Why is Cuba not in the new HDI, for example?
Data availability determines HDI country coverage. Where reliable data are unavailable and there is significant uncertainty about the validity of existing data estimates, countries are excluded to ensure the credibility of the Human Development Report and the family of human development indices. There are four countries that have information on the other three HDI components but not on GNI: Cuba, Iraq, the Marshall Islands and Palau. In the past, GDP per capita (PPP US$) was estimated by the Center for International Comparisons of Production, Income and Prices (CICPIP) at the University of Pennsylvania to calculate the HDI for Cuba. These estimates rely on data from the salaries of international civil servants converted using the official exchange rate. However, because the markets in which foreigners purchase goods and services tend to be separated from the rest of the economy, such data can be an insufficient guide to prices faced by people in practice. The CICPIP recognizes this lim
