Developed Versus Developing At the surface, defining, the developing world predominately has been by economic, social and demographic factors. The Human Development Index (HDI), created by the United Nations, recognises that a country’s level of development is a function of all three of these factors. The HDI has put together three correlating sets of development indicators to match the measurements to construct this index. The United Nations HDI website has further information on this model and framework [hdr.undp.org/en/content/human-development-index-hdi]. Accordingly, from a geographical viewpoint, the countries of the world can be categorised into nine major regions according to their level of development. These regions also have distinctive demographic and cultural characteristics, differing in how people earn their living, how the societies use their wealth and other economic characteristics. The Centre has been increasingly concerned with both the similarities and differences in the economic patterns of these various regions. Priority Risks and Future Trends in Developing Countries From longstanding to emerging hazards, environmental factors are a root cause of a significant burden of death, disease and disability – particularly in developing countries. The resulting impacts are estimated to cause about 25% of death and disease globally, reaching nearly 35% in regions such as sub-Saharan Africa. This includes environmental hazards in the work, home and broader community and living environment. A significant proportion of that overall environmental disease burden can be attributed to relatively few key areas of risk. These include: poor water quality, availability and sanitation; vector-borne diseases; poor ambient and indoor air quality; toxic substances; and global environmental change. In many cases, simple preventive measures exist to reduce the burden of disease from such risks, although systematic incorporation of such measures into policy has been more of a challenge. Life on Less than US$1-US$2 Per Day Despite the encouraging progress of developing countries around the world, there is much work left to be done. Far too many people have not shared enough in the development progress to date. Some 2.5 billion people or 43 percent of the total population of the developing world lived on less than US$2 per day in 2008 according to World Bank calculations from February 2012. Of those, nearly a third or 800 million people struggled to survive on not even on US$1 per day. According the Centre's research findings, current trends do not indicate an positive change. Inequality plays an important role in evaluating development statistics. While country averages can indicate overall progress, they can also obscure large numbers of people who may have been left out of the gains enjoyed by others. The United Nations Development Programme has refined its approach to measuring human development by adjusting for several dimensions of inequality. The 2010 Human Development Report introduced three new multidimensional indices measuring just this: (1) inequality-adjusted HDI; (2) gender inequality; and (3) multidimensional poverty. The Centre has closely examined these changes and has integrated a large amount of data and data projection research into its findings and conclusions. We have expert knowledge of the subject matter and strive to produce research and results that can alleviate priority risks and inequality. | RESEARCH SUSTAINABILITY HUMAN GEOGRAPHY DEVELOPING WORLD AFRICA ASIA LATIN AMERICA GLOBAL HEALTH REMOTE SENSING POPULATION MIGRATION TRANSPORTATION FOOD AND AGRICULTURE GIS ENVIRONMENT INTERDISCIPLINARY SOCIETAL STUDIES INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATION  HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX FRAMEWORK  NINE GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT REGIONS  HDI, 2011 FOR SELECTED COUNTRIES
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