Human development and liberty indicators

Detail

1. Key terms used in this section

• Human Development Index (HDI): a single number from 0 to 1. It measures three basic parts of a good life:
• a long and healthy life, measured by life expectancy at birth
• knowledge, measured by years of schooling

• a decent standard of living, measured by GNI per capita (PPP)

• How HDI is calculated: each part is first turned into a sub-index between 0 and 1. HDI is then the geometric mean of the three sub-indices:

• HDI = (I_health × I_education × I_income)^(1/3)

• Worked example: take I_health = 0.8, I_education = 0.6 and I_income = 0.7.

  • Product = 0.8 × 0.6 × 0.7 = 0.336
  • HDI = cube root of 0.336 ≈ 0.695
  • A simple average would give 0.700. The geometric mean comes out lower because it punishes imbalance: a country cannot make up for weak schooling with high income alone.

• HDI rank: a country's position among all countries ranked by HDI value. A lower number means a better position.

• Life expectancy at birth: how many years a newborn baby would live on average if today's death rates stayed the same all its life.
• Mean years of schooling: the average number of years of education completed by people aged 25 and above.
• GNI per capita (PPP US$): gross national income divided by population, converted at purchasing power parity. PPP is an exchange rate that equalises what money can buy in each country, so a dollar buys the same basket of goods everywhere.
• Infant mortality rate (IMR): deaths of babies under 1 year of age per 1,000 live births.

• Example: IMR 25.5 means about 25–26 of every 1,000 babies born alive die before their first birthday.

• Maternal mortality rate (MMR): deaths of women from causes related to pregnancy or childbirth per 1 lakh (100,000) live births.

• Poverty line: the minimum income or spending a person needs for basic needs. People below it are counted as poor. The share below the line is called the headcount ratio.
• Undernourishment: the share of people whose usual food intake does not give enough energy (calories) for a normal, active, healthy life.

2. Table 8.5: Selected human development indicators (HDR 2025, data mostly for 2023; WDI 2024)

Indicator	India	China	Pakistan
HDI value	0.685	0.797	0.544
HDI rank	130	78	168
Life expectancy at birth (years)	72.0	78.0	67.6
Mean years of schooling (age 25+)	6.9	8.0	4.3
GNI per capita (PPP US$)	9,047	22,029	5,501
Below national poverty line (%)	21.9	0.0	21.9
IMR (per 1,000 live births)	25.5	4.8	51
MMR (per 1 lakh births)	103	23	154
At least basic sanitation (% of population)	78	96	71
At least basic drinking water (% of population)	93	98	91
Undernourishment (% of population)	17	3	19

• Source detail: UNDP released the Human Development Report (HDR) 2025 on 6 May 2025. It ranks 193 countries [2].
• India's progress:
• HDI rose from 0.676 (2022) to 0.685 (2023) [2].
• Rank improved from 133 (2022 data) to 130 (2023 data) [2].
• India is still in the "medium human development" group. It is close to the "high" group, which starts at HDI 0.700 [2].

• Most of the gain came from mean years of schooling and national income per capita. India's life expectancy is now at its highest level since the index began, which shows recovery after COVID-19 [2].

• Groups by HDI value:

• China (0.797) is in the high group.
• India (0.685) is in the medium group.
• Pakistan (0.544) is in the low group, since the low group ends below 0.550.

3. Caution on the poverty and schooling figures

• India's 21.9%:
• This is the Tendulkar estimate for 2011-12. NCERT tags it 2019-21.

• India has published no official poverty-line headcount since then.

• Pakistan's 21.9% (tagged 2023): this matches its official 2018-19 figure. The two 21.9% figures are a coincidence. They come from different years and different methods.

• China's 0.0: China declared "absolute poverty eliminated" in 2020-21. It reports zero against its own national line.
• Longer view: over about 40 years, the number of Chinese people living below the international line of US$1.90 a day fell by close to 800 million [6].
• This was nearly 75% of the world's total fall in extreme poverty over the same period [6].

• Source: joint report by the World Bank, China's Ministry of Finance and the Development Research Center of the State Council (2022) [6].

• Newer measures for India give very different figures:

• NITI Aayog's National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI):
  • A person is "MPI poor" if they lack one-third or more of 12 weighted indicators across health, education and standard of living [3].
  • Multidimensional poverty fell from 29.17% (2013-14) to 11.28% (2022-23) [3].
  • About 24.82 crore people left multidimensional poverty over these 9 years [3].
  • Uttar Pradesh saw the biggest fall, at 5.94 crore people [3].
• World Bank, income-based poverty:
  • In June 2025, the international extreme poverty line was raised from $2.15 a day (2017 PPP) to $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) [5].
  • The lower-middle-income line is now $4.20 (earlier $3.65). The upper-middle-income line is $8.30 (earlier $6.85) [5].
  • Using the $3.00 line, India's extreme poverty fell from 27.1% (2011-12) to 5.3% (2022-23) [4].
  • Because of the new line and new Indian survey data, the world count of extreme poor in 2022 was revised up by about 12.5 crore, to about 83.8 crore [5].

• Key lesson: a "poverty rate" depends on three choices: the poverty line, the year, and whether poverty is measured by income or by deprivation. Always check all three before comparing countries.

• Schooling: the HDR measures mean years of schooling for people aged 25 and above. NCERT's table label says "15 and above, in %". The HDR definition is the correct one.

