development indicators

• Development indicators


  Measures used to assess the level of development in a country
• Explain why using only one development indicator, such as Gross National Income (GNI) per capita, may fail to reflect accurately the true quality of life within a country

  1. Single indicators often hide wide variations within countries

  2. Development is not only about money, other aspects like literacy, healthcare, freedom, happiness, and environmental quality are also important

  3. Only focusing on one development indicator does not give a rounded view of the level of development

  4. A country may have focused on this one area and neglected other areas of development
• GDP per person shows that Brazil, Mexico and Cuba are emergent developing countries with an intermediate level of income, while Kenya and Malawi are still classed as low income developing countries
• Employment in agriculture is far higher in Malawi (90%) than Brazil at 16%, so Malawi is less industrialised
• Adult literacy is far higher in Brazil, Mexico and Cuba than in Malawi, suggesting they have more schools
• Malawi has a life expectancy of 53 whereas Cuba is 78, suggesting better healthcare in Cuba
• Some countries such as Saudi Arabia have natural resources such as oil, which can be sold to generate foreign currency
• Some countries are landlocked and find it more expensive to export and import goods
• A very hot and dry climate, which can cause desertification, makes it very difficult to grow crops to feed the population, e.g. Sub-Saharan Africa
• Some countries have beautiful beaches and scenery, e.g. Thailand, which attracts tourists creating job opportunities