How is the Human Development Index (HDI) calculated?

The Human Development Index (HDI) is calculated by considering three dimensions of human development: health, education, and standard of living.

Firstly, the health dimension is measured by life expectancy at birth, which reflects the overall health and well-being of individuals in a country.

Secondly, the education dimension is assessed by two indicators: mean years of schooling and expected years of schooling. Mean years of schooling represents the average number of years of education received by individuals aged 25 and above, while expected years of schooling represents the number of years of education that a child of school entrance age is expected to receive.

Lastly, the standard of living dimension is evaluated by Gross National Income (GNI) per capita, which measures the average income of individuals in a country. GNI per capita is adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP) to account for differences in the cost of living between countries.

To calculate the HDI, each of these indicators is normalized on a scale of 0 to 1, with 1 representing the highest level of development. The normalized values are then combined using a geometric mean formula to obtain the final HDI value for a country. This value ranges from 0 to 1, with 1 indicating the highest level of human development.