Human development (United Nations)

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) defines human development as a process of enlarging people's choices. Although these can be infinite and change with time, the three essential ones are for a long and happy life, to acquire knowledge, and to have access to resources necessary for a decent standard of living. Other highly valued choices range from political, economic and social freedom to opportunities for being creative and productive and to enjoying personal self-respect and guaranteed human rights. One important choice is for income, but this is not the only choice. The focus is people themselves and not just expansion of income and wealth. In fact there is no direct correlation between income and human development levels on a country-by-country basis.

There are two sides to human development: the formation of human capabilities (for example, improved health, knowledge and skills); and the use people make of their capabilities (for leisure, productive purposes, or activity in cultural, social and political affairs). Development is thus both a process of widening people's choices and the level of well-being they achieve.

Human development may possibly be measured through focusing on longevity (life expectancy), knowledge (literacy is a crude measure of this but a possible starting point), decent living standards (perhaps using per capita income adjusted to include real purchasing power). These may be incorporated into a [Human Development Index]

.