Measuring Development (DP IB Geography): Revision Note

Jacque Cartwright

Written by: Jacque Cartwright

Reviewed by: Bridgette Barrett

Updated on

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  • Development is the process of growth, or changing from one condition to another (hopefully for the better)

  • Human development is multi-faceted and made of many interconnected strands

  • Since the 1980s, countries across the world made progress in health, family size and life expectancy

  • However, there remained inequality between countries and

  • With the advent of the 21st century, eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were agreed on by world leaders at a UN summit in 2000

  • In 2015, they reached their expiration date, and the UN created the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to focus their attention for the next 15 years

  • Sustainable development is regarded as meeting the needs of today without compromising the needs of future generations

  • Sustainable development is divided into three categories

    • Economic sustainability

    • Environmental sustainability

    • Social sustainability

  • The SDGs challenge world leaders to continue combating poverty, reducing inequality and tackling environmental degradation, including climate change

  • The goals are not legally binding but governments are expected to develop systems to achieve the 17 goals and 169 targets

  • The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) provides support to governments to integrate the SDGs into their national development plans and policies

  • Whilst the SDGs are a global strategy, their application exists at a regional and local level to be effective

  • However, the UN noted that the Covid-19 pandemic had wiped out four years of progress towards meeting the goals and the world would meet just 12% of the SDG targets, placing the “Leave no one behind” principle at significant risk

Criticisms of SDGs

  • The positives of the SDGs are that they forge development priorities and indicators across all regions, nations and localities, not just those labelled as developing

  • An agreement was reached over all 17 goals but there are disputes over the meanings of the goals, over who should benefit and who is responsible for achieving them

  • Some countries, including Japan and the UK, believe that there should be fewer goals, allowing policymakers to focus on health, education, food and energy security and reducing poverty

  • There is no accountability mechanism in place to hold individual countries responsible for failure to integrate goals in their policies

  • The goals are underfunded, placing pressure on developing countries to find extra funds to meet the demands or prioritise one goal over another, thereby inadvertently increasing inequality

  • The lack of progress makes it difficult to sustain public and government interests and countries are failing in their commitments

Human Development Index (HDI)

  • The Human Development Index (HDI) was developed by the UN in 1990 and is a measure of the disparities between countries

  • The index takes into account four indicators of development:

    • Life expectancy at birth

    • Mean years of schooling for adults aged 25 years

    • Expected years of schooling for children at school entering the age

    • Gross National Income (GNI) per capita (PPP $) 

The components of the Human Development Index
The components of the Human Development Index
  • Each indicator is given equal weighting in the index

  • The index ranks countries on a score between 0 & 1

    • The closer to 1, the higher the level of economic development & the better the standard of living

The Human Development Index scores from 1990 to 2021 (Source: UNDP Data Centre)
The Human Development Index scores from 1990 to 2021 (Source: UNDP Data Centre)
  • Countries can be divided into four groups using HDI

    • Very High Human Development (VHHD) 

    • High Human Development (HHD)

    • Medium Human Development (MHD)

    • Low Human Development (LHD)

  • HDI is scored from 0 to 1 

  • The higher the HDI, the higher the level of development and quality of life

  • Norway has the highest HDI at 0.957 

  • Niger has the lowest HDI at 0.394

human-development-index
Human Development Index (HDI)

Gender Inequality Index

  • The Gender Inequality Index (GII) measures gender inequality using three dimensions:

    • Reproductive health: maternal mortality ratio and adolescent fertility rates reflect healthcare infrastructure, education and societal norms relating to women's health

    • Empowerment is measured by looking at the share of parliamentary seats held by men and women and the ratio of women and men aged 25 and over who have achieved a secondary or higher education

    • The labour market is measured by women's participation in the workforce

  • The GII varies between 0 (when women and men are equal) and 1 (when men and women are unequal)

Sweden, Peru and Yemen all score vastly differently on the GII index, with Sweden the most equal and Yemen the least equal (Source: UNDP Data Centre)
Sweden, Peru and Yemen all score vastly differently on the GII index, with Sweden the most equal and Yemen the least equal (Source: UNDP Data Centre)

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Jacque Cartwright

Author: Jacque Cartwright

Expertise: Geography Content Creator

Jacque graduated from the Open University with a BSc in Environmental Science and Geography before doing her PGCE with the University of St David’s, Swansea. Teaching is her passion and has taught across a wide range of specifications – GCSE/IGCSE and IB but particularly loves teaching the A-level Geography. For the past 5 years Jacque has been teaching online for international schools, and she knows what is needed to get the top scores on those pesky geography exams.

Bridgette Barrett

Reviewer: Bridgette Barrett

Expertise: Geography, History, Religious Studies & Environmental Studies Subject Lead

After graduating with a degree in Geography, Bridgette completed a PGCE over 30 years ago. She later gained an MA Learning, Technology and Education from the University of Nottingham focussing on online learning. At a time when the study of geography has never been more important, Bridgette is passionate about creating content which supports students in achieving their potential in geography and builds their confidence.

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