human wellbeing

1. Activity: Reflection questions
(class discussion)
1. What aspects of these images highlight the differences in the wellbeing of
young people around the world?
2. What do you think are the causes of such disparity in the wellbeing of these
young people?
3. What do you think are the consequences of this disparity?
4. Do you think it’s possible to have a high level of wellbeing despite having very
few material possessions and a relatively low income/wealth? Justify your
response.

2. Topic Focus
The different ways of measuring and mapping
human wellbeing and development, and how
these can be applied to measure differences
between places

3. Key Terms
●Define the following key terms:
○Indicator (plus distinguish between qualitative and quantitative indicators)
○GDP
○GDP per capita
○GNI
○Life Expectancy
○HDI

4. Key Terms
Indicator (plus distinguish between qualitative and quantitative indicators)
a specific measurement or variable used to assess or evaluate various aspects of human well-being.
These indicators are typically chosen to provide information about a particular aspect of well-being
and are used to track progress, identify trends, or make comparisons over time or between different
regions or populations
Qualitative indicators are subjective and typically measured on a descriptive scale. They are based
on opinions, perceptions, or non-numeric information. For example, an indicator like "quality of life"
may be assessed qualitatively through surveys or expert opinions.
Quantitative indicators, on the other hand, are numeric and objective measures that can be
expressed in numerical terms. They are often used to quantify aspects of well-being, such as income,
health, or education. For example, GDP and life expectancy are quantitative indicators.

5. Key Terms
GDP
Gross Domestic Product is a quantitative economic indicator that measures the total monetary value
of all goods and services produced within a country's borders during a specific period, typically a
year or a quarter
It is used to gauge the economic output and the overall size of an economy
GDP can be used to assess a country's economic well-being, but it does not necessarily reflect the
distribution of wealth or well-being among the population

6. Key Terms
GDP per capita
GDP per capita is a quantitative indicator obtained by dividing a country's Gross Domestic Product
by its total population
It provides an estimate of the average income or economic well-being of each individual in a given
country
GDP per capita is a useful metric for comparing the relative prosperity of different nations and
assessing the standard of living

7. Key Terms
GNI
GNI (Gross National Income) is another quantitative economic indicator that measures the total
monetary value of all goods and services produced by a country's residents, both domestically and
abroad, during a specific period
It includes the income earned by a country's citizens and businesses outside its borders and is often
used to assess a nation's overall economic well-being and its ability to engage in international trade
and investment

8. Key Terms
Life Expectancy
a quantitative indicator that represents the average number of years a person is expected to live
from birth, given the current mortality rates
It is often used to assess the overall health and well-being of a population
Higher life expectancy generally indicates better access to healthcare, nutrition, and overall quality
of life

9. Key Terms
HDI
The Human Development Index is a composite quantitative indicator developed by the United
Nations to measure and rank the overall human development of countries
It takes into account multiple dimensions of well-being, including income (GNI per capita), education
(measured by indicators like literacy and school enrolment), and health (measured by life
expectancy)
The HDI provides a more comprehensive view of human well-being by considering economic,
educational, and health-related factors. It is often used to compare the development of different
countries and assess progress over time

10. What is human wellbeing?
● Human Wellbeing refers to the quality of life of a population. This can be
measured by objective indicators, for example, life expectancy, educational
attainment and income, or by subjective measures of how people perceive the
quality of their life, as revealed by surveys of happiness.
● Development refers to those factors (economic, social and political changes)
that improve the wellbeing of people. Changes include health and education, as
well as access to essential services.

11. You might
think that
measuring
wellbeing is a
pretty STEEP
task

12. How do we measure human wellbeing?
● Geographers often rely on a range of quantitative and qualitative data to
measure and compare levels of wellbeing around the world.
● Traditionally, human wellbeing has been defined by the rate of economic
growth. The more developed a country was the more goods and services it
produced, the greater the wealth, quality of life and human wellbeing possible.
Countries were described as developed, underdeveloped or developing.
● Today, in order to provide a more complete measurement of human wellbeing
and development geographers now use a number of global indicators and
benchmarks including Gross Domestic Product (GDP), literacy rates, life
expectancy and hunger.

