Title: The international human suffering index.

POPLINE Document Number: 040827

Author(s):

Camp SL
Speidel JJ

Source citation:

Washington, D.C., Population Crisis Committee, 1987. 2 p.

Abstract:

This wall chart statistically rates living conditions in 130 countries. It was created to measure, in a single figure, differences in living conditions between countries. The presentation also allows side-by-side comparison of rates of population increase and human suffering. Each individual country index is compiled by adding 10 measures of human welfare related to economics, demography, health and governance: 1) income, 2) inflation, 3) demand for new jobs, 4) urban population pressures, 5) infant mortality, 6) nutrition, 7) clean water, 8) energy use, 9) adult literacy, and 10) personal freedom. Each of the measures of well-being is ranked from 0 to 10--the most distressful being 10. Ethiopia receives a 10 in the Infant Mortality Index because 152 Ethiopian children under 1 year of age die out of every 1000 born, one of the highest rates in the world. The 10 measures are added together to obtain The Human Suffering Index. Those countries with high infant mortality rates, low gross national product per capita, poor supplies of clean drinking water and so on, scored high on the Index--close to 100. Living conditions are worst in Mozambique, followed by Angola, Afghanistan, Chad, Mali, Ghana, Somalia, Niger, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Zaire, Benin, and Malawi. The most comfortable countries to live in are Switzerland, West Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United States, in that order. The Index vividly shows that most of the world's people endure poverty and misery. The suffering can partially be traced to population pressures combined with inadequate attention to development. Development efforts such as family planning, health, and education could immediately ease the suffering of millions in the Third World. The accompanying text explains each of the 10 measures or indices as they apply to individual counties and regions, and includes Scales and Sources of Indices, and Definition of Terms.

Keywords:

Global
Social Welfare
Quality of Life
Social Development
Development Planning
Tables and Charts
Population Growth
Gross National Product
Infant Mortality
Literacy
Economic Factors
Population Dynamics
Demographic Factors
Population
Production
Macroeconomic Factors
Mortality
Educational Status
Socioeconomic Status
Socioeconomic Factors