---
title: "Define HDI"
subject: "Energy Environment and Society"
chapter: 1
key: "semester_7/energy_environment_and_society:define-hdi"
source: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_7/energy_environment_and_society/define-hdi
site: BCT Engineering
---

# Define HDI

Energy Environment and Society · Chapter 1: Technology and Development

- Asked in: 2069 Chaitra, 2 marks
- Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) on 2026-10-14
- Page: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_7/energy_environment_and_society/define-hdi
- Whole chapter: https://www.bctengineer.com/md/semester_7/energy_environment_and_society/chapter-1

## Question

Define HDI (Human Development Index).

## Short answer

The Human Development Index (HDI), published by UNDP, is a composite measure of average achievement in health (life expectancy), education (mean and expected years of schooling) and standard of living (GNI per capita, PPP). It ranges from 0 to 1, with countries grouped as low, medium, high and very high development.

## Answer

The **Human Development Index (HDI)** is a summary measure published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) that assesses a country's average achievement in three basic dimensions of human development:

1. **Health:** a long and healthy life, measured by life expectancy at birth.
2. **Education:** knowledge, measured by mean years of schooling (adults) and expected years of schooling (children).
3. **Standard of living:** measured by gross national income (GNI) per capita in purchasing power parity (PPP) dollars.

HDI is the geometric mean of the three normalised dimension indices, with a value between 0 (lowest) and 1 (highest). Countries are grouped as low, medium, high and very high human development. Nepal is in the medium group, with an HDI of about 0.6 (the exact value changes with each report). It was introduced in 1990 by Mahbub ul Haq and Amartya Sen.

## Check yourself

The answer's key points as multiple-choice questions, with the correct option and why.

1. HDI is published by:
   A. UNDP, measuring health, education and standard of living
   B. the World Bank, measuring only income
   C. WHO, measuring only health
   D. UNESCO, measuring only literacy
   Answer: A. HDI is published by UNDP covering three dimensions. (Key point: Publisher and dimensions)

2. The standard-of-living dimension is measured by:
   A. life expectancy at birth
   B. GNI per capita in PPP dollars
   C. mean years of schooling
   D. electricity consumption
   Answer: B. Health is life expectancy, education is schooling years, and living standard is GNI per capita (PPP). (Key point: Indicators)

3. Which statement about HDI is correct?
   A. It is an arithmetic sum ranging 0 to 100, introduced in 1945
   B. It was introduced by Schumacher in 1973
   C. It is a geometric mean, ranges 0 to 1, and was introduced in 1990 by Mahbub ul Haq and Amartya Sen
   D. It ranges from -1 to 1
   Answer: C. HDI is the geometric mean of normalised indices with value 0 to 1, introduced in 1990. (Key point: HDI scale and origin)

## Related in Energy Environment and Society

- [Development, energy rate, HDI of Nepal](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Fenergy_environment_and_society%3Adevelopment-energy-hdi-nepal) — Energy Environment and Society, chapter 1
- [HDI and energy consumption](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Fenergy_environment_and_society%3Ahdi-energy-relation) — Energy Environment and Society, chapter 1

## Related in other subjects

- [Human civilization, development and the environment](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Fenvironment_and_pollution_control%3Acivilization-development-environment-history) — Environment and Pollution Control, chapter 7
- [Organizational, operational and human resource plan](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Fentrepreneurship_development%3Aorganizational-hr-plan) — Entrepreneurship Development, chapter 5
- [Training, development and incentives](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Forganization_and_management%3Atraining-incentives) — Organization and Management, chapter 7