Economic Development Indices Questions Medium
The Human Poverty Index (HPI) is calculated by taking into account three dimensions of poverty: longevity, knowledge, and standard of living.
Firstly, the longevity dimension measures the percentage of the population expected to live below the age of 40. This is an indicator of the lack of access to basic healthcare and nutrition.
Secondly, the knowledge dimension considers the percentage of adults who are illiterate and the percentage of children who are not enrolled in primary school. This reflects the lack of educational opportunities and the limited access to knowledge and skills.
Lastly, the standard of living dimension takes into consideration the percentage of the population without access to safe drinking water, the percentage of children under the age of five who are underweight, and the percentage of the population without access to basic sanitation facilities. These indicators reflect the lack of basic necessities and living conditions.
Each of these dimensions is given equal weightage in the calculation of the HPI. The values for each dimension are normalized and then combined to obtain the overall HPI value. The higher the HPI value, the higher the level of human poverty in a particular country or region.