what is the human development index hdi 
the human development index hdi is a statistic developed and compiled by the united nations since 1990 to measure various countries levels of social and economic development it is composed of four principal areas of interest mean years of schooling expected years of schooling life expectancy at birth and gross national income gni per capita this index is a tool used to follow changes in development levels over time and compare the development levels of different countries investopedia jake shiunderstanding the human development index hdi the hdi was established to place emphasis on individuals or 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 gni per capita then the hdi can help to evaluate why they produce widely disparate human development outcomes proponents of the hdi hope it can be used to stimulate such productive public policy debate 1