Compare and contrast - Essay Example

Compare and contrast May 18, Compare and contrast Performance indicators help in evaluating progress towards national goals ofa better world. Based on specific scales, the indicators inform on a country’s trend in performance and development and can be used to compare and contrast sustainability of development across countries. Below is a comparative analysis of life expectancy at birth, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and pupil teacher ratio for four countries, based on data from The World Bank (2015).

GDP is one of the economic indicators of development and sustainability (The Great Britain, 2012). The United States has the highest GDP while Nigeria has the least (Table 1). GDPs for Nigeria, China, and the United States increased between the years 2011 and 2013, indicating sustainable economic development, unlike that of Brazil. Table 1: Data GDP (“000000”) Country201120122013USA155179001616320016768100China 732189182294909240270Brazil247669422487802245673Nigeria411743462979521803 Life expectancy indicates quality of health (Nordic Council of Ministers, 2014).

The indicator is best for the United States, worst for Nigeria and is constant for the three countries (Table 2).Table 2: Life expectancy at birth Country201120122013USA797979China 757575Brazil737474Nigeria515252An increase in ratio of learners to educators is another development indicator (Pearce, 2014) while the ratio was best for the United States and worst for Nigeria, each of the countries reported consistency (Table 3).Table 3: Pupil to teacher ratio Country201020112012USA141414China 171718Brazil222121Nigeria38-- The United States reported the best performance for the indicators while Nigeria reported the worst.

Except for the case of Brazil’s GDP that declined, the countries reported sustained levels of performance but no significant development over the considered years.ReferencesNordic Council of Ministers. (2014). Nordic sustainable development indicators 2014. Copenhagen: Nordic Council of Ministers. Pearce, D. (2014). Blueprint 3: Measuring sustainable development. Oxon, UK: Routledge. The Great Britain. (2012). Measuring well-being and sustainable development: Sustainable development indicators, fifth report session 2012-2013, Vol.

1: Report together with formal minutes and oral evidence, Volume 1. London, UK: The Stationery Office.The World Bank. (2015). Indicators. The World Bank. Retrieved from: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator.