The World Bank ranks countries by their gross national income (GNI) per capita in order to facilitate classifi cations. In 2004, the following income categories were constructed: LIC (low-income countries) have $825 or less, LMC (lower-middle countries) have $826–3,255, UMI (upper-middle income) $3,256–10,065, and HI (high income) have over $10,066. The countries under study were placed into these categories and, as evident from table 1.1, all countries are middle income (five are in the UMI category and four in the LMC group) with one exception. Only India is ranked as an LMC. However, the difference between India and other countries (such as Jordan and the Philippines) is less pronounced when we look at the GNI per capita at Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), justifying its inclusion into this study. Moreover, with respect to growth rates, Argentina led the group in 2003–4 (8 percent) while Cuba and Costa Rica lagged behind the others (0.9 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively).
The structural transformation of the economy is useful in understanding the level of development in the countries under study. To that end, the proportion of the GDP derived from agriculture, industry, and services is observed. It is clear that India is the least developed country in the study (with 22 percent of GDP derived from agriculture and 26 percent from industry). The next countries with respect to the size of the agricultural sector are Argentina, Malaysia, and Thailand (all 10 percent). However, in those countries the size of the industrial sector is larger than in India (32 percent, 48 percent, and 44 percent, respectively). The UN ranks 177 countries according to their Human Development Index (HDI), a composite index that measures a country’s achievement in overall human development as measured by a combination of health (life expectancy), knowledge (literacy and school enrollment), and living standards (GDP per capita at PPP). All the countries under study are classifi ed as either High or Medium according to the HDI. Even India, which is ranked in the low-income category by the World Bank, is not ranked in the Low category of the HDI. The above economic indicators show some of the ways in which the destination countries under study are different from most developing countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Many have achieved phenomenal rates of economic growth and fundamental transformations of their economies. Such growth does not happen in a vacuum, in the absence of government efforts.
Medical Tourism: Tips for Developing Countries
