HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX 2007/2008: ICELAND IN TOP MOST POSITION

The Human Development Index report published by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on 27th November 2007 ranked Iceland in topmost position. Norway which was in top position since 2001 to 2006, now stand at second position. Iceland had never been in topmost position before where was norway have been in six times (2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006). Similarly Canada is the highest ranking country staying at the top position for ten times (1985, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000) followed by Japan twice at top position (1991,1993) and Switzerland only once (1985). The slogan for this year is "Fighting climate change: Human solidarity in a divided world".
Out of 177 countries, Nepal which was in 138th position last year, is now at 4 positions down i.e. in 142th position. This is the lowest position in south asia. Sierra Leone is at the bottom of the rank.
Wold Atlas with Human Development Index (HDI)
The Human Development Index (HDI) is the measure of life expectancy, literacy, education, and standard of living for countries worldwide. It is a standard means of measuring well-being, especially child welfare. It is used to determine and indicate whether a country is a developed, developing, or underdeveloped country and also to measure the impact of economic policies on quality of life.
This index was officially started since 1990. It was developed by Indian Nobel prize winner Amartya Sen, Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq, with help from Gustav Ranis of Yale University and Lord Meghnad Desai of the London School of Economics and has been used since then by the United Nations Development Programme in its annual Human Development Report.