UNDP REPORT India: Miles To Go

INDIA is ranked 127th out of 177 countries in the 2004 Human Development Report with an Human Development Index (HDI) value of 0.595. Its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita rank is 117 and the GDP per capita value in US dollars was 2,670.

The HDI value for South Asian region is 0.584 and GDP per capita value $2,658. Maldives, the best performer in the region, ranks 84th with GDP per capita ranking of 97 and 0.752 and $4,798 HDI and GDP pre capita values respectively. Pakistan, the worst performer in South Asia, is ranked 142 in HDI and 135 in per capita GDP with 0.497 HDI value and $1,940 GDP per capital value.

According to the compilers of the HDI Index, it focuses on three measurable dimensions of human development: living a long and healthy life, being educated and having a decent standard of living. It combines measures of life expectancy, school enrolment, literacy and income to allow a broader view of a country’s development than income alone. Although, the HDI is a useful starting point, the concept of human development is much broader and more complex than any summary measure can capture, even when supplemented by other indices. The HDI is not a comprehensive measure. It does not include important aspects of human development, notably the ability to participate in the decisions that affect one’s life and to enjoy the respect of others in the community. It is also handicapped by unavailability of sufficient data and differences of definitions among countries.

While the HDI measures the average progress of a country in human development, the HDR from 1997 introduced the Human Poverty Index (HPI), which focuses on the proportion of people below a threshold level in basic dimensions of human development. India ranks 48th out of 95 developing countries with HPI value of 31.4 per cent. The best performer, Maldives in the South Asian region, ranks 17th with HPI value of 11.4 per cent. The worst performer in the region Bangladesh ranks 72nd with HPI value of 42.2 per cent. Barbados, the best performer in the world, has an HPI value of 2.5 per cent.            

The Gender-related Index (GDI), introduced in 1995, measures achievements in same basic dimensions as in HDI but captures inequalities in achievements between women and men. It is HDI adjusted downward for gender inequality. The greater the gender disparity in basic human development, the lower is a country’s GDI relative to HDI. The GDI value for India is 0.572 and it is ranked 103. The GDI value for Sri Lanka, the best performer in the South Asian region, was 0.738 and for Norway, the best performer in the world, it was 0.955. (INN)