United Nations Development Program, Specialized Term Paper

The results of the index composition reflect that by analyzing only the elements mentioned above, both India and China rank higher than in the general HDI. In this sense, India is ranked 17 and China 18, as opposed to 119 and 89 respectively.

There are several aspects for this change. On the one hand, positive indexes were taken into account for both countries. For instance, the income in China is constantly improving, as China has a 76 ranking as opposed to 89 the general index. By comparison, this is also applicable to India, with a positive index of 87 as opposed to its general 119.

In terms of inequality China is relatively low as its ranking is 72 compared with the general one of 89. Therefore there is little difference largely because despite the constant developments in the economy the results of this development are not evenly spread and therefore there is a clear sign of discrepancy. The situation is similar in India where the ranking for inequality is 94.

Poverty is therefore a clear issue in both countries, yet food deprivation and population living below $1.25 has improved as a result of economic development. More precisely, China is ranked 24 while Sierra Leone 44. This comes to prove that there have been improvements made to reflect a slightly improved way of life. Also, it implies persistence of food and financial means to purchase it, which in turn may determine a conclusion over a local society in development.

In terms of sustainability, which implies the actual impact of the economic development on the environment and the way in which the countries can further their economic development in a positive manner for the environment, China is among the first countries, ranked 12 in the world at this index.India is ranked 37, ahead of countries such as Finland or France. This is important because it points out there is a tendency to include the environment as part of a wider and more sustainable means of development.

Finally, in terms of empowerment, China lacks behind India with a ranking of 162 as opposed to 89 the general HDI and India 102 with a total index of 119. This is an important aspect because on the one hand, it provides the necessary values to explain the average of the rankings and at the same time, it provides a clear view on the issue of empowerment that is in the HDI economy synonymous with the freedom of the press. As mentioned in the beginning China has had serious problems in terms of democratic values ad the respect for the press as a voice for the people and clearly this is reflected in the index. By comparison, India is not the most democratic country in this sense, but still provides a better score than its general index which proves that the political system and the democratic norms are more functional that the overall economic perspective.

Overall it can be pointed out that if positive indexes taken aside, the improvements in the Chinese and Indian society can be quantified and measured. However, the HDI points out that there is still an immense work to be done in….....