HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX - REPORTS & INDICES

News: India ranks 134th in global human development index, says UNDP report

 

What's in the news?

       India has moved up a rank on the global Human Development Index (HDI), according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report ‘Breaking the gridlock: Reimagining cooperation in a polarised world’.

 

Key takeaways:

       The report stated that while India ranked 135 in 2021, it had moved up to 134 in 2022.

       A total of 193 countries were ranked in 2022 and 191 countries in 2021.

 

Key Highlights of the India's Human Development Report 2023-24:

Theme - “Breaking the Gridlock: Reimagining Cooperation in a Polarized World."

 

India’s Ranking in HDI 2023-24:

       India ranked 135 in 2021. It had moved up to 134 in 2022.

       India in the medium human development category.

       Between 1990 and 2022, the country saw its HDI value increase by 48.4 percent, from 0.434 in 1990 to 644 in 2022.

 

India’s Performance on Various Indicators:

       India’s life expectancy at birth has slightly improved from 67.2 years in 2021 to 67.7 years in 2022.

       There is an overall increase (5.88%) in expected years of schooling (EYS) from 11.9 years to 12.6 years, leading to an improvement of 18 places.

       Gross National Income (GNI) per capita also improved from $6,542 to $6,951.

 

Performance of India’s Neighbourhood:

       Sri Lanka has been ranked much ahead at 78, while China is ranked 75, both categorised under the High Human Development category.

       Bhutan stands at 125 and Bangladesh at 129th position.

       Nepal (146) and Pakistan (164) have been ranked lower than India.

 

India’s Progress in Reducing Gender Inequality:

       India has also shown progress in reducing gender inequality and ranks 108 out of 166 countries in the Gender Inequality Index (GII) 2022.

       The GII measures gender inequalities in three key dimensions – reproductive health, empowerment, and labour market.

       The country's GII value of 0.437 is better than the global average of 0.462 and the South Asian average of 0.478.

       India’s performance in reproductive health is better than other countries in the medium human development group or South Asia.

       India's adolescent birth rate in 2022 was 16.3 (births per 1,000 women ages 15-19), an improvement from 17.1 in 2021.

       However, India also has one of the largest gender gaps in the labour force participation rate - a 47.8 percentage point difference between women (28.3%) and men (76.1%).

 

HDI Report:

       The HDI combines indicators of life expectancy, education or access to knowledge and income or standard of living, and captures the level and changes to the quality of life.

       The first human development index was published in 1990 with the goal to be a more comprehensive measure of human development than purely economic measures launched by the Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq and Indian Nobel laureate Amartya Sen.

       The report was released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

 

 

Indicators:

1. Life expectancy:

       The health dimension is assessed by life expectancy at birth; the component of the HDI is calculated using a minimum value of 20 years and a maximum value of 85 years.

 

2. Education:

       The education component of the HDI is measured by means of years of schooling for adults aged 25 years and more and expected years of schooling for children of school entering age.

       Expected years of schooling estimated are based on enrolment by age at all levels of education. Expected years of schooling are capped at 18 years.

 

3. Standard of living:

       The standard of living dimension is measured by gross national income per capita.

 

Classification of countries:

       Very high human development (HDI 0.900 and above)

       High human development (HDI 0.800 – 0.899)

       Medium human development (HDI 0.500 – 0.799)

       Low human development (HDI below 0.500)

 

Gender inequality Index:

       The index measures inequality in achievement between women and men in three dimensions such as

1.      Reproductive health

2.      Empowerment

3.      Labour market

       It is released by UNDP.