The Importance of Human Development in Terms of Living Conditions in Different Countries

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The Importance of Human Development in Terms of Living Conditions in Different Countries

Human development is very important in terms of living conditions in different countries. The statement “any society committed to improving the lives of its people must also be committed to full and equal rights for all” is true. The UN considers three factors to calculate human development in a country. These factors cover many aspects of a country, including social development in a country. Income, education, and healthy living are considered to be the most important factors in human development, which help to rid populations of poverty, and support human rights.

First, the improvement of lives is directly related to human rights. According to the 2000 UN Human Development Report, a more developed country with more rights today, as opposed to 1970, can expect a newborn to live 10 more years, adult literacy cut in half, and infant mortality rates cut by over 40%. The more freedom and rights a person has, the more opportunity, and better chance for a good standard of living. The International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights declared that the “rights to food, health, education and privacy were fundamental building blocks of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” Humans, then, can realize what they are capable of achieving. However, a less developed country with less freedom, demotivates people and takes away opportunity for one to achieve their best. In addition, national security, criminal justice, and freedom of speech are other factors in human and social development. Without these, again, one cannot achieve their full potential.

Second, the UN considers income as is a very important fa...

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...gs. This is somewhat linked to the education factor. Full education of a human takes quite a long time. If the person’s life expectancy is not long after educational achievement, there is not much he or she can achieve, especially with no experience. In comparison to a country with much higher life expectancy, the country will usually have a lower human development index.

The UN chooses three very important indicators for human development because they are the simplest way of calculating social development in a country. The more social development, the more human rights the country tends to have. In addition, equal human rights help all humans to achieve anything to the best of their abilities. This tends to lower the poverty rate and raise equality within a country. The more equal a country is, the more developed, as the human development index shows.

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