What the Human Development Index measures, and what it leaves out

The index was built to argue that development is about people, not output: a country can be richer and not healthier or better educated. Nepal's score has risen steadily, driven mostly by life expectancy and years of schooling. (‘Human Development Report’)

It says nothing about inequality unless you read the adjusted version, and nothing about the environment at all.

Reading the rankings

A single place up or down is noise. A decade's movement is the signal, and on that measure most of South Asia has moved in the right direction.