The HDI measures the average achievements in a country in three basic dimensions of human development:
Each year, UN member states are listed and ranked according to these measures. Those high on the list often advertise it (e.g., Jean Chrétien, Former Prime Minister of Canada [1]), as a means of attracting talented immigrants (economically, individual capital) or discouraging emigration.
An alternative measure, focusing on the amount of poverty in a country, is the Human Poverty Index.
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An HDI below 0.5 is considered to represent low development and 29 of the 31 countries in that category are located in Africa, with the exceptions of Haiti and Yemen. The bottom ten countries are all in Africa. The highest-scoring Sub-Saharan countries, Equatorial Guinea and South Africa, are ranked 120th and 121st, respectively (with a shared HDI of 0.653).
An HDI 0.8 or more is considered to represent high development. This includes all developed countries and some developing countries in mainly Eastern Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia and oil-rich Arabian Peninsula.