Dear
Readers,
The 2015 Human Development Report was recently
released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and could be
important for your exams.
India is still relatively lower in the
Human Development Index (HDI) ranking, but climbed up five places to the 130th
spot due to a rise in life expectancy and per capita income. This article will
look at a brief background of the report and India’s standing in it.
Background
– What is HDR?
Published annually by the UNDP, the HDR
maps overall human well-being. According to the UNDP website, “human
development is about expanding the richness of the economy in which human
beings live”.
The HDR Office aims to achieve human
development by promoting innovative ideas and practical policy changes, and
challenging policies that obstruct human development. The HDRO works to bring
about these changes through research and data analysis and outreach programmes.
The HDI is a measure of achievement in the
basic dimensions of human development, namely a long and healthy life, access
to knowledge and a decent standard of living.
Key Findings
·
India has been ranked 130 among
188 countries in the latest Report, moving up from the 131st spot in
the 2014 report. It has been placed in the medium human development category
with an HDI value of 0.609.
·
From 1980 to 2014, India’s HDI
value jumped from 0.362 to the current 0.609, a 68.1% increase and an annual
rise of approximately 1.54%.
·
Norway has topped the list with
an HDI of 0.944, followed by Australia, Switzerland, Denmark and the
Netherlands.
·
Ranks of India’s neighbouring
countries are – Sri Lanka at 73rd spot, Bangladesh at 142nd,
Nepal at 145th, Pakistan at 147th, Myanmar at 148th.
·
India ranks the lowest among
BRICS nations. Russia ranks relatively high at 50, followed by Brazil (75), China
(90) and South Africa (116).
·
When calculated region-wise, the
Europe-Central Asia Region and the Latin America-Caribbean Region collectively take
the first position followed by East Asia-Pacific Region, Arab States Region, South Asia Region (0.607) and
Sub-Saharan Africa Region.
·
The HDI value of developing
countries jointly is 0.660.
·
The list is divided into four
sub-sections – (i) Very High Human Development (ranks 1-49); (ii) High Human
Development (ranks 50-105); (iii) Medium Human Development (106-144); and (iv)
Low Human Development (ranks 145-188).
Gender
Trends
The 2015 Human Development Report comprises
two lists based on gender.
1) Gender
Development Index (GDI)
·
Calculated for 161 countries,
this measures gender gaps in human development achievements by considering disparities
between women and men in three dimensions – health, knowledge and living
standards.
·
It is the ratio of HDIs
calculated separately for females and males, and directly measures gender gap
showing the female HDI as a percentage of the male HDI.
·
It depicts how much women are
lagging behind men, and how much development is needed to bridge the gap
between the two.
Major Points in GDI
· Norway tops the list followed by Australia and Switzerland.
· The GDI of India is 0.795.
· Amongst the BRICS nations, Russia (1.019) has the highest and India has the lowest GDI.
· Neighbouring countries of India – Sri Lanka (0.948), Bangladesh (0.917), Nepal (0.908) and Pakistan (0.726).
· Region-wise GDI – Latin America and the Caribbean (0.976) has the highest and South Asia (0.801) has the lowest values.
· Joint GDI for developing countries – 0.899.
2) Gender
Inequality Index (GII)
·
Calculated for 155 countries,
this measures gender inequalities in three important aspects – reproductive health, which is computed
by maternal mortality ratio and adolescent birth rates; empowerment, measured by proportion of parliamentary seats occupied
by females and proportion of adult females and males aged 25 years and above
with some secondary education; and economic
status, expressed as labour market participation and measured by labour
force participation rate of female and male populations aged 15 years and
older.
·
It measures the human
development costs of gender inequality – the higher the GII value, the more
disparities between men and women, and more is the loss to human development.
Major
Points in GII
·
Norway (0.067), Australia (0.110)
and Switzerland (0.028) are the top three countries.
·
The GII of India is 0.563.
·
Amongst the BRICS nations, India
has the highest (most inequality) and China (0.191) has the lowest value (least
inequality).
·
Neighbouring countries of India
– Sri Lanka (0.370), Bangladesh (0.503), Nepal (0.489), Pakistan (0.536) and
Myanmar (0.413).
·
Region-wise GII – Sub-Saharan
Africa (0.575) has the highest and Europe and Central Asia (0.300) have the
lowest values.
·
Joint GII for developing
countries – 0.478.
These are the major points to be remembered
about UNDP’s 2015 Human Development Report. If you can understand these well,
you can easily answer the questions pertaining to them.
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