HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

INDICATORS
Let us now discuss the performance of India, China and
Pakistan in some of the selected indicators of human
development.
1.)Human Development Index(HDI): It is an important indicator
to study  the human development.Higher value of HDI shows
higher growth and development in the country.
• According to 2016 HDI report, HDI for India, China and
Pakistan was estimated to be 0.624, 0.738 and 0.550
respectively.
• According to their HDI, Global ranks accorded wre found to
be 131, 91 and 148 respectively.
2.)Life Expectancy at Birth: Life expectancy refers to the
average number of years for which people are expected to live.
A higher life expectancy indicates longer and a more active
average life span.
• Life Expectancy of India, China and Pakistan has 68.3, 76
and 66.4 years respectively.
3.)Mean years of Schooling: It is highest in case of China
with 7.6%, While the corresponding figures for India and
Pakistan are 6.3% and 5.1% respectively.
4.) Infant Mortality Rate(IMR): IMR refers to number of
infants dying before reaching one year of age per 1,000 live
births in a year. Low IMR shows better health and sanitation
facilities in China with 9 infants and highest in Pakistan with
66 infants. IMR in India is 38.
5.)People below Poverty Line: People below the poverty
line are the people who do not even have that level of
income and expenditure, which is necessary to meet
specified minimum levels of calorie intake. 
6.)Maternal Mortality Rate: Both India and Pakistan have
not been able to save women from maternal mortality.
7.)GDP Per Capita (PPP US$): Higher ranking of China in
HDI is mainly due to higher GDP per capita. In 2016 ,
China's GDP per capita was expected to be US$14,400,
while it was just US$6,092 for India and US$4,866 for
Pakistan.
8.)Access to improved Water Sources: It refers to the
percentage of population which has a reasonable access
to water (from tap, hand pump or protected well) and is
able to obtain at least 20 liters per person per day.
China(96%) is ahead of India(94%) and Pakistan(91%), in
providing improved water sources.
9.)Access to improved Sanitation: Pakistan's performance
in providing sanitation is better than India and China. China
has provided improved sanitation to 77% of population,
whereas corresponding figures for Pakistan and India are
64% and 40% respectively.
10.)Population Undernourished: The percentage of
population, which is not able to obtain adequate diet, is
termed as undernourished population. China has lowest
percentage of population(9%), which is being
undernourished. In India, 39% and in pakistan,  45% of 
the population was undernourished.
 Some selected Indicators of Human Development, 2016
Items India China Pakistan
Human Development  Index (Value) 0.624 0.738 0.550

Rank (Based on HDI) 131 91 148

Life Expectancy at Birth (Years) 68.3 76 66.4

Mean years of Schooling (%aged 15 and above) 6.3 7.6 5.1

GDP per capita (PPP US$) 6,092 14,400 4,866

People Below Poverty Line (at $3.10 a day ppp) (%) (2011) 37 32 44
Infant Mortality Rate (per 1,000 live births) 38 9 66

Maternal Mortality Rate (per 1 lakh births) 174 27 178

Population using Improved Sanitation(%) 40 77 64

Population with Sustainable Access to Improved water Source(%) 94 96 91

Percentage of Undernourished Children 39 9 45

Source: Human Development Report 2016 and World Development Indicators (www.worldbank.org)
• Liberty Indicators-
Human development indicators are all extremely important, but not
sufficient. Along with these, we also need liberty indicators. They
may be defined as the measure of the extent of demographic
participation in the social and political decision making. 
Examples of Liberty Indicators-
i. Measures of the extent of the Constitutional Protection Rights
given to the citizens,
ii. Extent of the Constitutional Protection of the independence
of the judiciary and Rule of Law. 
Human Development Index may be said to be incomplete unless
such indicators are included.