How to Compare Development of a Nation
- In case of development of a nation, different section of society have different views on country’s development.
- This leads to conflict in the society among different groups.
- The conflict of interests needs to be accommodated by the government.
- Development can mean different things for different groups of people.
- It makes necessary to select a common characteristics of the things which are taken for comparison.
- In order to compare the development of nations, the income of the countries is always considered to be one of the most important attributes.
What is Income of a Country
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The income of a country means the aggregate of incomes of all the residents of the country. This gives us the Total income of the country.
- But total income doesn’t tell us the average income of a person in country which is more appropriate for comparison.
- If we divide total income by total population, we get average income, which is also known as Per Capita Income.
- The Per capita income is used as a criteria in comparing development of countries by World Bank when it publishes World Development Report.
- As per 2004, countries with per capita income above Rs. 4,53,000 per annum is considered rich countries and per capita income below Rs. 37,000 per annum is considered low-income countries.
- India is a low-income country as its average income was 28,000 in 2004.
