What is HDI and what three dimensions does it combine?

• A. Life expectancy, education, and literacy rates
• B. Life expectancy, education, and standard of living (GNI per capita)
• C. Life expectancy, education, and health indicators
• D. Life expectancy, education, and GDP per capita

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is that the Human Development Index (HDI) measures development by looking at three broad aspects of human life: health, knowledge, and living standards.

Life expectancy at birth captures the health dimension, showing how long people can expect to live. The education dimension reflects schooling, not just literacy—HDI uses years of schooling to indicate what people learn and how long they stay in school. The standard of living is represented by Gross National Income per person, typically measured in a way that accounts for differences in price levels (GNI per capita).

So the best fit is life expectancy, education, and standard of living (GNI per capita). Literacy alone isn’t the education measure used, the health dimension is broader than a general set of health indicators, and GDP per capita isn’t the metric HDI uses for standard of living (GNI per capita is).