4. Reading the table: what the numbers say

• China leads on almost every indicator: income, health, sanitation, schooling and nutrition.
• GNI per capita: 22,029 ÷ 9,047 ≈ 2.4. So an average Chinese person's income (PPP) is about 2.4 times an Indian's.

• India vs Pakistan: 9,047 ÷ 5,501 ≈ 1.6 times.

• NCERT's explanation: pre-reform social investment, not the 1978 reforms

• Before 1978, China invested heavily in rural health (for example, basic health workers in villages), education, land reform and commune grain distribution.
• These gave China a healthy, literate workforce by the late 1970s.
• When the 1978 market reforms came, this workforce could quickly move into factories and exports.

• So the reforms added growth on top of a strong social base. They did not create that base.

• Maternal mortality is the weak spot for India and Pakistan

• Out of every 1 lakh births, 23 women die in China, 103 in India and 154 in Pakistan.

• India's MMR is about 4.5 times China's. Pakistan's is about 6.7 times China's.

• Infant mortality shows the same pattern:

• Pakistan's IMR (51) is about 10.6 times China's (4.8).

• India's IMR (25.5) is about 5.3 times China's.

• Drinking water vs sanitation:

• All three countries give basic drinking water to over 90% of people (India 93, China 98, Pakistan 91).

• Sanitation shows a wider gap: China 96, India 78, Pakistan 71.

• Nutrition: undernourishment is 17% in India and 19% in Pakistan, against 3% in China. Both South Asian countries still struggle with hunger despite growth.

• India vs Pakistan:
• India is ahead on HDI, life expectancy, schooling, IMR, MMR, sanitation and income.
• Pakistan has the worst IMR and MMR of the three.
• Pakistan's mean schooling (4.3 years) is the lowest of the three countries.

5. Liberty indicators: what HDI leaves out

• Liberty indicators are measures of political freedom and citizens' rights. They show whether people can take part in decisions, speak freely and get justice.
• NCERT's view: human development indicators are "extremely important" but "not sufficient". We also need liberty indicators.
• What has already been added:
• One measure: "the extent of democratic participation in social and political decision-making".

• It gets no extra weight in the overall assessment.

• What is not included at all:

• "the extent of Constitutional protection given to rights of citizens"

• "the extent of constitutional protection of the Independence of the Judiciary and the Rule of Law"

• NCERT's verdict: until such indicators are included, and given "overriding importance", the HDI is incomplete and its usefulness limited.

• Why this matters for the three countries:
• China tops the HDI table but scores low on political freedom. Its human-development record must be judged together with its lack of liberty.
• India has a weaker HDI but has democratic elections, fundamental rights and an independent judiciary. A liberty indicator would give weight to these strengths.
• Pakistan does worst on HDI. Its democratic record has also been broken more than once by military rule.

• Main point: a country's ranking can change depending on whether we look at material well-being alone or also at freedom.

• Full definitions of HDI and liberty indicators are in the development-and-hdi note.

Prelims Hooks

• HDR 2025 (UNDP, released 6 May 2025, 2023 data): India's HDI is 0.685, rank 130 of 193. China is 78 (0.797) and Pakistan is 168 (0.544) [2].
• HDI is the geometric mean of health, education and income sub-indices, not a simple average.
• In the HDR, mean years of schooling covers people aged 25+, not 15+.
• IMR is per 1,000 live births. MMR is per 1 lakh live births. Do not mix up the two bases.
• The "high human development" group starts at HDI 0.700. India is still in the "medium" group [2].
• NITI Aayog national MPI: 29.17% (2013-14) → 11.28% (2022-23). About 24.82 crore people left poverty. It uses 12 indicators with a one-third deprivation cut-off [3].
• World Bank extreme poverty line (June 2025): $3.00 a day (2021 PPP), up from $2.15 (2017 PPP). India's extreme poverty is 5.3% (2022-23) [4][5].
• Trap: India and Pakistan both show 21.9% below the national poverty line. These figures come from different years: 2011-12 Tendulkar for India and 2018-19 for Pakistan.
• NCERT: liberty indicators such as constitutional protection of rights and judicial independence and rule of law are not included in HDI. Only democratic participation has been added, with no extra weight.

Mains Points

• Social investment before growth: China's HDI lead comes mostly from its pre-1978 spending on health, education and land reform, not only from market reforms. Lesson for India: spending on public health (MMR, IMR) and schooling makes growth faster and more inclusive. It is not a luxury to fund after growth arrives. (GS-III: inclusive growth; GS-II: health and education.)
• Measuring poverty is contested: the Tendulkar estimate (21.9%, 2011-12), NITI MPI (11.28%, 2022-23) and the World Bank's $3 line (5.3%, 2022-23) tell different stories [3][4]. Argument: India needs a regular official poverty line updated from new consumption surveys. Policy targeting should use both income and deprivation measures.
• HDI vs liberty trade-off: China's high HDI came alongside limited political freedom. India's democracy has not yet delivered comparable health and nutrition outcomes. Balanced answer: development means both capability (HDI) and freedom (liberty indicators). NCERT argues liberty should get "overriding importance". (GS-II/GS-IV.)
• India vs Pakistan: both are democracies with fragile social sectors. India's lead on schooling, IMR and MMR reflects steadier institutions and more social-sector spending. Pakistan's weak record shows what political instability and low human-capital investment cost.