Measuring Development
Part 1 Section 1
Chad's Gross Domestic Product, (GDP) per capita, or the total of all economic activity in a country divided by the total number of people in the country, is $760 according to a 2013 study (World Bank). This ranks Chad as number 192 in the world according to GDP (World Factbook). Gross National Income, (GNI) per capita, is the total income that is earned by a country's factors of production, including the income that was made in the country and outside of the country from domestic firms, divided by the total number of people in the country. The GNI per capita for Chad is $540 (World Bank). It is important to note that this GNI number does not include the income of foreign companies producing goods and services inside of Chad, but that it does include all of the firms that are from Chad, regardless of where they are producing. Chad's GDP is significantly higher than its GNI, depicting that Chad does have a large amount of Foreign Direct Investment, (FDI), or the investment of foreign companies in to the economy, indicating that Chad has a positive flow in terms of net property income from abroad. This suggests that there is a large amount of income from assets leaving Chad to go abroad. Chad needs to increase its GDP in order to improve its overall well being and they can do this by making their industries and workers more productive and efficient, increasing their foreign direct investment, and growing their economy and development.
These above mentioned figures do not reflect the reality of financial comparisons between countries because goods and services have different costs from country to country, and the purchasing power of one country's income, or how many goods and services one's income can buy, will be different. The Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), or how much money of a certain income is needed to buy a set basket of goods and services compared to the amount of money in another currency needed to buy the same set basket of goods and services, is used to truly compare one country to another. Chad's GDP per capita is $760 and the GDP per capita at the PPP is $823 , larger than its GDP per capita, showing that people in Chad have an inclination to buy goods and services within Chad, since their goods and services will cost less to them.
Health Measures
The average Chadian has a life expectancy of 49.6 years, which is on the low side of the life expectancy range in all countries (Spreadsheet). If Chad wanted to fix this problem, they would have to begin to increase human development in Chad, which includes providing adequate health care, sanitation, water, food, political stability, education and a lowering of poverty levels. Chad does not excel in providing any of these development measures, and this is the reason why the inhabitants of Chad don't live very long lives. This life expectancy value really highlights Chad as a developing nation, because when compared to developed countries, it is seen that the people are living up to 20 more years than in Chad. This is a problem, because the longer a person lives, then the longer they can positively contribute to the economy and help their country grow and develop. With Chad, the adults, the majority of the workforce in developed countries, are getting sick and dying, creating a need for more younger, unskilled children laborers who will in turn get sick and die, causing a cycle of low production and life expectancy.
Also, in Chad, the infant mortality rate, the number of fatalities in children under the age of one per one thousand live births in a given year is 97.1 deaths per 1,000 live births (World Bank). The level of health care and services, sanitation, the poverty level, and the availability of clean nutritious food and water all greatly affect this mortality rate. The reason why Chad has such a high infant mortality rate is that there is not an adequate amount of money from the government spent on health care and sanitation. In contrast to developed countries, like Italy, whose infant mortality rate is 3.2 deaths per 1,000 live births (World Bank), it can be seen that Chad is most definitely in a developing country status. The large infant mortality rate proves that the health care available in Chad is poor and needs to be increased and improved. This poor health care industry hurts economic development in Chad, since when people are sick, or there aren't enough workers to work due to the high infant mortality rate, productivity will decrease and the country cannot develop.
Education Measures
Chad's literacy rate, or the percentage of the population over age 15 that is literate is 47%. This means that 53% of the adult population in Chad are unable to read. A high literacy rate is something that developed countries need, since it makes it easier to communicate with others and increase the growth and development of the country. In Italy, the literacy rate is 99.9% (World Bank). Chad's comparably low rate emphasizes its status as a developing nation to show that the provision of education in Chad is insufficient. The lack of education is seen in Chad's low efficiency, productivity and development indicators. If Chad wants to become a developed country, the government needs to start providing a greater education throughout the entire country, and there needs to be funds available to provide this education. There should be an effort to decrease the income distribution gap in Chad, so that most every family can send their child to school to learn instead of working. Even though this may hurt productivity of Chad in the short run, the long term benefits of having an educated work force will be greater and possibly the ticket to Chad's graduation into developed country status.
The net enrollment rate in primary education, or the ratio of the number of children of primary school age who are enrolled in primary school to the total number of children who are of primary school age in Chad is 70.1%. This falls in the medium human development category for this indicator. The goal of the Millennium Development Organization is to have universal primary education for all children by 2015. This probably will not happen in Chad because they do not have the resources available to provide health care throughout the country. If this value were to increase, more people will receive education and over time the nation's productivity will increase since the education level will increase, making workers more productive.
Composite Indicators
Human Development Index
The Human Development Index (HDI) measures three variables of improved education, a long and healthy life, and a substantial standard of living. Chad's HDI is 0.328. This places Chad in the low human development category (Less than 0.500) (Spreadsheet). This value also places Chad at 184 out of 187 countries and territories (UNDP). The low value and poor placement compared to all other countries shows that Chad has an inadequate net enrollment ratio in primary education, small GDP per capita, a poor life expectancy, and a poor literacy rate. HDI is used to measure development, rather than just GDP. Development is the gaining of human rights and freedoms, instead of just the increase of output in the country (growth). Looking at this, Chad is highly underdeveloped compared to the rest of the world, proving its developing nation status. It is argued that HDI is not perfect, since it does not account for inequalities that occur between groups such as men and women or between different ethnic groups, but it is more effective in comparing countries' well beings than GDP per capita by itself.
Gender-Related Development Index
The gender-related development index (GDI) uses exactly the same indicators as HDI does, but it also measures the inequalities for men and women. Chad's GDI is 0.370 out of 1, placing it 145 out of 177 countries (Spreadsheet). This places Chad really low in the rankings, especially when compared to a developed country such as Italy with a GDI of 0.936. Chad's GDI IS higher than its HDI, which indicates that there is not any inequality between men and women in Chad. However, these numbers (GDI and HDI) are so extremely low that all people, women and men, are still not getting the basic necessities they need to survive, such as education, a healthy lifestyle including diet and clean water, or an improved standard of living. In Chad, both sexes experience low levels of HDI and GDI, so while inequality is not Chad's major issue, economic development for both genders needs to improve in the future.
Gender Equality Measure
After measuring development, it is important to question whether or not development is aiding the creation of freedoms and opportunities for both genders. The gender equality rating, or a report on how equal men and women are in Chad, is 2.5 out of 6, with 6 being full equality(tradingeconomies). This value is really low. The goal is to get to 6, where women reach maximum empowerment. also, 5% of seats in the government are held by women, which indicates that women are not becoming more powerful and equal in Chad quickly, and they need to work on gender equality within the government.
Human Poverty Index
In an attempt to measure the level of poverty experienced in Chad, the human poverty index (HPI) is created to look at the proportion of people who are deprived of the opportunity to reach acceptable development standards. Chad's HPI is 53.1% (map). This is high, when compared to both developed nations like Italy with a HPI value of 0.4%(map), and other developed nations like Ethiopia with a HPI value of 50.9% (HPI). It is not the highest HPI value, but it still ranks at the high end of the spectrum. This high value indicates that there is a greater level of deprivation and a higher level of poverty in Chad than in these other countries. This value also suggests that development aid and benefits are not being shared equally in Chad amongst all of its citizens.
Chad's Gross Domestic Product, (GDP) per capita, or the total of all economic activity in a country divided by the total number of people in the country, is $760 according to a 2013 study (World Bank). This ranks Chad as number 192 in the world according to GDP (World Factbook). Gross National Income, (GNI) per capita, is the total income that is earned by a country's factors of production, including the income that was made in the country and outside of the country from domestic firms, divided by the total number of people in the country. The GNI per capita for Chad is $540 (World Bank). It is important to note that this GNI number does not include the income of foreign companies producing goods and services inside of Chad, but that it does include all of the firms that are from Chad, regardless of where they are producing. Chad's GDP is significantly higher than its GNI, depicting that Chad does have a large amount of Foreign Direct Investment, (FDI), or the investment of foreign companies in to the economy, indicating that Chad has a positive flow in terms of net property income from abroad. This suggests that there is a large amount of income from assets leaving Chad to go abroad. Chad needs to increase its GDP in order to improve its overall well being and they can do this by making their industries and workers more productive and efficient, increasing their foreign direct investment, and growing their economy and development.
These above mentioned figures do not reflect the reality of financial comparisons between countries because goods and services have different costs from country to country, and the purchasing power of one country's income, or how many goods and services one's income can buy, will be different. The Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), or how much money of a certain income is needed to buy a set basket of goods and services compared to the amount of money in another currency needed to buy the same set basket of goods and services, is used to truly compare one country to another. Chad's GDP per capita is $760 and the GDP per capita at the PPP is $823 , larger than its GDP per capita, showing that people in Chad have an inclination to buy goods and services within Chad, since their goods and services will cost less to them.
Health Measures
The average Chadian has a life expectancy of 49.6 years, which is on the low side of the life expectancy range in all countries (Spreadsheet). If Chad wanted to fix this problem, they would have to begin to increase human development in Chad, which includes providing adequate health care, sanitation, water, food, political stability, education and a lowering of poverty levels. Chad does not excel in providing any of these development measures, and this is the reason why the inhabitants of Chad don't live very long lives. This life expectancy value really highlights Chad as a developing nation, because when compared to developed countries, it is seen that the people are living up to 20 more years than in Chad. This is a problem, because the longer a person lives, then the longer they can positively contribute to the economy and help their country grow and develop. With Chad, the adults, the majority of the workforce in developed countries, are getting sick and dying, creating a need for more younger, unskilled children laborers who will in turn get sick and die, causing a cycle of low production and life expectancy.
