Human Development

What is human development? Human development is about bettering the lives of society, allowing people to live long, flourishing lives. Different countries value different characteristics of human development. Some were countries depend more on economic factors to determine the well being of their societies. However, human development is about more than just economic advances and faults. Here is a video that explains this in more detail.

Canada is a country with very high human development. As mentioned above, human development is measured in many different categories. Here are three important characteristics in the human development of Canada.

1. Precent of population over 65
2. Prison population rate
3. Adolescent birth rate

Canada and the United States of America are often compared because of their proximity to each other and their cultural similarities. However, in these three aforementioned human developmental statistics, the two North American countries are vastly different. 

Population of Elderly

In Canada, as of 2013, the elderly (65 and older) make up only 5.3% of the population, while in the United States, the elderly make up almost 45% of the population. This is a troubling factor for the United States for economic, healthcare and societal reasons. 

Prison Population Rate



In Canada, as of 2013, per 100,000 people, there are 118 inmates. The United States is very much an outlier in this category. In the US there are 716 inmates per 100,000 people. This is another troubling factor for the US, which has been in the news for it's issues with its Justice and Law Enforcement departments. 

Adolescent Birth Rate



As you can see from the graph, teen pregnancy is a problem in many countries throughout the world, but most countries do not have a life expectancy as high as Canada and the United States. This means that in lesser developed countries, people are having babies at an earlier age not only because maybe their relationships move at a faster pace than in counties where you will probably live until you are 80, but also because in developing countries, preventing pregnancy is not as easy.