Economic growth and economic development

Growth and development are related but not identical. Growth means more output — usually measured as rising real GDP or GDP per capita. Development means broader improvement in people's lives: better health, education, freedoms and security, with growth as one ingredient. A country can grow rapidly while leaving many people behind (jobless growth, rising inequality, environmental damage); equally, development without growth eventually runs out of resources to fund schools and clinics. Worked example: two countries both grow at 5% a year, but one cuts child mortality and expands schooling while the other does not — by any development measure, the first is developing faster even though their growth rates match.