13. GDP and Measuring Wellbeing
GDP - the total value of goods produced and services provided in a country during
one year.
GDP - Gross Domestic Product - is the traditional measurement of a nation’s living
standards. It is one of the primary indicators used to gauge the health of a country’s
economy. Improvement in per capita GDP is a useful measure of how well a society is
doing. More economic activity generated for whatever purpose - building prisons or
schools, spending more on health care, whether or not it's medically beneficial - raises
GDP

14. ● To make meaningful comparisons between countries, the total GDP is
divided by the size of the population to produce a measure known as GDP per
capita.
Questions (1-2 paragraphs each)
●Using the map on the next slide, describe the spatial distribution of GDP per
capita. How would you characterise nations with high GDP per capita? What
are the commonalities for nations with low GDP per capita?
●Reflection question: Do you think GDP per capita is an accurate measure of
income and human wellbeing?

16. Limitations of GDP as a measure of wellbeing
READ & TAKE NOTES ON EACH TYPE OF MEASUREMENT:
● Five measure of growth that are better than GDP
READ AND REVIEW THE MERCER QUALITY OF LIVING INDEX:
● https://mobilityexchange.mercer.com/insights/quality-of-living-rankings
a. How is the measurement calculated?
b. Do you think this is a better or worse measurement of human wellbeing
than GDP? What are its advantages compared to GDP as a measure? What
are its disadvantages?

17. What is Poverty?
THINK, PAIR, SHARE:
What is poverty?
WATCH & DISCUSS: What is poverty?
(Identify and write down 3 points of interest and 1 question that you
have from each clip)

18. Absolute Poverty
Absolute poverty measures poverty in relation to the
amount of money necessary to meet basic needs such as
food, clothing, and shelter
The concept of absolute poverty is not concerned with
broader quality of life issues or with the overall level of
inequality in society
The concept therefore fails to recognise that individuals have
important social and cultural needs

19. Relative Poverty
Relative poverty defines poverty in relation to the economic
status of other members of the society: people are poor if
they fall below average standards of living in a given society.
CHOOSE: an infographic from Global Poverty Infographics
and summarise the information in approximately 3 sentences.

20. Big Macs and Minimum
Wage
THINK: What could this
infographic tell us about
poverty and income
inequality?
More info on the Big Mac Index
https://www.economist.com/news/20
20/07/15/the-big-mac-index

21. Poverty Trap
What is the 'Poverty Trap’
● The poverty trap is a mechanism which makes it very difficult for people to escape poverty
● A poverty trap is created when an economic system requires a significant amount of
various forms of capital in order to earn enough to escape poverty
● When individuals lack this capital, they may also find it difficult to acquire it, creating a self-
reinforcing cycle of poverty
BREAKING DOWN 'Poverty Trap' - In order to escape the poverty trap, it is argued that
individuals in poverty must be given sufficient aid so that they can acquire the critical mass of
capital necessary to raise themselves out of poverty. This theory of poverty helps to explain
why certain aid programs which do not provide a high enough level of support may be
ineffective at raising individuals from poverty. If those in poverty do not acquire the critical
mass of capital, then they will simply remain dependent on aid indefinitely and regress if aid is
ended.

22. Poverty in Australia
Article: CENSUS DATA SHOWS GROWING RELATIVE POVERTY IN
AUSTRALIA
The working poor: one-in-five households being left behind
Question:
Use the definition of relative poverty to explain why 1 in 5 households now fit
into this category.

23. Better Life Index

24. Exploring the Better Life Index
● Use the Better Life Index website for the following questions: www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org
Questions
○ Record the name of the countries with the highest rank and lowest rank for the following topics (adjust
each of the following topics to the maximum/minimum to find out the answers):
a. work-life balance
b. income
c. safety
d. health.
○ account for the shape and dimensions of Australia’s better life index shown in Source 8.5 .
○ Compare and contrast Australia’s performance in the Better Life Index with one of the other 33 member
countries of the OECD.

25. Human Development Index (HDI)
Human Development Index (HDI) is a tool that has been developed by the United
Nations to grade and rank the social and economic development of the world’s
countries in order from most developed to least developed; it is used as a measure of
human wellbeing.
The indicators that are used to determine HDI are:
● A long and healthy life: Life expectancy at birth.
● Education index: Mean years of schooling and Expected years of schooling.
● A decent standard of living: GNI per capita (PPP US$)
Questions: What are some of the barriers for sustainable human development?
Create a table to compare the factors used to determine HDI to the factors used to
determine Better Life Index. What are the similarities and differences?

