Indicators of Social Development

Social development is a vague concept and involves many things; therefore it is imperative to assess the development process to know the direction and process of development. By developing Indicators we can assess the status of development. Following indicators might be used for social development:

• Literacy Rate
• Adult literacy Rate
• Gross Domestic Product
• Gross National Product
• Per capita Income
• Per capita Income and Expenditure
• Maternal Mortality Rate
• Infant Mortality Rate
• Birth Rate
• Sex Ratio
• Life Expectancy at birth

Some other Indicators and Index

• Human Development Index, which based on three criterion such as
-> access to resources
-> longevity
-> education
• Public Spending on Development
That is percentage of national income going into public expenditure (25 percent is approved)
• Social allocation Ratio
That is percentage of public expenditure allocated on social service items such as health and education (40 percent is approved)
• Social Priority Ratio
That is percentage of social allocation allocated for priority needs (50 percent is suggested) such as primary education, primary health etc.
• Human Expenditure Ratio
This should be 5 percent of the national income
• U5MR
The indicator is suggested by UNICEF which means mortality rate less than 5 years of age in a particular year for every thousand birth
• Human Poverty Index
• Quality of Life Index
• Happiness Index
• Gender Related Development Index