The Human Development Report is an independent publication commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Its editorial autonomy is guaranteed by a special resolution of the General Assembly, which recognizes the Human Development Report as “an independent intellectual exercise” and “an important tool for raising awareness about human development around the world."
Contributors to the Report include leading development scholars and practitioners, working under the coordination of UNDP’s Human Development Report Office. From the beginning, the Report has been a pioneer of methodological innovation and development thinking. Often provocative, the Report was launched in 1990 with the goal of putting people at the center of development, going beyond income to assess people’s long-term well-being. The Reports’ messages — and the tools to implement them — have been embraced by people around the world, as shown by the publication of autonomous National Human Development Reports by more than 140 countries over the past two decades. The Human Development Report is translated into more than a dozen languages and launched in more than 100 countries annually.
