Is the HDI comparable across editions of the HDR?
Due to revisions to the data series for some or all of the components of the
HDI, changes in the HDI methodology, or variations in the country coverage, the
HDI values and ranks presented in the 1990 through 2007/2008 editions of the Report
are not directly comparable. The year-to-year changes in the index often
reflect data improvement, instead of real increase or decrease in the level of
human development (see 
Reader's Guide HDR 2007/2008 [137 KB]).
The Human Development Report Offices strongly advises against constructing HDI
trend analysis based on the HDI published in different editions of the Report.
For the most up-to-date HDI trend data based on consistent country coverage,
methodology and data, please refer to Table 2 HDR 2007/2008 [71 KB] Human Development
Index Trends, in HDR 2007/2008..
