Human Development in Iraq

Appendix:The Humana Index

The Humana Index is designed for comparing human rights across different countries at a single point in time, but it may be usefully employed for a single country at different points in time. In fact, one of the criticisms of the index is that it compares countries with very different historical traditions, social customs, and mores.¹ Although this difficulty is not eliminated by considering a single country at different points in time (since these customs change over time), the index arguably provides a better basis for comparison and, as will be shown, uncovers interesting insights.

The Humana Index is calculated from responses to 40 questions related to human rights. The first six questions are rights or freedoms ...