The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite statistic used to rank countries by level of "human development", taken as a synonym of the older term standards of living or Quality of life, and distinguish "very high human development", "high human development", "medium human development", and "low human development" countries. HDI was devised and launched by Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq and Indian economist Amartya Sen in 1990.[1] The Human Development Index (HDI) is a comparative measure of life expectancy, literacy, education, and standards of living for countries worldwide. It is a standard means of measuring well-being, especially child welfare. It is used to distinguish whether the country is a developed, a developing or an under-developed country, and also to measure the impact of economic policies on quality of life.