What the UN Human Development Report says about the US

Of the components of the HDI, only income and gross enrolment are responsive to short term policy changes. For that reason, it is important to examine changes in the human development index over time.

The Human Development Index (HDI) trends tell an important story over time. Between 1980 and 2007 United States's HDI rose by 0.25% annually from 0.894 to 0.956 today. HDI scores in all regions have increased progressively over the years, although all have experienced periods of slower growth or even reversals.
This gives the US a rank of 13^th out of 182 countries with data.

Notice that the US falls down in life expectancy with a 26 rating that most experts attribute to the US health care system. The Gross Enrolment Ratio is an education measurement and the US is 21st. Our GDP is ninth in the world, but wages have been flat for the middle class for the last two decades. Most of the GDP growth has been for upper income Americans.

Notice also that the US does poorly in the Gender Development Index (GDI) placing 105th of the 192 UN nations.

See the complete UN report on the US at http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_USA.html

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Is the US the greatest country in the world?

One index that will put the US in it its place is the Human Development Index (HDI). 

This is a list of countries by Human Development Index as included in a United Nations Development Program's Human Development Statistical Update released on December 18, 2008, compiled on the basis of data from 2006. It covers 177 U.N. member countries (out of 192), along with: Hong Kong (SAR of China) and PA-governed territories. Fifteen U.N. member countries are not included due to lack of data.

The average HDI of regions of the World and groups of countries are also included for comparison. The Human Development Index (HDI) is a comparative measure of life expectancy, literacy, education and standards of living for countries worldwide. It is a standard means of measuring well-being, especially child welfare. It is used to distinguish whether the country is a developed, a developing or an under-developed country, and also to measure the impact of economic policies on quality of life. The index was developed in 1990 by Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq and Indian economist Amartya Sen.

Countries fall into three broad categories based on their HDI: high, medium and low human development.

Where does the US fit in internationally? We are 15th and treading water. Iceland is number one and Canada is number 3. Denmark is number 13 and considered to be the have the happiest citizens in the world.

1	Iceland	0.968	▲ +0.001
2	Norway	0.968	▲ +0.001
3	Canada	0.967	▲ +0.002
4	Australia	0.965	▲ +0.002
5	Ireland	0.960	▲ +0.002
6	Netherlands	0.958	▲ +0.002
7	Sweden	0.958	▲ +0.001
8	Japan	0.956	▲ +0.003
9	Luxembourg	0.956	▲ +0.002
10	Switzerland	0.955	▲ +0.002
11	France	0.955	▲ +0.002
12	Finland	0.954	▲ +0.004
13	Denmark	0.952	▲ +0.003
14	Austria	0.951	▲ +0.003
15	United States	0.950	▬

The next time a right winger tells you the US is the greatest country in the world,  tell him or her about the HDI. There is room for improvement. We're good, but we can be better!

source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Development_Index

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