Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Your notes
Geography
Measuring Development
Contents
Indicators of development
Use of indicators to compare level of development
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Indicators of development
Specification link
This page covers section 8.1.1 of the CIE IGCSE specification .
8.1.1 - Social and economic indicators of development. For example, gross national
product (GNP), gross domestic product (GDP), gross national income (GNI), literacy
rate, life expectancy, Human Development Index (HDI), infant mortality rate, calorie
intake, and doctors per person.
What is development?
Development refers to a country's positive progress in improving the standard of living
and quality of life for its population
The quality of life includes subjective factors like happiness
A country's level of development is measured using the following indicators:
Economic indicators (for example, Gross Domestic Product (GDP))
Social indicators (for example, life expectancy)
Political indicators (for example, the Corruption Perception Index)
Individual indicators are misleading when used alone, as some features develop before
others
This may indicate that a country is more developed than it really is
By using multiple indicators as a measure of development, a clearer picture of that
country's development is produced
The country's GDP (gross domestic product), GNI (gross national income), and
GNP (gross national product) are the traditional measures used to measure wealth
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita is the total value of goods and services
produced within a country in a year divided by the population of the country
There can be huge differences in GDP depending on the size and population of a
country
Dividing it by the population means that more meaningful comparisons can be
made between countries
GDP per capita is an average this means that the variation in wealth is hidden
It is possible that two countries can have the same average GDP per capita but that
one has a few very wealthy people and lots of people living in poverty, whereas the
other has a more equal distribution of wealth
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There is no way of knowing what the GDP is spent on
GDP increases after an earthquake due to the cost of rebuilding
This does not mean that the country is more developed or that everyone's quality of
life has improved
Gross National Product (GNP)
GNP per capita is a measure of a country's economic output per person
It is calculated by dividing the total value of a country's final output of goods and
services by its population
It reflects the average income of a country's citizens and allows a better comparison
since different countries have varying populations
For instance, the GNP of the UK is lower than that of India, but the GDP per capita of
the UK is higher than that of India (India has a higher population compared to the UK)
However, GNP per capita does not take into account the cost-of-living in the
country—$1 will go further in Bangladesh than in the USA
To even this discrepancy, the GNP per capita at Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) is
calculated
Comparison between countries' levels of development is easy to see, but it fails to
identify
How wealth is distributed around a country—the wealth gap
Government investment in the country
Despite Cuba's low GNP per capita, the government has historically placed a
strong priority on social investment, and the country enjoys higher literacy rates,
a lower infant mortality rate, and a comparable life expectancy to America
Gross National Income (GNI)
Gross national income (GNI) is the total value of goods and services produced within a
country, plus income from abroad (like remittances and investment income), minus
payments made to foreign organisations
It is a measure of national wealth that can be used as an alternative to GDP
To calculate GNI, add income from foreign sources to a country's GDP
For many countries, there isn't much difference between GNI and GDP
However, if a country receives significant foreign investment or foreign aid, GNI may be
much higher than GDP
GNI is now more commonly used than GDP by groups like the World Bank
The European Union also uses it to determine each member country's contribution
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GNI per capita
GNI per capita, or Gross National Income per capita, is a measure of a country's total
income, including income from abroad, divided by its population
It represents the average income earned by each person in a country and is used to
gauge economic development and living standards
GNI vs GNI per capita
GNI is the total income earned by a country's population, regardless of where the
income was earned
While GNI per capita is the GNI divided by the country's population, indicating the
average income per person
GNI is a measure of a country's overall economic wealth, and GNI per capita shows an
average income (standard of living) within a country
Other development indicators
Life expectancy
Life expectancy is the average age a person can be expected to live
Various factors impact life expectancy
Physical and human environmental factors
Personal lifestyle
Incidence of disease
Access to healthcare
Infant mortality
Infant mortality rates refer to the number of children per 1000 who die below the age of
1
Over 18 countries have an infant mortality rate of over 50 per 1000
These are all developing countries
Most of these countries are in Sub-Saharan Africa
Calorie intake
Calorie intake, in kilocalories, is the energy obtained from food consumed per person
each day
It can be used as a measure of development because it reflects a country's overall
economic and food security status
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Generally, developed countries tend to have higher average daily calorie intake
compared to less developed countries
This difference is often linked to factors like
wealth
access to resources
food production capabilities
Literacy rate
Literacy rate is a measure of the percentage of people over 15 years old who can read
and write
In developed countries, literacy rates average 96%
Less-developed countries have average literacy rates of 65%
This can be hard to measure in LICs due to a lack of monitoring
Conflict zones and squatter settlements are areas where it is difficult to measure literacy
rates
People per doctor
People per doctor is the number of people each doctor is responsible for treating in a
country or region
A lower number (more doctors per person) usually means that a country is more
developed because it means that the healthcare system is stronger
However, it is a limited measure because
People may access healthcare advice through mobile phones or other methods
that aren't reflected in the official doctor count
Access to healthcare may be limited for certain populations due to insurance or
socioeconomic factors
The ratio can vary significantly between urban and rural areas within a country
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Remember, increasing wealth is not equally distributed. In all countries, some people
will benefit more from the cycle of wealth and economic development. Often, as a
country develops, the gap between the rich and poor increases.
