ECO 201 Mod 5 Web Assignment

ECO201

Human Development Index Comparison of Norway and Niger

“The Human Development Index (HDI) is a tool developed by the United Nations to measure and rank countries’ levels of social and economic development. 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” (Kenton 2019). Being able to evaluate a country’s level of development can help us understand why, in comparison, some countries developmental outcomes are much different than others.

Norway ranks at the top of the HDI index and even held the “1st place” position for a vast majority of the time that the United Nations has been releasing the HDI studies.. Their economy is very stable, making Norway one of the top places to live in the world. Health wise, life expectancy after birth is 82.3 years which suggests a working and accessible healthcare system. Per the education index, while expected years of schooling is 17.9 years; the mean is 12.6 which suggests the majority graduate primary school as there is only a 1.5% drop-out rate. Of 5.3 million people, 61.5% are employed which means a low demographic of unemployed persons. Norway’s poverty level is to low to calculate and their homocide rate is 1 in every 200,000 people! Income is at 68,012 PPP $. With a socio-economic sustainability percentage of 82.4, it’s pretty obvious as to why Norway is on top. (Norway n.d.)

Niger ranks 189, the lowest rank that can be given. Comparing Niger’s HDI statistics to Norway’s, it’s quite eye opening. With a life expectancy of only 60.4, it can be assumed that access to healthcare is less than adequate. The mortality rate of infants in Niger is a shocking 50.9%. When evaluating the educational index, it’s disconcerting to note that expected years of schooling equal only 5.4 years, but the mean is staggeringly low at only 1.5 years. With a population of 21.5 million people and such little schooling, it’s hard to believe that the employment rate is at 78.6 which is quite a bit higher than Norway. Niger’s skilled labor force comes in at 1.9%, which doesn’t even compare to Norway’s 82.4%. However, with so many people working, and most being severely uneducated/under-educated, the Gross National Income per capita is at 906 PPP $. Niger’s demographics and poverty level are concerning and unfortunate but it’s easy to see why Niger is where it’s at. (Niger n.d.)

References

“Human Development Reports.” Human Development Index (HDI) | Human Development Reports, hdr.undp.org/en/content/human-development-index-hdi.

Kenton, Will. “Human Development Index – HDI.” Investopedia, Investopedia, 12 Mar. 2019, www.investopedia.com/terms/h/human-development-index-hdi.asp.

“Niger – Human Development Reports.” Human Development Reports, hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/NER.

“Norway – Human Development Reports.” Human Development Reports, hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/NOR.