The Hindu Business Line : Understanding the world better

Worried about the state of the world, and especially that of India? You might be one of those who never misses the tables and charts from the latest UNDP Human Development Report.

There are a few problems, however. For one thing, you can't get all of the data you'd like very easily. For another, poring over the numbers in the report, whenever and wherever you can lay hands on them is not an easy task. Now you have a new and better way to access those numbers: an interactive presentation based on Human Development Trends 2005, available at http://www.gapminder.org.

The site provides the details of the report in a layered fashion. You start off with learning about poverty and population and how the level of poverty and the population of the poor have changed.

Health & income

At another level, it presents the child survival rate for each region along with income levels. Different regions and countries are represented by different sized balls, with the size of the balls dependent on the population.

At yet another level, each region is broken down into its constituent countries and one can see and compare the health and income levels across regions, countries and over a period of time.

Rich, poor divide

Perhaps, the most insightful part of the presentation is where one learns the dangers of averages. For instance, Namibia is, on average, comparable to China in terms of income levels and between India and China in terms of health. However, when studied on the basis of income groups, it reveals itself as a nation of very great inequality - the income difference between the richest 20 per cent and the poorest 20 per cent is the difference between the rich and poor countries.

The presentation explains basic terms and relationships clearly and also guides on how to navigate through the numbers. You can view the presentation online or download a copy for quick reference.

Want to know how India compares with other countries and the development directions we have taken? Want to know how the rich and the poor of India compare to the rich and poor elsewhere? You know where to go now.