Fordham Francis Index
Fordham’s Pope Francis Global Poverty Index, also known as the Fordham Francis Index (FFI), was launched in 2016. The Fordham Francis Index (FFI) is a response to Pope Francis’ call for a simple yet broad measure of poverty and wellbeing. The FFI is comprised of seven primary indicators which are broad enough to encompass different measures of poverty. The seven primary indicators are organized and aggregated into two main categories. What is very unique to this index is the inclusion of measures of spiritual wellbeing.
Primary Indicators
Pope Francis identified 7 primary indicators that measure the human person’s wellbeing. Selection of these wellbeing indicators took into consideration the availability of data for many countries, the credibility of the data source, and the breadth of its measure. These 7 primary indicators are organized into two categories: Material Wellbeing and Spiritual Wellbeing.
Material Wellbeing
- Water – the percentage of a population using an improved drinking water source (source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply and Sanitation)
- Food - the prevalence of undernourishment (source: Food and Agriculture Organization)
- Housing - access to adequate housing (source: Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative)
- Employment – distressed labor rate (source: International Labor Organization)
Spiritual Wellbeing
- Education - adult literacy rate (source: UNESCO/World Bank)
- Gender equity - Health and Survival Index (source: Gender Gap Report of World Economic Forum)
- Religious freedom – Government Restrictions Index (source: Pew Research Center)