What is development?

Development is a movement within a country which involves growth; this can be seen economically, through GDP, through mortality rates and so on. The improvement in the standards of living in a country can be a clear indication of development. Norway in considered the most developed country. It has an HDI of 0.944. The Norwegian economy is mainly reliant on natural resources (oil and gas), also the exports made by the nation. Norway also has low mortality rates with a life expectancy of 80.57. This could be connected to the strong intergraded welfare system and high standards of living. Development constitutes technology, and infrastructural advancement. There is a common debate on which criteria is the most appropriate to rank a countries development gross domestic product (GDP), level of industrialization, standard of living and literacy level, per capita income, life expectancy. However, in the case of Saudi Arabian GDP, the country is ranked 19^th in the world, yet 20% of the country live in poverty. Therefore GDP is not an accurate source of development in this case. The Marshall Plan is a good example of development being enforced, when America gave $17 billion in aid to Europe after World War II, which resulted in a rise in their gross national products of 15 to 25%.