Abstract
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a prevailing indicator to present the status and trend of sustainability of nations, hereby offers a valuable measurement on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Revealing the dynamics of the HDI of the Eastern Hemisphere countries is vital for measurement and evaluation of the human development process and revealing the spatial disparities and evolutionary characteristics of human development. However, the statistical data-based HDI, which is currently widely applied, has defects in terms of data availability and inconsistent statistical caliber. To tackle such an existing gap, we applied nighttime lights (NTL) data to reconstruct new HDI indicators named HDINTL and quantify the HDINTL at multispatial scales of Eastern Hemisphere countries during 1992–2013. Results showed that South Central Asia countries had the smallest discrepancies in HDINTL, while the largest was found in North Africa. The national-level HDINTL values in the Eastern Hemisphere ranged between 0.138 and 0.947 during 1992–2013. At the subnational scale, the distribution pattern of HDINTL was spatially clustered based on the results of spatial autocorrelation analysis. The evolutionary trajectory of subnational level HDINTL exhibited a decreasing and then increasing trend along the northwest to the southeast direction of Eastern Hemisphere. At the pixel scale, 93.52% of the grids showed an increasing trend in HDINTL, especially in the urban agglomerations of China and India. These results are essential for the ever-improvement of policy making to reduce HDI’s regional disparity and promote the continuous development of humankind’s living qualities. This study offers an improved HDI accounting method. It expects to extend the channel of HDI application, e.g., potential integration with environmental, physical, and socioeconomic data where the NTL data could present as well.
Highlights
The international community and countries have widely adopted the SustainableDevelopment Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015
The Eastern Hemisphere, composed of Africa–Eurasia (Africa and Eurasia) and Australia, is the countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, whose human development processes will significantly impact global economic growth, industrial structure, and resource allocation [1]
Since Eastern Hemisphere regions and countries differ significantly in cultural background, medical level, economic development, population base, and education level, assessing the current human and economic development of these regions and countries is important to reduce the differences in human development in the region and achieve sustainable development
Summary
The international community and countries have widely adopted the SustainableDevelopment Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015. Work and Economic Growth, and Reduced Inequalities, provide us with a joint program and agenda to address social, economic, and environmental challenges. The achievement of these goals is closely linked to human socioeconomic activities between countries and regions. The Eastern Hemisphere, composed of Africa–Eurasia (Africa and Eurasia) and Australia, is the countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, whose human development processes will significantly impact global economic growth, industrial structure, and resource allocation [1]. Since Eastern Hemisphere regions and countries differ significantly in cultural background, medical level, economic development, population base, and education level, assessing the current human and economic development of these regions and countries is important to reduce the differences in human development in the region and achieve sustainable development.
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