Sub-Saharan Africa: Measures of Economic Development

It would be useful to apply the Measures of Economic Development discussed in the introduction online lecture to the Sub-Saharan Africa realm. Also, compare the measures of Sub-Saharan Africa with other geographic realms. See table G-1 [afmeasur] of your textbook and the maps below to get an idea of how Sub-Saharan Africa ranks economically among the world's realms [realmmea.htm].

You may want to review the measures of economic development lecture including the section on the Human Development Index [HDI].

Measures of Economic Development

1. GNP per capita [wbgnpmap] [gnppctab.htm]
2. Population Growth [wrpopgr]
3. Occupational Structure of the Labor Force [wraglab]
4. Urbanization [wrurban]
5. Consumption per capita
   • [wwenergy]
   • [wwtv]
6. Infrastructure [wwtrans]
7. Social Conditions
   • literacy rate [wwlitrt]
   • life expectancy [wwlifexp]
   • health care
   • caloric intake
   • infant mortality [wwinfmrt]
   • other

OVERALL: Human Development Index * [wwhdi]

LDC or MDC?
Would you categorize countries in this realm in as Less Developed Countries (LDCs) or as More Developed Countries (MDCs)? [wwldc]

If you are at all unsure, review the introductory lecture on the Measures of Economic Development.

What is the Human Development Index (HDI)? [wwhdi]

We have indicated that even though GDP per capita is the most used indicator of development, there are some significant problems with it. Therefore, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) computes a Human Development Index (HDI) for each country each year. The human development index (HDI), composed of three indicators: life expectancy, education (adult literacy and combined secondary and tertiary school enrollment) and real GDP per capita. [wwhdi]

To see the Human Development Index for individual countries go to: http://www.undp.org/hdr2001/indicator/indic_10_1_1.html

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