Also, in Chad, the infant mortality rate, the number of fatalities in children under the age of one per one thousand live births in a given year is 97.1 deaths per 1,000 live births (World Bank). The level of health care and services, sanitation, the poverty level, and the availability of clean nutritious food and water all greatly affect this mortality rate. The reason why Chad has such a high infant mortality rate is that there is not an adequate amount of money from the government spent on health care and sanitation. In contrast to developed countries, like Italy, whose infant mortality rate is 3.2 deaths per 1,000 live births (World Bank), it can be seen that Chad is most definitely in a developing country status. The large infant mortality rate proves that the health care available in Chad is poor and needs to be increased and improved. This poor health care industry hurts economic development in Chad, since when people are sick, or there aren't enough workers to work due to the high infant mortality rate, productivity will decrease and the country cannot develop.
Education Measures
Chad's literacy rate, or the percentage of the population over age 15 that is literate is 47%. This means that 53% of the adult population in Chad are unable to read. A high literacy rate is something that developed countries need, since it makes it easier to communicate with others and increase the growth and development of the country. In Italy, the literacy rate is 99.9% (World Bank). Chad's comparably low rate emphasizes its status as a developing nation to show that the provision of education in Chad is insufficient. The lack of education is seen in Chad's low efficiency, productivity and development indicators. If Chad wants to become a developed country, the government needs to start providing a greater education throughout the entire country, and there needs to be funds available to provide this education. There should be an effort to decrease the income distribution gap in Chad, so that most every family can send their child to school to learn instead of working. Even though this may hurt productivity of Chad in the short run, the long term benefits of having an educated work force will be greater and possibly the ticket to Chad's graduation into developed country status.
The net enrollment rate in primary education, or the ratio of the number of children of primary school age who are enrolled in primary school to the total number of children who are of primary school age in Chad is 70.1%. This falls in the medium human development category for this indicator. The goal of the Millennium Development Organization is to have universal primary education for all children by 2015. This probably will not happen in Chad because they do not have the resources available to provide health care throughout the country. If this value were to increase, more people will receive education and over time the nation's productivity will increase since the education level will increase, making workers more productive.
Composite Indicators
Human Development Index
The Human Development Index (HDI) measures three variables of improved education, a long and healthy life, and a substantial standard of living. Chad's HDI is 0.328. This places Chad in the low human development category (Less than 0.500) (Spreadsheet). This value also places Chad at 184 out of 187 countries and territories (UNDP). The low value and poor placement compared to all other countries shows that Chad has an inadequate net enrollment ratio in primary education, small GDP per capita, a poor life expectancy, and a poor literacy rate. HDI is used to measure development, rather than just GDP. Development is the gaining of human rights and freedoms, instead of just the increase of output in the country (growth). Looking at this, Chad is highly underdeveloped compared to the rest of the world, proving its developing nation status. It is argued that HDI is not perfect, since it does not account for inequalities that occur between groups such as men and women or between different ethnic groups, but it is more effective in comparing countries' well beings than GDP per capita by itself.
Gender-Related Development Index
The gender-related development index (GDI) uses exactly the same indicators as HDI does, but it also measures the inequalities for men and women. Chad's GDI is 0.370 out of 1, placing it 145 out of 177 countries (Spreadsheet). This places Chad really low in the rankings, especially when compared to a developed country such as Italy with a GDI of 0.936. Chad's GDI IS higher than its HDI, which indicates that there is not any inequality between men and women in Chad. However, these numbers (GDI and HDI) are so extremely low that all people, women and men, are still not getting the basic necessities they need to survive, such as education, a healthy lifestyle including diet and clean water, or an improved standard of living. In Chad, both sexes experience low levels of HDI and GDI, so while inequality is not Chad's major issue, economic development for both genders needs to improve in the future.
Gender Equality Measure
After measuring development, it is important to question whether or not development is aiding the creation of freedoms and opportunities for both genders. The gender equality rating, or a report on how equal men and women are in Chad, is 2.5 out of 6, with 6 being full equality(tradingeconomies). This value is really low. The goal is to get to 6, where women reach maximum empowerment. also, 5% of seats in the government are held by women, which indicates that women are not becoming more powerful and equal in Chad quickly, and they need to work on gender equality within the government.
Human Poverty Index
In an attempt to measure the level of poverty experienced in Chad, the human poverty index (HPI) is created to look at the proportion of people who are deprived of the opportunity to reach acceptable development standards. Chad's HPI is 53.1% (map). This is high, when compared to both developed nations like Italy with a HPI value of 0.4%(map), and other developed nations like Ethiopia with a HPI value of 50.9% (HPI). It is not the highest HPI value, but it still ranks at the high end of the spectrum. This high value indicates that there is a greater level of deprivation and a higher level of poverty in Chad than in these other countries. This value also suggests that development aid and benefits are not being shared equally in Chad amongst all of its citizens.