Development Indicators

• Literacy Rate

  What does it show: Percentage of people over 15 that can read and write

  Strength: Shows quality of education

  Weakness: Does not show rural to urban disparity
• People per Doctor

  What does it show: Access to healthcare

  Strength: Shows healthcare and education level

  Weakness: Doesn't show if people moved for work, so could be a incorrect show of education. Doesn't show rural to urban disparity
• Access to safe water

  What does it show: Shows quality of infrastructure eg dams, reservoirs, water treatment plants

  Strength: Shows quality of water systems and therefore amount of disease, also shows a country has spare money to spend on improving

  Weakness: Doesn't show rural to urban disparity
• Infant Mortality Rate

  What does it show: Amount of babies under 1 dead per 1000

  Strength: Measures quality of healthcare

  Weakness: Hard to measure due to home births
• Life Expectancy

  What does it show: Quality of healthcare and sanitation

  Strength: Equally measured across all countries

  Weakness: Hard to measure due to home deaths
• Human Development Index (HDI)

  What does it show: Life expectancy at birth, years of education, GNI per capita

  Strength: Hollistic, composite, enables countries to be ranked

  Weakness: Doesn't consider inequality or environmental issues eg gender pay gap
• Birth Rate

  What does it show: Amount of people born, decreases as development increases

  Strength: Reliable

  Weakness: Hard to measure due to home births
• Death Rate


  What does it show: Amount of people dead

  Strength: Shows healthcare quality

  Weakness: Less reliable as doesn't take into account aging populations