Creation and validation of a socioeconomic development index: A case study on the countries in the Belt and Road Initiative

The assessment of socioeconomic development is of great significance as it can help governments objectively and comprehensively understand the status of national socioeconomic development and identify gaps, thereby informing policymaking. In this study, three types of data (statistical, geographic, and remote sensing data) were combined to establish a socioeconomic development index (SDI) that considers human living standards, urbanization, and...