In the following research I would like to discuss the economic development indicators of Brazil in comparison to such countries as Norway and Ethiopia. For this purpose I would like to rely on United Nation’s Human Development Index website. As a matter of fact, I have chosen Norway and Ethiopia in order to contrast and compare Brazil’s situation with that of a highly developed country (Norway) and an underdeveloped country (Ethiopia). Below, specific indicators will be presented and considered in more detail.
First of all, Brazil ranks seventy ninth among all countries. Its Human Development Index (HDI) equals 0.754. When it comes to life expectancy, for Brazil it equals 74.7 years. Now, Norway ranks first according to the United Nation’s HDI. Its index equals 0.949. The life expectancy in Norway is 81.7 years. Ethiopia ranks 174 (HDI equalling 0.448); life expectancy there is 64.6 years. Now, when it comes to the years of schooling, in Brazil this indicator equals 15.2 years; in Norway – 17.7 years; in Ethiopia only 8.4. These indices point to a very different economic situation in the three abovementioned countries.

Next, it is essential that we have a look at the Gross National Income (GNI) values for each of the three countries. Brazil’s GNI equals 14.145, Norway’s 67.614, and Ethiopia’s 1,523. The GNI generally consists of the gross domestic product (GDP), as well as income from abroad. Obviously, when comparing to the number one country in the list, Brazil has a long way to go. As for the inequality index (Inequality-adjusted HDI), for Brazil it equals 0.561, Norway – 0.898, and Ethiopia – 0.330. Basically, this indicator looks at how the country’s health/education/income are distributed among its population.

Next, it is important that we have a look at the Gender Development Index (GDI). This index measures gender equality across the following dimensions: health, knowledge, and living standards. For Brazil this indicator equals 1.005; Norway – 0.993; Ethiopia – 0.842. For this index Brazil has an even better indicator than the country which ranks number one.

As for the poverty index (Multidimensional Poverty Index, MPI), in Brazil it equals 0.010, while for Ethiopia the value equals 0.537; the value for Norway is not available. Now, the employment to population ration for Brazil is 62.3, with 62.2 for Norway, and 78.4 for Ethiopia. What is really interesting is that the homicide rate for Brazil is highest among the three countries, equalling 24.6; Norway has an indicator of 0.6 and Ethiopia has an indicator of 8. From such a viewpoint, Brazil is a more dangerous country to live in than Norway and even Ethiopia, which is far down on the list. In terms of trade and financial flows, the exports and imports (% of GDP) in Brazil sum up to 27.4%. In Norway this indicator equals 68.5%; Ethiopia’s exports and imports account for 37.2% of its GDP. Similarly, Brazil stands behind Norway and Ethiopia for this indicator.

As for mobility and communication, the percentage of Internet users in Brazil equates to 59.1; in Norway it is 96.8%; in Ethiopia – 11.6%. When it comes to the carbon dioxide emissions, Brazil’s indicator equals 2.5 tonnes; in Norway this number reaches 11.7 tonnes; Ethiopia – 0.1 tonnes. Apparently, the more developed a country is, the more carbon dioxide emissions it accounts for. Lastly, Brazil’s population equals 207.8 million, Norway’s – 5.2 million, Ethiopia’s – 99.4 million. Essentially, when one considers the abovementioned indicators, it is important to take into account the countries’ populations.

Based on the information provided above, a country’s ranking does not mean that it will surpass countries which are ranked lower across all indicators. In fact, as we could see, based on the example of Brazil, some indicators might be higher despite a lower general ranking.