GK Update - India's Position in the UNDP Report
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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