The notion of human development is one that is quite old, even if it has not always gone by that name. The United Nations understands human development to be about “creating an environment in which people can develop their full potential and lead productive, creative lives in accord with their needs and interests”. In this way, of course, many ancient city-states and other such communities of shared interests have always been about creating such an environment. This latest report on the state of human development affords curious individuals an insight into the United Nations’ work in this area. It offers some insights into the nature of inequalities which affect the potentiality of human development schemes and also looks at other related processes such as the nature of international trade and violent conflict. The report is divided into five primary chapters, and is supplemented by a list of human development indicators and a bibliography. The site also contains an animated file that offers a visualization of the trend of human development.