015 HDI are Libya, which slipped 27 places and Syria, which fell 15 places.

The bottom five countries are Niger (0.348), Central African Republic (0.350), Eritrea (0.391), Chad (0.392) and Burundi (0.400).

"This new global Human Development Report is an urgent call to tackle one of the world's great development challenges -- providing enough decent work and livelihoods for all," said Helen Clark, United Nations Development Program Administrator, during the launch of this year's report.

"The world of work is changing more rapidly than ever before. The question is: what are the best policy responses to ensure that human development benefits from that change?"

12. Hong Kong, China (SAR)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
best country in the world to live? still norway - cnn

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Best country in the world to live? Still Norway

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When it comes to health and prosperity, there's no topping (CNN) - Norway. For the 12th year in a row, the land of lefse and lutefisk has earned the number one spot on the United Nations' 2015 Human Development Index (HDI), released as part of its annual Human Development Report.

# data[].attributes.body
By: Ashley Anderson

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What is the '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. Four principal areas of examination are used to rank countries: mean years of schooling, expected years of schooling, life expectancy at birth and gross national income per capita. This index makes it possible to follow changes in development levels over time and to compare the development levels of different countries.

BREAKING DOWN 'Human Development Index - HDI'

The HDI was established to place emphasis on individuals, more precisely on their opportunities to realize satisfying work and lives. Evaluating a country's potential for individual human development provides a supplementary metric for evaluating a country's level of development besides considering standard economic growth statistics, such as gross domestic product (GDP). This index can also be used to examine the various policy choices of nations; if, for example, two countries have approximately the same gross national income (GNI) per capita, then it can help to evaluate why they produce widely disparate human development outcomes. One goal of the proponents of the HDI is to stimulate public policy debate.

How is the HDI Measured?

The HDI is essentially a summary measurement of basic achievement levels in fundamental dimensions of human development. The computed HDI of a country is a geometric mean of normalized indexes of each of the life aspects that are examined - knowledge and understanding, a long and healthy life, and an acceptable standard of living.

The health aspect of the HDI is measured by the life expectancy, as calculated at time of birth, in each country. Education is measured on two levels: the mean years of schooling for residents of a country and the expected years of schooling that a child has at the average age for starting school. The metric chosen to represent standard of living is GNI per capita based on purchasing power parity (PPP), a common metric used to reflect average income.

Limitations

The HDI is a simplification and an admittedly limited evaluation of human development. The HDI does not specifically reflect quality of life factors, such as empowerment movements or overall feelings of security. In recognition of these facts, the Human Development Report Office (HDRO) provides additional composite indices to evaluate other life aspects, including inequality issues such as gender disparity or racial inequality. Examination and evaluation of a country's HDI is best done in concert with examining these and other factors, such as the country's rate of economic growth, expansion of employment opportunities and the success of initiatives undertaken to improve the overall quality of life within a country.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Human Development Index (HDI) was developed by the United Nations as a metric to assess the social and economic development levels of countries. Four principal areas of examination are used to rank countries: mean years of schooling, expected years of schooling, life expectancy at birth and gross national income per capita.

# data[].attributes.body
By: Ashley Anderson

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How do we measure poverty? | World Vision Australia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This animation looks at different ways to measure poverty and human well-being with a special focus on the Human Development Index. This includes measures of income, education and health comparing Australia, Timor Leste and Bangladesh. Find out more: http://wva.me/1KFRHh7

# data[].attributes.body
By: Ashley Anderson

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
From a human development perspective, work, rather than jobs or employment is the relevant concept. A job is a narrow concept with a set of pre-determined time-bound assigned tasks or activities, in an input-output framework with labour as input and a commodity or service as output. Yet, jobs do not encompass creative work (e.g. the work of a writer or a painter), which go beyond defined tasks; they do not account for unpaid care work; they do not focus on voluntary work. Work thus is a broader concept, which encompasses jobs, but goes beyond by including the dimensions mentioned above, all of which are left out of the job framework, but are critical for human development.
Listen to the Director of the Human Development Report Office talk about the 2015 Report
Work is the means for unleashing human potential, creativity, innovation and spirits. It is essential to make human lives productive, worthwhile and meaningful. It enables people to earn a living, gives them a means to participate in society, provides them with security and gives them a sense of dignity. Work is thus inherently and intrinsically linked to human development.

But it is important to recognize that there is no automatic link between work and human development. Nor does every type of work enhance human development. Exploitative work, particularly exploitation of women and children, robs people of their fair share, their rights and their dignity. Likewise, work that is hazardous - work without safety measures, labour rights, or social protection - is not conducive to human development.

More importantly, the linkages between work and human development must be seen in the context that over time the notion of what constitutes work has changed, areas of work have shifted and the modus operandi of work has evolved. What used to mean work three decades ago is no longer valid, and work is defined differently now. Now, some of these changes may contribute positively to various dimensions of human development, but some aspects of these new phenomena may have negative impacts for human development.

In the context of all these changes, time has come to relook at the issue of work in its various dimensions and dynamics through a human development lens. Thus the 2015 Human Development Report (2015 HDR) will be on Rethinking Work for Human Development.

