General Awareness: Human Development Report Quiz

1. By how much did the UNDP’s Human Development Index (HDI) for all countries increase on average from 1970 to 2011?

a. 17 percent
b. 24 percent
c. 33 percent
d. 41 percent
e. 52 percent

The correct answer is d. 41 percent

2. By how much did the UNDP’s Human Development Index (HDI) for “high human development” countries and “low human development” countries, respectively, change on average from 1980 to 2011?

a. 8.9% decrease (low HDI countries); 2.7% decrease (high HDI countries)
b. 5.6% decrease (low HDI countries); 8.4% increase (high HDI countries)
c. 3.2% increase (low HDI countries); 12.9% increase (high HDI countries)
d. 21.1% increase (low HDI countries); 15.8% increase (high HDI countries)
e. 44.3% increase (low HDI countries); 20.7% increase (high HDI countries)

The correct answer is e. 44.3% increase (low HDI countries); 20.7% increase (high HDI countries)

3. During the last 50 years from 1960 to 2010, the Green Revolution in agricultural productivity saw agricultural output increase by ___ percent, while the amount of land under cultivation changed by ___ percent.

a. 25% increase in agricultural output with a 50% increase in cultivated land
b. 50% increase in agricultural output with a 40% increase in cultivated land
c. 100% increase in agricultural output with a 30% increase in cultivated land
d. 150% increase in agricultural output with a 20% increase in cultivated land
e. 200% increase in agricultural output with a 10% increase in cultivated land

The correct answer is e. 200% increase in agricultural output with a 10% increase in cultivated land

4. How many people in the world still lacked access to electricity in 2011?

a. 50 million people
b. 100 million people
c. 250 million people
d. 500 million people
e. 1.5 billion people

The correct answer is e. 1.5 billion people

5. By how much did the number of natural disasters per year increase on average from 1980-85 to 2005-09?

a. 35 percent (from 132 to 178 per year)
b. 60 percent (from 132 to 211 per year)
c. 85 percent (from 132 to 244 per year)
d. 125 percent (from 132 to 297 per year)
e. 170 percent (from 132 to 357 per year)

The correct answer is e. 170 percent (from 132 to 357 per year)

6. On average, a resident of a very high human development country accounts for how many times more carbon dioxide emissions than the average person living in a low human development country?

a. 2 times more emissions
b. 5 times more emissions
c. 10 times more emissions
d. 20 times more emissions
e. 30 times more emissions

The correct answer is e. 30 times more emissions

7. What are the respective per capita carbon emissions of Norway and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)?

a. 5 tons (Norway) and 10 tons (UAE)
b. 10 tons (Norway) and 30 tons (UAE)
c. 15 tons each
d. 20 tons (Norway) and 5 tons (UAE)
e. 30 tons (Norway) and 10 tons (UAE)

The correct answer is b. 10 tons (Norway) and 30 tons (UAE)

8. By roughly how much does the global annual fish catch of 145 million tons exceed the maximum annual sustainable catch?

a. 10 to 50 percent (14.5 to 72.5 million tons of fish)
b. 20 to 60 percent (29 to 87 million tons of fish)
c. 30 to 70 percent (43.5 to 101.5 million tons of fish)
d. 40 to 80 percent (58 to 116 million tons of fish)
e. 50 to 90 percent (72.5 to 130.5 million tons of fish)

The correct answer is d. 40 to 80 percent (58 to 116 million tons of fish)

9. What percent of reduced timber harvest (deforestation) does the European Union transfer to developing countries?

a. 25 percent
b. 40 percent
c. 55 percent
d. 75 percent
e. 90 percent

The correct answer is d. 75 percent

10. Which Nobel Prize-winning economist argued in 1993 that sustainability involved the duty of the current generation to endow future generations with “whatever it takes to achieve a standard of living at least as good as our own and to look after their next generation similarly?”

a. Gary Becker
b. Daniel Kahneman
c. Simon Kuznets
d. Amartya Sen
e. Robert Solow

The correct answer is e. Robert Solow