Human development index as a predictor of infant and maternal mortality rates.

OBJECTIVE: The United Nations Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite index of life expectancy, literacy, and per capita gross domestic product that measures the socioeconomic development of a country. We estimated infant and maternal mortality rates in the world and assessed how well the HDI and its individual components predicted infant and maternal mortality rates for individual countries. MATERIALS: Data on mortality rates and values for HDI components were obtained from the United Nations and the World Bank. RESULTS: For the 1987 to 1990 period, approximately 9 million infant deaths and 349,000 maternal deaths occurred in the world annually, yielding global infant and maternal mortality rates of 67 per 1000 and 250 per 100,000 live births, respectively. HDI is a powerful predictor of both infant and maternal mortality rates. It accounts for 85% to 92% of the variation in infant mortality rates, and 82% to 85% of the variation in maternal mortality rates among countries. Each component of HDI is also strongly correlated with both infant and maternal mortality rates (significance of all values for r, p < 0.001), and eliminating life expectancy from HDI does not decrease significantly the predictive power of HDI for infant or maternal mortality rates. CONCLUSION: HDI is not only a useful measure for socioeconomic development, but also a powerful predictor of infant and maternal mortality rates for individual countries.

PIP: The UN Human Development Index (HDI), a composite index of life expectancy, literacy, and per capita gross domestic product, provides a measure of a country's level of socioeconomic development. An analysis of mortality data obtained from the United Nations and the World Bank indicated that the HDI is, in addition, a powerful predictor of infant and maternal mortality rates. The 1990 infant mortality rate in the 78 countries for which data were available ranged from 5/1000 live births in Japan to 143/1000 live births in Bhutan and Gambia; the maternal mortality rate ranged from 3/100,000 live births in Finland to 1500/100,000 live births in Nepal. The HDI accounted for 85-92% of the variance in infant mortality rates and 82-85% of that in maternal mortality. Although life expectancy tended to be the HDI component with the strongest predictive power, especially for infant mortality, the explanatory power of the index did not decrease significantly even when this component was excluded. If infant and mortality rates in developed countries in 1987-90 had prevailed worldwide, 8 million infant and 340,000 maternal deaths would have been averted each year.

Chile.

PIP: The background notes on Chile provide a statistical summary of the population, geography, government, and the economy, and more descriptive text on the history, population, government, economy, defense, and foreign relations. In brief, Chile has 13.3 million Spanish Indian (Mestizos), European, and Indian inhabitants and an annual growth rate of 1.6%. 96% are literate. Infant mortality is 18/1000. 34% of the population are involved in industry and commerce, 30% in services, 19% in agriculture and forestry and fishing, 7% in construction, and 2% in mining. The major city is Santiago. The government, which gained independence in 1810, is a republic with executive, legislative, and judicial branches. There are 12 regions. There are 6 major political parties. Suffrage is universal at 18 years. Gross domestic product (GDP) is $29.2 billion. The annual growth rate is 5% and inflation is 19%. Copper, timber, fish, iron ore, nitrates, precious metals, and molybdenum are its natural resources. Agricultural products are 9% of GDP and include wheat, potatoes, corn, sugar beets, onions, beans, fruits, and livestock. Industry is 21% of GDP and includes mineral refining, metal manufacturing, food and fish processing, paper and wood products, and finished textiles. $8.3 billion is the value of exports and $7 billion of imports. Export markets are in Japan, the US, Germany, Brazil, and the United Kingdom. Chile received $3.5 billion in economic aid between 1949-85, but little in recent years. 83% live in urban centers, principally around Santiago. Congressional representation is made on the basis of elections by a unique binomial majority system. Principal government officials are identified. Chile has a diversified free market economy and is almost self-sufficient in food production. The US is a primary trading partner. 49% of Chile's exports are minerals. Chile maintains diplomatic relations with 70 countries, however, relations are strained with Argentina and Bolivia. Relations with the US improved when human rights difficulties were eased.^ieng

[Relationships among population growth, capital formation and employment opportunities in developing countries]. / Relacion entre crecimiento de la poblacion, formacion de capital y oportunidades de empleo en los paises subdesarrollados.

