India ranks 132nd out of 191 in UNDP's human development index

Tags: Economy/Finance International News

According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) report released on 8 September, India is ranked 132 out of 191 countries in the Human Development Index (HDI) 2021.

• Switzerland tops the rankings, followed by Norway at second and Iceland at third.

• South Sudan, Chad and Niger are at the bottom of the HDI scale.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• In the 2020 report, India had ranked 131st among 189 countries.

•  The report said that nearly 90 percent of countries have reported a decline in their HDI rankings in 2020 or 2021.

• Among India's neighbours, Sri Lanka (73rd), China (79th), Bangladesh (129th), and Bhutan (127th) rank above India, while Pakistan (161st), Nepal (143th) and Myanmar (149th) rank worse.

• India's latest HDI value is 0.633 which places the country in the medium human development category, lower than its value of 0.645 in the 2020 report.

• The reason for the decline in the ranking of more than 90 percent of the countries is the Covid-19 pandemic.

• The report raises concerns over growing polarization that is eroding democratic freedoms and human rights in many parts of the world.

Gender Inequality :

• The COVID-19 pandemic has also exacerbated gender inequality, which has risen by 6.7% globally.

• India has shown a slight improvement in its Gender Inequality Index value in the latest report as compared to the 2020 index (0.490 vs 0.493).

• The index measures inequality between women and men in three dimensions – reproductive health, empowerment and the labour market.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -

About Human Development Index :

• The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) published its first Human Development Report (HDR) in 1990.

• The report attempts to define and measure the level of development of economies.

• Three indicators of Human Development Report (HDR)

1. Health - Measured by the life expectancy at birth

2. Education - Measured by the mean of years of schooling

3. Standard of Living - Measured by GNI (Gross National Income/Product) per capita at ‘Purchasing Power Parity