The human development index, abbreviated as HDI, is a summary composite index incorporating statistical measures of life expectancy, literacy, educational attainment and GDP per capita, calculated by the United Nations (UN) under the UN Development Programme. It measures a country's average achievements in three basic aspects of human development: health, knowledge, and a decent standard of living.
Eurostat uses the 2006 HDI classification as the basis for the grouping of countries by level of development.
The HDI provides an alternative to the common practice of evaluating a country’s progress in development only based on per-capita GDP.
Further information
- Human Development Index, Trends, 1990 - 2014
- Human Development Index and its Components, 2014
- Human Development Report