PIP: The assimilation of technical progress and transfer of active employed population in primary production and other activities of low productivity in industry and services were analyzed as essential factors of the process of economic development in Latin America in relation to the increase of population. The rapid absorption of growing population and the low productivity of the work force are the principal aspects of the problem of sustained development. In 1953 the region's population reached 170 million people and the recent population growth rate was 2.2% a year, equivalent to 3.7 million people, of whom only 1.5 million have been incorporated into the work force. Between 1940 and 1953 the industrial work force of the region increased by 3.7% annually, while the agricultural work force increased only by 1.4%. The per capita gross product in agriculture was $300 in 1953, and $1100 in industry and construction. The gross per capita product increased by 2.6% annually between 1940 and 1953, while the population increased by 2.2% per annum. The participation of foreign capital in the economy during this period amounted to 14% of the gross national product. The development process was prolonged and brought about important changes in the distribution of the work force. In 1953 the agricultural work force made up 58.1% of the total; however, by 1978 its share had dropped to 35.9%, while during the same period the proportion of the industrial work force increased to 26.3% and services to 36.8%. This meant that in absolute numbers about 23 million people in the active population were transferred from agriculture to industry and services. Mainly, the population from rural areas migrated to urban centers, while these countries also had to absorb European immigrants during this period. In 1953, in Latin America, the capital requirement per worker increased to $1550 and rose to $3835 in 1978 because of surging immigration. This figure was still dwarfed by the sum of $13,200 in the US towards the end of this period.^ieng

Chile.

PIP: Chile is a long (2650 miles), narrow (250 miles at widest point) country sandwiched between the Andes mountains and the Pacific. The northern desert is rich in copper and nitrates; the temperate middle region is agricultural and supports the major cities, including Santiago, the capital, and the port of Valparaiso; and the southern region is a cold and damp area of forests, grasslands, lakes, and fjords. The country is divided into 12 administrative regions. Chile's population of 12.5 million are mainly of Spanish or Indian descent or mestizos. Literacy is 92.3%, and the national language is Spanish. Infant mortality is 18.1/1000, and life expectancy is 68.2 years. 82% of the people are urban, and most are Roman Catholics. Chile was settled by the Spanish in 1541 and attached to the Viceroyalty of Peru. Independence was won in 1818 under the leadership of Bernardo O'Higgins. In the 1880s Chile extended its sovereignty over the Strait of Magellan in the south and areas of southern Peru and Bolivia in the north. An officially parliamentary government, elected by universal suffrage, drifted into oligarchy and finally into a military dictatorship under Carlos Ibanez in 1924. Constitutional government was restored in 1932. The Christian Democratic government of Eduardo Frei (1964-70) inaugurated major reforms, including land redistribution, education, and far-reaching social and economic policies. A Marxist government under Salvador Allende lasted from 1970 to 1973 when the present military government of General Pinochet Ugarte took power, overthrew Allende, abolished the Congress, and banned political parties. It has moved the country in the direction of a free market economy but at the cost of systematic violations of human rights. A new constitution was promulgated in 1981, and congressional elections have been scheduled for October, 1989. A "National Accord for Transition to Full Democracy" was mediated by the Catholic Church in 1985. The social reforms of the Allende government resulted in enormous fiscal deficits, economic recession, inflation, and severe decline in the gross domestic product. In 1982 the government devalued the peso and agreed to the International Monetary Fund's 2-year austerity program to lower the $20.5 billion national debt. In 1987 the gross domestic product was $18.4 billion, $1465 per capita; the annual real growth rate was 5.4%, and inflation had fallen from an annual rate of over 1000% to 21.5%. 245 Chilean pesos equal US1$. Chile's chief export is copper ($2.2 billion in 1987), of which Chile is the world's largest producer and exporter. Chile also exports gold, silver, iron ore, molybdenum, iodine, and nitrates. Chile has 20% of the world's copper reserves and 33% of the world's lithium. 21% of Chile's gross domestic product consists of textiles, metal manufacturing, food processing, pulp, paper, and wood products; and 10% consists of agricultural produce. Relations with the United States deteriorated after the 1976 murder in Washington, DC, of former Chilean ambassador Orlando Letelier. Arms and security assistance to Chile were banned, and in 1981 the US Agency for International Development and the Peace Corps ceased operations in Chile.^ieng

Netherlands Antilles: country profile.

PIP: The Netherlands Antilles is the former name for the 5 islands called "the Antilles of the Five" (Curacao, Bonaire, St Maarten, St Eustatius, and Saba) and the separatist (since 1986) island of Aruba, which has its own prime minister (Henny Eamon -- the prime minister of the other 5 islands is Don Martina). The total 1988 population is 264,000. They enjoy one of the highest standards of living among the developing countries, with a per capita gross national product of $1610 guilder ($15,390 (US). Health services, life expectancy, and political freedom are excellent, due mainly to Dutch standards and aid. The position of women is also generally progressive. Literacy is excellent despite the different languages used (Dutch and Papiamento in Curacao, Bonaire and Aruba; English in St Maarten, St Eustatius, and Saba). Since the 2 major industries (oil refining and offshore financial services) have collapsed, tourism is limited mainly to the Windward Islands (St Eustatius and Saba), and there is no agriculture or fishing, the country's high standard of living is due to $530 million of Dutch aid, on which the country relies. Aruba will become independent in 1996, a future opposed by nearly all the 67,000 islanders, who fear it will mean the loss of Dutch aid.^ieng