This is a list of countries by Human Development Index as included in a United Nations Development Program's Human Development Statistical Update released on December 18, 2008, compiled on the basis of data from 2006. It covers 177 U.N. member countries (out of 192), along with: Hong Kong (SAR of China) and PA-governed territories. Fifteen U.N. member countries are not included due to lack of data. The average HDI of regions of the World and groups of countries are also included for comparison. The Human Development Index (HDI) is a comparative measure of life expectancy, literacy, education and standards of living for countries worldwide. It is a standard means of measuring well-being, especially child welfare. It is used to distinguish whether the country is a developed, a developing or an under-developed country, and also to measure the impact of economic policies on quality of life. The index was developed in 1990 by Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq and Indian economist Amartya Sen.[1]   «   Summary from Wikipedia