26. USING CHOROPLETH MAPS - Mapping Human Development
Questions:
1. Describe the trends that you can see in the maps above. (Hint: consider the
geographical locations of the highest and lowest ranked countries. What do you already
know about these countries?)

27. Exploring links between wellbeing indicators
● Aspects of wellbeing such as health, wealth and education are usually closely
related
A change in one aspect of a person’s wellbeing usually affects other aspects of
their wellbeing
For example, children who attend school tend to have better health than those
who do not. Links such as these can be seen at the national scale as well as at
the local scale.
● One of the most useful tools when exploring these links is a special type of
graph known as a scatter plot.

28. Starter task - Correlation and Causation
A scatterplot shows the
relationship between two
quantitative variables
measured for the same
individuals
Types of relationship
● positive (proportional)
● negative (inverse-
proportional)
● no relationship

29. Identify the type of relationship/correlation
Ice-cream Sales
1. What type of relationship?
2. What is the relationship statement?

30. Identify the type of relationship/correlation
Birth rate vs Family Income
1. What type of relationship?
2. What is the relationship statement?

31. Identify the type of relationship/correlation
Shoe Size vs IQ
1. What type of relationship?
2. What is the relationship statement?

32. Using Data to Understand and Measure Wellbeing
● Data sets are useful in presenting and comparing measures of wellbeing.
There are distinct variations in well-being within cities, states, countries
and internationally. The World Bank Data Indicators are a useful source
when indicating the well-being of populations based on specific criteria.
● Use the data sets here World Bank Data to complete the tasks on the next
3 slides

33. Using Data - GDP Per Capita
1. Go to the heading Economy and Growth. Select GDP Per Capita (Current
US$) from the list
2. Select Australia, Brazil and Mozambique
3. Copy the graph into a document and write a paragraph describing the
trends
4. Write a sentence comparing the GDP Per Capita of Australia with the GDP
Per Capita of Mozambique

34. Using data - Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, both
sexes (%)
1. Go to the heading Education. Select Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years, both
sexes (%)
2. Select Australia, Brazil and Mozambique
3. Copy the graph into a document and write a paragraph describing the trends
4. Write a sentence comparing the adult literacy rate of Brazil with the adult literacy rate
of Mozambique
5. Why might Australia’s data be missing? What do you think Australia’s literacy rate is?
Discuss with the person next to you the regulations that help to ensure Australia
maintains its high literacy rate.

35. Using data - Mortality rate under 5 (per 1000 live
births)
1. Go to the heading Health. Select Mortality rate under 5 (per 1000 live
births)
2. Select Australia, Brazil and Mozambique
3. Copy the graph into a document and write a paragraph describing the
trends
4. Write a sentence comparing the child mortality rate of Australia with the
child mortality rate of Mozambique

36. Using data - Questions
1. Define More developed countries (MDCs) and Less developed countries
(LDCs)
2. Compare the data from the three graphs that you have completed. Write
relationship statements for the following:
- Adult literacy rates and child mortality rates
- GDP per capita and adult literacy rates
- GDP per capita and child mortality rates
3. Write a list of factors that influence health, education and GDP in LDCs and
MDCs.

37. Global Population Distribution
Questions:
1. Describe the patterns of global population
distribution in the map.
2. Identify a country with a population density of more
than 250 people per square km.
3. Describe Australia’s population density using data
from the map.
4. Compare Australia’s population density
With Asia’s population density.
WATCH: World Population Video
Number of people per square kilometre

38. Global Population Distribution
Population distribution is the spread of people across the world, i.e. where do people live.
Population density is the number of people living in a particular area – usually 1 square mile or 1
square kilometre – and can be written as total population/land area.
The population of the world is now over 7 billion people, the vast majority of whom live in the
developing world. The world's population is spread unevenly across the globe with small
concentrations of large numbers of people living in the same area. The world as whole has more
‘empty' areas than ‘crowded' areas. There are several physical and human factors to explain this.
Discussion: Which factors influence where people live?

