The term ‘development’ is the notion that some countries and regions of the world are
extremely poor, whereas other countries, representing a relatively small fraction of the world
population, are very prosperous.
A country can grow rapidly, but still do badly in terms of literacy, health, life expectancy and
nutrition. Economic growth does not necessarily make people more happy or satisfied. This
led to the emergence of so-called ‘social indicators’ that includes:
(i) Life expectancy.
(ii) Literacy, levels of education.
(iii) Infant mortality.
(iv) Availability of telephones.
(v) Hospital beds.
(vi) Licensed doctors.
(vii) Availability of calories.
Social scientists have stated that development should not be viewed in terms of economics
only. One should also pay attention to:
(i) Changes in family structures.
(ii) Attitudes and mentalities.
(iii) Cultural changes.
(iv) Demographic developments.
(v) Political changes and nation building.
(vi) Transformation of rural societies.
(vii) Processes of urbanization.
According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), development is to lead long and healthy lives, to be knowledgeable, to have access to the resources needed for a decent standard of living and to be able to participate in the life of the community.
maurice.mutuku answered the question on April 23, 2019 at 09:27