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Use of indicators to compare level of development
Specification link
This page covers section 8.1.2 of the CIE IGCSE specification.
8.1.2: The use of development indicators to compare countries at different levels of
development and an evaluation of their usefulness.
8.1.3: Factors affecting quality of life and standard of living.
Comparing countries using development
indicators
Development is hard to measure accurately, as it covers so many features or strands
It is measured using indicators
Social indicators
Social indicators provide a more complete picture of a country's development
It shows how the country's money helps its people
Quality of life and social well-being
Equal opportunities; access to services such as education and healthcare
Life expectancy and birth control
Level of education
Diversity, traditions and heritage
Economic indicators
These relate to income, job security and standards of living
However, these are averages of a population and does not take into account disparities
such as unequal wealth
Employment, income and general wealth
Savings, house building, house sales, consumer spending
International trade
Resources, pollution controls and conservation
Individual indicators are misleading when used alone, as some features develop before
others
This can indicate that a country is more developed than it really is
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Using multiple indicators as a measure of development, provides a clearer picture of
that country's development
Effectiveness of development indicators
Development indicators are averages, but these numbers may hide the extent of
inequality in a given location
For example, the death rate is usually lower in a city than in rural areas because it is
easier to get to hospitals and doctors
Limitations of development indicators
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
GDP ignores the welfare component as the goods and services produced may or may
not add to the welfare of society
Pollution or even happiness leaves out some production in an economy, such as
homegrown food
Gross National Income (GNI)
The measure only takes into account one factor—income
It is an average calculation so a few wealthy people can distort the figures
Data about income is sensitive so people may not always be honest about their earnings
People working in the informal sector and 'stay at home' parents are not taken into
account
GNI per head
It is an average and hides information about whether a person is either rich or poor or the
quality of life within the country
Literacy Rate
This can be hard to measure in LICs due to lack of monitoring
Conflict zones and squatter settlements are difficult areas to measure literacy rates
Life Expectancy
Data is not always reliable, especially in LICs
It can be misleading in countries with a very high rate of infant mortality, as people who
survive infancy may live longer than expected
People per Doctor
More people are seeking medical help and advice via mobile phone/web chat—this is
not included in the data
Birth Rate
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Some countries may have low birth rates but are quite poor (e.g., Cuba at 10 per 1000—
this is due to political decisions to invest more money in healthcare over other sectors)
Birth control policies can distort this as a measure of overall development (e.g. China, 12
per 1000)
Infant Mortality Rate
Not all the deaths of children are reported, especially in LICs and remote regions of
NEEs, meaning the true rates may be even higher
Death Rate
By comparison, death rate is a less reliable measure of development than birth rate
Birth rates can be high in some LICs due to poverty but also high in HICs, where many
people die of old age
Access to Safe Water
Data collection in LICs is not likely to be accurate and so official figures can
underestimate the issue
People may technically have access, but high costs force people to use unsafe water
Leaking pipes and natural disasters may deprive people of piped water
Human Development Index
The UN created the Human Development Index (HDI) in 1990 as a better way of
measuring differences between countries
The index takes into account four indicators of development:
Life expectancy at birth, indicating overall health of a country
Mean years of schooling for adults aged 25 years
It is a measure of the educational level of a population's adults
Expected years of schooling that a child of school entrance age can expect to
receive
It shows how well the younger generation will do in school
Gross National Income (GNI) per capita (PPP$)
Countries can be divided into four groups using HDI
Very High Human Development (VHHD)
High Human Development (HHD)
Medium Human Development (MHD)
Low Human Development (LHD)
HDI is scored from 0 to 1
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The higher the HDI, the higher the level of development and quality of life
Norway has the highest HDI at 0.957 (2024)
Niger has the lowest HDI at 0.394 (2024)
Human development index
The index only takes into account four indicators of development and the statistics
provided by some countries may be unreliable and subjective
It is a general measure based on average calculations
It does not take into account disparities (differences) that might exist within a
country
It does not take into account environmental or political measures
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Some consider it still to be too simple and biased in favour of HICs, as income is
weighted
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