QUALITY OF LIFE  The human development index (HDI), produced by the United Nations Development Programme, is a broader measure of economic and social progress than GDP per head, a more conventional gauge of living standards. The HDI combines three indicators of well-being: life expectancy, GDP per head and educational attainment, including adult literacy and enrolment in schools and universities. In general, richer countries have higher rankings on this index than poorer ones. Several countries, however, are ranked in surprisingly different places on the HDI than on a conventional ranking by GDP per head. Canada, for instance, comes top of the HDI. However, on the basis of 1998 figures for GDP per head, it ranks ninth. Britain ranks tenth on the HDI—above France and Germany. Its GDP per head, however, is lower. Of the emerging economies tracked each week by The Economist, Israel has the highest ranking on the HDI, followed by Singapore. India has the lowest score.

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The Human Development Index was launched officially on June 29th.

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