The Commitment to Development Index (CDI) ranks 40 of the world’s most powerful countries on policies that affect more than five billion people living in poorer nations. Because development is about more than foreign aid, the Index covers seven distinct policy areas:

• Development Finance
• Investment
• Migration
• Trade
• Environment
• Security
• Technology

Why Does Commitment to Development Matter?

In our integrated world, decisions made by the richest countries about their own policies and behaviour have repercussions for people in lower-income nations. At the same time, greater prosperity and security in poorer countries benefit the whole world. They create new economic opportunities, increase innovation, and help reduce risks posed by public health, security, and economic crises. The CDI looks at 40 countries with some of the largest economies and celebrates those with policies that benefit not only themselves, but also the development of others and our common good.

How Do We Calculate the Commitment to Development Index?

We use thousands of data points across more than 50 indicators to come up with overall rankings and for each of the seven policy components. Countries score well for things like generous and high-quality finance for development, transparent investment, low barriers to trade for developing countries, and migration policies which are open and promote integration. They also do well for policies that enhance global public goods, such as robustly supporting technological research and development, protecting the environment, and contributing to global security.

Like the Sustainable Development Goals, the CDI recognizes development progress is holistic. But while the SDGs focus on outcomes and all nations, the CDI emphasizes how the policies of the richest countries can make a huge difference.

Report by the Centre For Global Development