Pacitalian Development and Advancement System

The Pacitalian Development and Advancement System (PDAS), also known informally as the 72 Scale due to the mathematical procedure it employs, is an alternative to the CHDI or WCHI measurements of human and social development. The ranking is administered on an annual basis by the Pacitalian government, through the Directorate of Human and Social Development and the Directorate of Foreign Affairs.

The system of even, unweighted averages that the PDAS rating method employs eliminates the possibility of discrimination by political ideology (except on the reality of a lack of personal freedom) and largely avoids favouring democracies over dictatorships, provided the latter's social services or educational institutions are established and their literacy rate is high.

Grade	Points	Percentile	Economy	Education	Environment	Government	Influence	Liberty
			GDP per capita in NSD (PPP) as well as several other economic indicators	Adult literacy rate and the quality and accessibility of education and information	Stewardship and protection of nature and ecology	Services provided for the public good	Diplomatic, military and economic power within and outside region	Individual, social and economic freedoms
A+	12	95th and above	$45,000 ≥	99.0 percent ≥	Excellent	Abundance	Substantial	Very strong
A	11	90th to 94th	$40,000 — 44,999	98.0 - 98.9 percent	Very good
A-	10	85th to 89th	$35,000 — 39,999	97.0 - 97.9 percent	Good	Above average	Elevated
B+	9	80th to 84th	$30,000 — 34,999	96.0 - 96.9 percent	Satisfactory			Strong
B	8	75th to 79th	$25,000 — 29,999	95.0 - 95.9 percent	Above average	Sufficient	Some
B-	7	70th to 74th	$20,000 — 24,999	94.0 - 94.9 percent	Average
C+	6	65th to 69th	$17,500 — 19,999	93.0 - 93.9 percent	Below average	Developing	Little	Developing
C	5	60th to 64th	$15,000 — 17,499	92.0 - 92.9 percent	Poor
C-	4	55th to 59th	$12,500 — 14,999	91.0 - 91.9 percent	Very poor	Minimal	Isolationist
D+	3	50th to 54th	$10,000 — 12,499	90.0 - 90.9 percent				Minimal
D	2	45th to 49th	$7,500 — 9,999	85.0 - 89.9 percent	Terrible	Insufficient
D-	1	40th to 44th	$5,000 — 7,499	80.0 - 84.9 percent			Rogue state	None
F	0	39th and below	≤ $4,999	≤ 79.9 percent		Non-existent

Method

• Each of the six categories earns the nation a score out of 12 points, totalling out of 72.

• • Therefore, if a nation has, for example, a literacy rate of 98 percent, they earn 11 points out of 12 in the Education category.
  • In categories where a ranking spans multiple point values, the invigilators subsequently determine whether a nation is at the lower or higher end of that category. For example, a rating of "elevated" regional influence could give the nation 9 or 10 points out of 12. In this case, it is up to the invigilators to determine, based on the combined factors of the nation's diplomatic, military and economic influence, both in and outside their region, how many points they will be awarded.

• After totalling out of 72, the figure is then divided by six to achieve a single result out of 12 points.

• • For example, if a nation receives 54 points out of 72, they receive an overall score of 9 out of 12.

54    x         54    9
-- × --    ⟶   -- × --
72   12         72   12

• The new total is then divided by 12 to achieve a percentage.

 9
--  =  75.0 %
12

• That percentage corresponds to the percentile in which the nation will be listed.

75.0% ⟶ 75th percentile

• The percentile reveals the corresponding letter grade the nation will be assigned. In this case, the corresponding letter grade for the 75th percentile is a B.

75th percentile ⟶ B

As a result, the PDAS system rests solely on the eventual letter grade the nation achieves, not on any of the mathematical process it takes to determine the grade.

Example nation

In the 2010 ratings, Lamoni was awarded:

• • 3 points for economy (an average GDP per capita of $12,146 in the applicable fiscal year, in addition to "promising" statistics in key economic areas)
  • 12 points for education (an adult literacy rate above 99 percent)
  • 7 points for environmental stewardship
  • 7 points for government and public services
  • 9 points for regional and foreign influence
    • 3.5 out of 4 for its diplomacy, 3.5 out of 4 for its military, 2 out of 4 for its economy
  • and, 8 points for individual liberties,

...which totalled 46 points out of a possible 72.

 3   12    7    7    9    8     46       7.7
-- + -- + -- + -- + -- + --  =  --  ⟶  --    =  64.17%  =  64th percentile ⟶ C
12   12   12   12   12   12     72      12

Therefore, Lamoni's official rating for 2010 is a C.