GCSE Geography | Social Indicators of Development (Development Gap 3)

Development indicators are pieces of data that tell us about the quality of life in a country.

We often compare countries using economic data, such as Gross National Income (GNI) per capita. However, social indicators are just as important as economic development usually brings social change, for example, more money is spent on education and healthcare. Improving health spending means more doctors and hospitals, resulting in a lower death rate and higher life expectancy. Improving educational opportunities means that literacy rates increase so people have higher earning potential, and educating girls in particular raises their status and can lead to a decline in the fertility rate, resulting in changes to the population structure.

So it is clear to see that that using both economic and social indicators give us a much more accurate picture of a country's development.

Let's have a look at a few social indicators in detail and think about what they tell us about development...

Life expectancy

The average number of years a person can expect to live.

Life expectancy is a useful development indicators as it shows the access to healthcare and whether people have plenty of clean drinking water and nutritious food. Life expectancy rises as countries develop - for example, in the UK in 1901 life expectancy at birth was around 45 for men and 49 for women. By 1951 it had increased to 66 for men and 70 for women. It is now 78.8 years for men and 82.8 years for women.

|It is also useful to consider 'healthy life expectancy' - this is the number of years you can expect to live in good health before your health declines significantly. In the UK men can expect to have 62.4 years of good health, with 16.4 years in poor health (21% of their lifetime), whilst average healthy life expectancy for women is 62.7 - meaning they have an average of 20.1 years in poor health (24% of their lifetime - and a higher proportion than men).

Major events such as ongoing conflicts can also have an impact on life expectancy - WWII significantly lowered UK life expectancy, and across the world conflicts today are having lowering the life expectancy of citizens in the countries affected, particularly in LICs such as Syria. However, some developed nations are also currently seeing a slight decrease in life expectancy, which can be linked to having an ageing population, but also as a remnant of the Covid pandemic, as is the case in the UK.

Birth rate

The number of live babies born per 1000 per year.

Birth rate is a useful development indicator because as a country develop the birth rate decreases – this is because the death rate drops so fewer babies are born to compensate for those who do not live because of diseases or starvation. In HICs women are more likely to become educated and want a career rather than staying at home – so they tend to marry later and have fewer children. Traditionally in LICs family size has been large as children are seen as economically valuable, i.e. they can go out and earn a living, such as working on farms. As LICs start to see economic growth then there are fewer children needed to work on the land, so this will affect the birth rate.

Infant mortality rate

The number of babies who don’t reach their first birthday, per 1000 live births.

Infant mortality rate is a useful development indicator as it tells us about the quality of healthcare for mothers – both pre- and post-natal, the availability of vaccinations programmes for infants, access to a safe and reliable water (as many infants die from waterborne diseases), and whether there is enough nutritious food, i.e. are mothers eating enough to produce milk? And once babies are 6 months old and are eating solids, are they eating enough to promote healthy growth? Infant mortality rate is also linked to people per doctor and birth and death rates.

Literacy rate

The % of adults who have basic reading and writing skills.

It is useful as it tells us about the value placed on education and whether a government has the resources to fund an education system properly. The figure is sometimes given as male and female percentages to highlight the gender inequality in terms of access to education - there are several countries across the world where girls are denied a proper education. The most notable example of this is Afghanistan where the Taliban gained control of the government in 2021 and immediately banned girls from attending school or further education. Literacy rate is linked to GNI per capita as a more educated workforce has the potential to earn more and boost the economy, and the birth rate, as girls who have received a full education are likely to have children later, and also likely to have fewer of them.

Access to safe water

The % of people who can obtain water that is not contaminated.

Access to safe water is a useful development indicator as a safe and reliable water network requires investment into infrastructure, such as proper drainage and water pipes. Unsafe water can cause waterborne diseases such as cholera which can be fatal (particularly for infants), and a lack of water causes dehydration, which makes people really unwell, so safe water access is closely linked to the death rate and life expectancy. Access to safe water also means that people, and in particular women and children, don't have to spend so much of their day walking miles to collect water, therefore women have more time to undertake paid employment, potentially increasing their standard of living, and children have more time to attend school, increasing their chances of a well-paid job in the future, and an escape from poverty.

People per doctor

The number of people there are for each doctor in a country.

People per doctor is a useful development indicator as it tells us about investment into healthcare, as well as the level of education (so people can become qualified doctors). However, even in areas where this figure is high people may still be receiving healthcare, e.g. in LIC rural areas many people access healthcare advice through their phones. In addition living in an HIC doesn't guarantee access to healthcare, for example in the USA people have to pay for healthcare through insurance, so their access to healthcare services is dependent on what sort of policy they can afford to pay for, meaning that some people go without. Even in the UK, the NHS is now so over-stretched that people can wait hours for life-saving emergency care, and may have to wait months to access treatment for chronic conditions such as cancers and heart disease.