Economic development is the development of economic wealth of countries or regions for the well-being of their inhabitants. This is the short definition of Economic Development.

Economic Growth & development are two different terms used in economics.
Generally speaking economic development refers to the problems of underdeveloped countries and economic growth to those of developed countries.

By Economic Growth we simply mean increase in per capita income or increase in GNP. In recent literature, the term economic growth refers to sustained increase in a country’s output of goods and services, or more precisely product per capita. Output is generally measured in terms of GNP.

The term economic development is far more comprehensive. It implies progressive changes in the socio-economic structure of a country.
Viewed in this way economic development Involves a steady decline in agricultural shares in GNP and continuous increase in shares of industries, trade banking construction and services.
Further whereas economic growth merely refers to rise in output; development implies change in technological and institutional organization of production as well as in distributive pattern of income.

Hence, compared to the objective of development, economic growth is easy realize. By a larger mobilization of resources and raising their productivity, output level can be raised. The process of development is far more extensive. Apart from a rise in output, it involves changes in composition of output, shift in the allocation of productive resources, and elimination or reduction of poverty, inequalities and unemployment.

In the words of Amartya Sen “Development requires the removal of major sources of unfreedom poverty as well as tyranny, poor economic opportunities as well as systematic social deprivation neglect of public facilities as well as intolerance or over activity of repressive states….”

Economic development is not possible without growth but growth is possible without development because growth is just increase in GNP It does not have any other parameters to it.
Development can be conceived as Multi-Dimensional process or phenomena. If there is increase in GNP more than the increase in per capita Income then we can say that Development is possible.
When given conditions of population improves then we can say that this is also an indicator of economic Development.