National Human Development Report

The National Human Development Reports (NHDR) take the Global Human Development Report approach to the national level and are prepared and owned by national teams. More than 540 national and sub-national HDRs have been produced so far by 135 countries, in addition to 31 regional reports.

They have introduced the human development concept into national policy dialogue — not only through human development indicators and policy recommendations, but also through the country-led and country-owned process of consultation, research and report writing. Data that is often not published elsewhere, such as statistics disaggregated by geographic location, ethnic group or along rural/urban lines, help pinpoint development gaps, measure progress and flag early warning signs of possible conflict.

As advocacy tools designed to appeal to a wide audience, the reports also spur lively public debates and mobilize support for action and change. They have helped to articulate people’s perceptions and priorities, as well as serve as a resource of alternate policy opinion for development planning.