E N S W - United Nations Development Programme

Readers guide
The 14 statistical tables provide an overview of key aspects of
human development. The tables include composite indices estimated
by the Human Development Report Office (HDRO)
using data available to the HDRO on 15 October 2012. All
indicators, along with the technical notes on the calculation of
composite indicators and additional sources of information, are
available online at http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics.
Countries and territories are ranked by their 2012 HDI value.
Robustness and reliability analysis has shown that for most
countries the HDI is not statistically significant at the third decimal
place (see Aguna and Kovacevic 2011 and Høyland, Moene
and Willumsen 2011). For this reason countries with the same
HDI value at the third decimal place are listed with tied ranks.
Sources and definitions
The HDRO uses data from international data agencies with
the mandate, resources and expertise to collect national data
on specific indicators, unless otherwise noted.
Definitions of indicators and sources for original data components
are given at the end of each table, with full source
details in Statistical references.
Comparisons over time and across editions
of the Report
Because national and international data agencies continually
improve their data series, the data— including the HDI values
and ranks— presented in this Report are not comparable to
those published in earlier editions. For the HDI, trends using
consistent data calculated at five-year intervals for 1980–2012
are presented in table 2.
Discrepancies between national and
international estimates
National and international data estimates can vary because
international agencies harmonize national data for comparability
across countries, produce an estimate of missing data or do
not incorporate the most recent national data. When HDRO
becomes aware of discrepancies, these are brought to the attention
of national and international data authorities.
Country groupings and aggregates
Several weighted aggregates are presented in the tables. In general,
an aggregate is shown only when data are available for at
least half the countries and represent at least two-thirds of the
available population in that classification. Aggregates for each
classification represent only the countries for which data are
available.
Human development classification
HDI classifications are relative—based on quartiles of HDI
distribution across the 187 countries denoted as very high,
high, medium (each with 47 countries) and low (with 46
countries).
Regional groupings
Regional groupings are based on United Nations Development
Programme regional classification. Least Developed Countries
and Small Island Developing States are defined according to
UN classifications. The composition of each region is presented
in Regions.
Country notes
Data for China do not include Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region of China, Macao Special Administrative
Region of China or Taiwan Province of China, unless otherwise
noted. Data for Sudan include South Sudan unless
otherwise noted.
Symbols
A dash between two years, as in 2005–2012, indicates that the
data are the most recent year available in the period specified. A
slash between years, as in 2005/2012, indicates average for the
period defined. Growth rates are usually average annual rates
of growth between the first and last years of the period shown.
The following symbols are used in the tables:
.. Not available
0 or 0.0 Nil or negligible
— Not applicable
140 | Human Development Report 2013