39. Physical Factors
Climate
● People prefer to live in temperate climates where there is enough rainfall and no extremes of temperature.
● A lack of fresh water for drinking or irrigation stops people living in an area.
● Very high temperatures make farming difficult. Dehydration and heat stroke are other issues.
● Very cold temperatures make it difficult to grow crops. Building homes and transport links are difficult as the ground can
be frozen for much of the year.
● Frostbite makes it difficult to work outside for any length of time, protective clothing would need to be worn.
● Areas with high humidity are also uncomfortable places to live and can have disease such as malaria.
Relief
● Steep slopes make the use of machinery difficult.
● Steep slopes also make it difficult to build houses, roads and railways.
● High, mountainous areas are also cold making it difficult to grow crops.
● Soils in these areas are often thin and acidic too.
● High mountainous areas are often remote so are difficult to access.
Natural Resources
● Areas with few natural resources, e.g. coal, mean there is a lack of industry and therefore a lack of employment
opportunities.
● Scenery is a resource and can attract tourists therefore brings job opportunities.
Soils
● Areas with fertile soils, e.g. river deltas, means that crops can be grown to feed the population.
● Poor soils with few nutrients means there will be a low agricultural output.

40. Human Factors
Employment Opportunities
● Jobs, e.g. in primary industries like fishing, encourage people to move
there to find work.
Communications
● Areas with good transport links, such as roads and railways, will attract
people and also industry which creates employment opportunities.
● Remote areas which are isolated and have poor transport links do not
attract people.

41. Urbanisation
According to the United Nations, it is estimated that in 2008 more people lived
in cities than in rural areas for the first time. This increased to 53% in 2016 and
projected to increase to 60% in 2030, where the percentage of people living in
urban areas in developing countries will be more than 50%.
Push Factors Pull Factors
Poverty in the countryside
Drought and famine
Poor housing
A lack of hospitals, doctors and medicine
A lack of schools
Disease
Increased availability and variety of jobs in
urban areas
More money available
More entertainment opportunities
Increase in standard of living
Better educational opportunities
Greater access to medical care

42. The Role of Governments - Australian focus
The purpose of the aid program is to promote Australia’s national interests by
contributing to sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction. We will pursue this
purpose by focusing on two development outcomes: supporting private sector
development and strengthening human development. SOURCE

43. The UN & UN Agencies
The UN system, also known unofficially as the "UN family", is made up of the
UN itself and many affiliated programmes, funds, and specialised agencies, all
with their own membership, leadership, and budget. These include:
UNICEF
The United Nations Children's Fund provides long-term humanitarian and development assistance to children and mothers.
UNHCR
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees – UNHCR protects refugees worldwide and facilitates their return home or resettlement.
WFP
The World Food Programme aims to eradicate hunger and malnutrition. It is the world’s largest humanitarian agency. Every year, the programme feeds almost 80 million people in
around 75 countries.
UNFPA
The United Nations Population Fund – UNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, and every young person's potential is
fulfilled.

44. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

45. Sustainable Development Goals
On September 25th 2015, countries adopted a set of goals to end poverty,
protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all as part of a new
sustainable development agenda. Each goal has specific targets to be
achieved over the next 15 years.
Visit the website & choose 1 SDGs to investigate
Sustainable Development Goals
Summarise the SDG in a table form as shown below:
Facts & Figures Goal Targets Links/Groups involved

46. Non-Government Organisations (NGOs)
A non-governmental organisation (NGO) is any non-profit, voluntary citizens' group which is
organized on a local, national or international level. Task-oriented and driven by people with
a common interest, NGOs perform a variety of service and humanitarian functions, bring
citizen concerns to Governments, advocate and monitor policies and encourage political
participation through provision of information.
Some are organized around specific issues, such as human rights, environment or health.
They provide analysis and expertise, serve as early warning mechanisms and help monitor
and implement international agreements.
WATCH: Aid, Debt, and Economic Development Series: NGOs
1. Choose one NGO from the list of Australian accredited NGOs.
2. Use the headings on the next slide to create an overview of the NGO
List of Accredited NGOs Australia

47. Complete table for the NGO you have chosen:
NGO NAME:
COUNTRIES IT OPERATES IN:
MAIN ISSUE/S BEING TARGETED:
STRATEGIES BEING USED:
IMPACTS/SUCCESSES ACHIEVED:
FUNDRAISING STRATEGIES:

48. Revision Task - Causes, Effects & Solutions
CREATE: A summary sheet with three columns (as below)
Go back through your notes and tasks and identify & categorise the
concepts/issues/factors into the table.
Causes Effects/Impacts Solutions