Development is progress; change for the better. There can be many different types, e.g. social, economic, environmental, political, cultural etc. Growth in one area can negatively effect growth in another area.
Examples of Development Indicators
- Birth rate: number of births per 1000 of the population per annum
- Death rate: number of deaths per 1000 of the population per annum
- Infant Mortality rate: number of deaths per 1000 children under the age of 1 per annum
- Fertility rate: number of live births per 1000 women aged 15-49 per annum
- Life Expectancy: how long the average male or female in that society is expected to live for
- Dependency ratio: %under 15 + %65 and over / %15-64
The %under 15 are known as young dependents, the % 65 and over are known as old dependents and the %15-65 are the people of working age.
- Human Development Index
The Human Development Index
The Human Development Index is one of the development indicators previously mentioned. It takes into account the GDP ($) per capita, the Life expectancy, the Adult literacy rate and the Enrolment in education percentage. Each country gets a score between 0 and 1, with the more developed countries getting scores closer to 1.
How is development achieved?
There are many factors that can boost development in a country, these include:
- Wealth (faster development for MEDCs)
- Resources (e.g. water source, good land)
- Willing population and good leadership
- Political stability
- FDI (Foreign direct investment)
- Infrastructure (Communication, transport, buildings, government, roads)
- Lack of natural disasters
Countries always have different priorities when it comes to development.