Chapter IX - Development Why Does Development Vary Among Countries? Development ? Process of improving conditions through the diffusion of technology and knowledge. More Developed Country (MDC) ? Progress further along the development process. Less Developed Country (LDC) ? Earlier stage of development. Human Development Index (HDI) ? A measurement of a country?s level of development, created by the UN, and includes three factors, economic, social, and demographic. Economic Indicators of Development The economic factor is based off of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. The social factors are based off of literacy rate and amount of education. The demographic factor is life expectancy. The highest HDI possible is 1.0 Since 1990s Highest in Europe and Canda