The recently released Human Development Report shows that “despite progress in many areas over the last 25 years, the disparities in people’s well-being in rich and poor countries continue to be unacceptably wide.”  This finding  is based on the Human Development Index (HDI), which combines life expectancy, literacy, school enrolment and GDP per capita, was calculated for 182 countries and territories.

The 2009 report has a special focus on human mobility and development. It explores how better policies towards mobility can enhance human development.   The starting point is that the global distribution of capabilities is extraordinarily unequal, and that this is a major driver for movement of people. Migration can expand their choices —in terms of incomes, accessing services and participation, for example— but the opportunities open to people vary from those who are best endowed to those with limited skills and assets. These underlying inequalities, which can be compounded by policy distortions, is a theme of the report (web site).    

This report has been published annually since 1990. Human development is about putting people at the centre of development. It is about people realizing their potential, increasing their choices and enjoying the freedom to lead lives they value, a concept inspired by the work of Nobel laureate Amartya Sen and known as the capabilities approach.