Compare and contrast the development of India, China and Pakistan with respect to some salient human development indicators.
China is ahead of India and Pakistan on many human development indicators. Looking at the Human Development Index (HDI), China stands at a value of 0.788 (Rank 75), which is significantly higher than India’s 0.644 (Rank 134) and Pakistan’s 0.540 (Rank 164).
In terms of health indicators, Life Expectancy at Birth in China is 78.6 years, whereas it is much lower in India (67.7 years) and Pakistan (66.4 years). China has also performed exceptionally well in reducing mortality rates; its Infant Mortality Rate is only 5.1 and Maternal Mortality Rate is 23, compared to India (26.8 and 103) and Pakistan (52.5 and 154).
Regarding education and income, the Mean years of Schooling is highest in China (8.1 years), followed by India (6.6 years) and Pakistan (4.4 years). Similarly, Gross National Income per Capita is substantially higher in China (6,951) and Pakistan ($5,374).
Indicators of standard of living also favour China. It reports 0.0% of its population below the national poverty line, while India and Pakistan both report approximately 21.9%. China also has better access to basic sanitation (94%) and drinking water (97%), and the lowest prevalence of undernourishment (3%). These improvements in China are attributed to strategies adopted in the pre-reform period.
Explanation
The answer compares the three nations using specific data points from Table 8.5 provided in the context. It covers the key human development indicators: HDI, Life Expectancy, Education (Mean years of schooling), Income (GNI per capita), and Health/Mortality rates. It highlights China's dominance across all these metrics and concludes with the context's note on the reason for China's success (pre-reform strategies).