Measuring the Development Gap

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Development generally means the ways in which a county seeks to develop economically and to improve the standard of living for its inhabitants. The development gap describes the widening difference in level of development between the world's richest and poorest countries. It can also occur within countries, for example between regions or between urban and rural areas.

The global development gap can be measured in a variety of ways.

GDP - gross domestic product - total value of goods and services produced by a country during a year

GNI - gross national income - includes overseas investment by organisation and residents.

better to use GDP.

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North and South

GDP is used to classify countries as more developed and less developed. In 1981 the Brandt Commissions report on world development emphasised what it saw as a division between the wealth 'North', mainly in the northern hemisphere, and the poorer 'South', mainly in the southern hemisphere. The boundary separating them was know as the Brandt line or North-South divide. Later, this twofold classification was refined by the world Bank into three main groupings: high, middle and low income counties.

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Human Development

The UN argues that development is about improving peoples social as well as economic wellbeing. For example, people with low incomes may have a decent quality of life if they have access to free healthcare, free education and clean water.

More recent indicators of development have therefore focused on demographic and social factors such as literacy rates, life expectancy, number of people per doctor and infant mortality. These can be combined to reflect a broader picture of development.

The human development index (HDI) was devised by the UN to describe human development (both economic and social) within a country. It is based on three factors: life expectancy, literacy, and per capita GDP. The HDI ranges from 0 (least developed) to 1(most developed).

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Gender

The more recent gender-related development index (GDI) shows the inequalities between men and women in terms of life expectancy, education levels and income. It is one of the five indicators used in the UN Development Programme's annual Human Development Report.

Continuum

The difference between countries is sometimes called a development continuum rather than a gap. Some people believe this better reflects reality: there is a graduation of countries at different levels of development rather than clusters in distinct groups.