Measures of Development (College Board AP® Human Geography)

Measures of Economic Development

• Markers of economic development include:

  • Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

  • Gross National Product (GNP)

  • Gross National Income (GNI)

• These markers are used to measure a country’s level of economic development and highlight uneven patterns of development between countries

  • GDP is the total value of goods and services produced in a country in a given year

  • GNP is the total value of goods and services produced by a country’s citizens, both domestically and abroad

  • GNI per capita is the GNP divided by the total population, to calculate income made per person on average

• The economy can be separated into formal and informal structures

  • Formal structures are taxed and regulated by the government

  • Informal sectors are neither taxed nor regulated

    • The informal sector makes up a significant portion of the economies in developing countries

• Industrialization has contributed to geographically uneven economic development, with more developed core countries benefiting more than less developed peripheral countries

• In addition, wealthy countries can have uneven income distribution within their borders, with some areas benefiting more than others

Measures of Social Development

• Markers of social development include:

  • fertility rates

  • infant mortality rates

  • access to healthcare

  • literacy rates

Fertility rates

• These measurements allow for comparisons across countries and regions

  • High fertility rates tend to be associated with:

    • lower levels of literacy

    • less access to education

    • less access to healthcare services

  • Low fertility rates correspond with:

    • increased literacy and access to education for women

    • increases in women’s participation in the workforce

High fertility rates

• High infant mortality rates are associated with:

  • poor infrastructure

  • poor healthcare

  • poor sanitation

• Low infant mortality rates indicate:

  • good quality healthcare

  • access to nutrition

  • higher living standards

Access to healthcare

• Areas with greater access to healthcare have:

  • lower death rates

    • longer life expectancies

    • higher standards of living

• Differential access to healthcare within a country indicates social and economic inequality

Literacy rates

• High literacy rates are associated with:

  • higher levels of socio-economic development

  • access to education

  • better job opportunities

• Low literacy rates correspond with:

  • poverty

  • lack of access to education

Measures of Inequality

• Measures of gender inequality, such as the Gender Inequality Index (GII), include data on:

  • reproductive health

  • indices of empowerment

  • labor market participation

• Reproductive health refers to women’s access to:

  • contraceptives

  • family planning services

  • sexual education

  • testing and treatment for sexually transmitted illnesses

  • early detection of reproductive cancers

• Indices of empowerment measure the level of power held by women in society

  • Data used to calculate this measure typically include:

    • percentage of women holding government positions

    • number of women business executives

    • the level of women’s educational attainment

• Labor market participation measures the percentage of women participating in the labor force

The Human Development Index

• The Human Development Index (HDI) examines three features of a country’s human development: 

  • long and healthy lives

  • knowledge

  • standards of living

• The HDI includes data on:

  • health and life expectancy

  • literacy and educational levels

  • income

  • fertility rates

  • infant mortality rates

• In the table below, you can see that GNI, HDI, and GII measurements all generally correlate to one another

  • Countries with high incomes and low gender inequality generally have high HDI levels

  • Countries with low income and high gender inequality have low HDI levels
    

Image: Measures of development for selected counties, 2017