To be launched in December 2015, the Report will zoom in on the fundamental question - how work can be rethought for human development -- to enrich human development. Given this broader perspective, the focus of 2015 HDR will be based on five building blocks:

Rethinking the linkages between work and human development identifying the positive intrinsic relationship between work and human development - Work provides livelihoods, income, a means for participation and connectedness, social cohesion, and human dignity - but also those situations where linkages are broken or eroded - child labour, human trafficking, etc.

Revisiting the new world of work, where the notions of work, areas of work and modus operandi of work have changed and the implications for human development. ICT and mobile devices are revolutionizing work. People can work anywhere. There is an e-economy. We ask the question - are these changes enhancing human development? And how may they best be harnessed to promote equitable opportunities?

Recognizing the worth of care work and its impact on human development. For instance care for those who cannot care for themselves is important in itself for human survival but there are other connections to human development: from an intergenerational perspective, care work is crucial for the cognitive development of children.

Refocusing on the notion of sustainable work to be incorporated into the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals. This will include, among other issues, the environmental value of green and low carbon emission jobs and so on. And also the quality of work that can be sustained over long periods.

Recommending policy options for reorienting, reinventing and reorganizing work so that it enriches human development

Several targeted issues will be taken up throughout the report- youth employment, gender aspects of work, agriculture and rural development, the informal sector, and work during crisis and in post-crisis situations. In realizing the post2015 international agenda it will be critical to enable youth, who make up 50 per cent of the global population, and women, holding up half the sky, to find work opportunities that enable them to participate constructively, creatively and equitably in society.
Selim Jahan is the Director of the Human Development Report Office Photo credit:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
2015 Human Development Report - Rethinking Work for Human Development

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
From a human development perspective, work, rather than jobs or employment is the relevant concept. A job is a narrow concept with a set of pre-determined time-bound assigned tasks or activities, in an input-output framework with labour as input and a commodity or service as output. Yet, jobs do not encompass creative work (e.g.

# data[].attributes.body
By: Ashley Anderson

# data[].attributes.body
By : Ashley Anderson

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Some countries are making great strides in human development, others less so
SINCE 1980 the country that has made the greatest strides in improving human development is Nepal, according to the UN's annual Human Development Index (HDI). The index is a combination of three sub-indices covering wealth, health and education. The countries whose HDI has improved the most since 1980 are mainly in Asia. China and India have been helped by rapid GDP growth, but even slower-growing countries such as Nepal and Bangladesh have fostered human development by making progress in health and education. The countries where HDI has improved the least are mainly in Africa, with Zimbabwe at the bottom of the pile.

For the first time this year the UN's report also considers the unevenness in the distribution of wealth, health and education among a country's people to produce a new inequality-adjusted HDI (IHDI) which penalises countries according to the inequality of their development. This reduces countries' 2010 HDI scores by 22% on average. China's HDI is reduced by 23% and India's by 30%, which suggests that the former's rapid development has been the more equitable.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Human Development Index: Developing humans | The Economist

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Some countries are making great strides in human development, others less so SINCE 1980 the country that has made the greatest strides in improving human development is Nepal, according to the UN's annual Human Development Index (HDI). The index is a combination of three sub-indices covering wealth, health and education.

# data[].attributes.headline
 Human Development Index and its components

# data[].attributes.subject
 Human Development Index and its components

# data[].attributes.body
By:Emily Fleck

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Human Development Index | Human Development Reports

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
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.

# data[].attributes.body
By: Emily Fleck

# data[].attributes.body
By: Emily Fleck

# data[].attributes.headline
Is HDI the Best Index for Measuring Development?

# data[].attributes.subject
Is HDI the Best Index for Measuring Development?

# data[].attributes.body
By: Emily Fleck

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Is HDI the best index for measuring Development?

# data[].attributes.body
By:Emily Fleck

# data[].attributes.body
By:Emily Fleck

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Human Development Index and changes in standards of living: Some historical comparisons | European Review of Economic History | Oxford Academic

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The article compiles measures of the Human Development Index and also growth rates of real GDP/person adjusted for changes in mortality and leisure for 16 advanced economies since 1870.

# data[].attributes.body
By: Emily Fleck

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The human development index: a critical review

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Since 1990, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has published a series of annual Human Development Reports (HDRs) in which the human devel...

# data[].attributes.body
By: Emily Fleck

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
My AP Human Geography project over the Human Development Index. Hope you enjoy :)

# data[].attributes.body
By: Emily Fleck

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
TED Talk: Nic Marks on the Happy Planet Index

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
I blogged last year about the Happy Planet Index, a seemingly promising way of measuring propserity. Here's Nic Marks, who started the Centre for Well-Being at the New Economics Foundation, making an impassioned case for the metric in a TED talk: Efforts like Marks' remind us that other worlds are possible, but that our conception of...

# data[].attributes.body
By: Emily Fleck

# data[].attributes.headline
The Main Components of the Human Development Index

# data[].attributes.subject
The Main Components of the Human Development Index

# data[].attributes.body
By: Emily Fleck

# data[].attributes.body
By: Emily Fleck