Key learning points

1. There are many different ways of measuring development.
2. Economic indicators of development, such as GDP per capita, are a common way of comparing countries.
3. Composite indicators of development, such as the HDI,are often seen as a more rounded way of measuring development.
4. Indicators that measure happiness and ecological footprints are important as they go beyond simply measuring wealth.

Keywords

• Development - the improvement in people's quality of life within a country or region

• Development indicator - a measurable piece of data used to assess and compare levels of development between countries or regions

• Composite indicator - a measure that combines multiple individual indicators to give a more complete picture of development

Common misconception