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Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI) and Human Poverty Index (HPI)
Traditional economic indicators like Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Human Development Index (HDI) are useful in measuring economic progress, but they do not always capture quality of life and poverty levels accurately. To address these gaps, two important indices were developed:
- Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI) – Focuses on well-being beyond income.
- Human Poverty Index (HPI) – Measures poverty in a multidimensional way.
This blog explains these indices, their methodology, importance, and limitations.
1️⃣ Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI)
📌 Developed by: Morris David Morris (1979)
📌 Purpose: Measures social development beyond just income levels.
🔹 Components of PQLI
Instead of using income, PQLI focuses on three essential indicators of well-being:
1️⃣ Life Expectancy at Age One – Measures overall health and longevity.
2️⃣ Infant Mortality Rate – Indicates healthcare quality and child survival rates.
3️⃣ Basic Literacy Rate – Measures education and access to knowledge.
👉 Each of these components is given a score from 0 to 100, where:
- 0 = worst-performing country in the world.
- 100 = best-performing country in the world.
- The final PQLI score is the average of these three indicators.
🔹 Importance of PQLI
✅ Shifts focus from economic wealth to quality of life and basic needs.
✅ Highlights health and education disparities between nations.
✅ Helps in policy-making for social development programs.
🔹 Limitations of PQLI
❌ Does not include income levels or economic opportunities.
❌ Ignores political freedom, gender equality, and environmental concerns.
❌ Infant mortality and literacy data may be inaccurate in some developing countries.
👉 Example:
A country like Cuba may have a high PQLI despite low GDP due to strong healthcare and education systems.
2️⃣ Human Poverty Index (HPI)
📌 Developed by: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 1997
📌 Purpose: Measures poverty as a lack of opportunities rather than just low income.
🔹 Two Versions of HPI
There are two separate indices:
✔ HPI-1 (for Developing Countries)
✔ HPI-2 (for Developed Countries)
🔹 Components of HPI-1 (For Developing Nations)
HPI-1 focuses on basic deprivations:
1️⃣ Survival Deprivation – Measured by the percentage of people not expected to live beyond 40 years.
2️⃣ Knowledge Deprivation – Measured by the adult illiteracy rate.
3️⃣ Standard of Living Deprivation – Measured by:
- Percentage of people without access to safe water.
- Percentage of people without access to healthcare.
- Percentage of malnourished children under age 5.
👉 Example:
If a country has high illiteracy, poor healthcare, and low life expectancy, it will have a high HPI score, indicating severe poverty.
🔹 Components of HPI-2 (For Developed Nations)
Since poverty in developed countries is different, HPI-2 includes:
1️⃣ People expected to die before age 60.
2️⃣ Functional illiteracy rate (people lacking basic reading/writing skills).
3️⃣ Population below 50% of median national income (relative poverty).
4️⃣ Long-term unemployment (more than 12 months).
🔹 Importance of HPI
✅ Recognizes that poverty is not just about income but also access to healthcare, education, and basic needs.
✅ Different measures for rich and poor nations allow better comparisons.
✅ Helps governments design targeted poverty reduction programs.
🔹 Limitations of HPI
❌ Ignores income distribution – A country can have high inequality but still a low HPI.
❌ Does not consider gender disparity in poverty.
❌ Data availability issues – Some countries do not report accurate poverty-related data.
3️⃣ PQLI vs. HPI vs. HDI: Key Differences
| Feature | PQLI | HPI | HDI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Focus | Health & Education | Poverty & Deprivation | Overall Human Development |
| Main Indicators | Life Expectancy, Infant Mortality, Literacy | Survival, Education, Standard of Living | Life Expectancy, Education, Income |
| Developed By | Morris David Morris (1979) | UNDP (1997) | UNDP (1990) |
| Measures | Quality of Life | Poverty & Social Exclusion | Human Well-being |
| Limitations | No Income Measure | No Income Distribution | Ignores Inequality & Environment |
👉 Which is better?
Each index serves a different purpose:
- HDI is broader and widely used for international rankings.
- HPI is better for measuring poverty and deprivation.
- PQLI is useful for evaluating quality of life improvements.
4️⃣ Conclusion: Moving Beyond GDP for Better Development Measures
While GDP remains a dominant measure of economic performance, PQLI and HPI provide better insights into human well-being and poverty.
🔹 PQLI is useful for measuring basic health and education progress.
🔹 HPI highlights poverty, not just in income terms, but in access to essential services.
🔹 HDI remains the most comprehensive measure, but it has its own limitations.
✅ To truly measure development, governments and policymakers must look beyond GDP and use a combination of these indices to ensure inclusive and sustainable growth.