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2008 Update
Human Development Indices: A statistical update 2008 was released on 18 December 2008.
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How are the Regional/Income classifications determined?
The indicator tables of this year’s Report cover 175 UN member countries
along with Hong Kong, SAR (China)
and Occupied Palestinian Territories.
These countries and areas are classified in four ways: by human development
level, by income, in major world aggregates and by region [see 
Indicator Tables HDR 2007/2008 [1,495 KB]]. These designations do not necessarily express a judgment
about the development stage of a particular country or area. The term country
as used in the text and tables refers, as appropriate, to territories or areas.
Human development classifications. All countries included in the HDI
are classified into three clusters by achievement in human development: high
human development (with an HDI of 0.800 or above), medium human development
(0.500–0.799) and low human development (less than 0.500).
Income classifications. All countries are grouped by income using
World Bank classifications based on gross national income (GNI) per capita.
Effective as of 1 July 2006 the income classification was as follows: high
income (gross national income per capita of $10,726 or more in 2005), middle
income ($876 - 10,725) and low income ($875 or less). These values are updated
every year.
Major world classifications. The three global groups are developing
countries, Central and Eastern Europe and the
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD). These groups are not mutually exclusive.
Unless otherwise specified, the classification world represents the universe of
193 countries and areas covered.
Regional classifications. Developing countries are further classified
into the following regions: Arab States, East Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and
the Caribbean (including Mexico),
South Asia, Southern Europe and Sub-Saharan
Africa. These regional classifications are consistent with the Regional Bureaux
of UNDP. An additional classification is least developed countries, as defined
by the United Nations.
