Environmental Impact in the Development Indexes, Trends and Comparisons at the World Scale

Environmental factors play a crucial role in shaping human development. This study explores an extension of the United Nations Planetary pressure-adjusted Human Development Index (PHDI) by incorporating three methodological refinements: (i) a disaggregated analysis of material footprint data; (ii) the inclusion of a local adjustment factor related to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure; and (iii) a variation to the planetary pressure aggregation method for obtaining the PHDI* index. The geographical scope encompasses 137 countries across the five permanently inhabited continents (Africa, America, Asia, Europe, and Oceania). The analysis first evaluates how these additional parameters deviate from the standard UN framework, followed by a continental assessment of national performances and their underlying drivers. A revised global ranking is presented, with countries categorised into four development levels based on Jenks Natural Breaks-derived cut-off values. Comparative cartographic visualisations highlight the shifts among the standard indexes and the proposed PHDI*, illustrating that while some high-development countries—primarily in Europe—maintain their status, the inclusion of environmental aspects change the categories of important countries. These results suggest that accounting for localised environmental stressors and a more detailed material footprint analysis provides a more granular representation of the constraints on human development.