Minor improvement in human development ranking for Pakistan: Report

Pakistan has been ranked 161st out of 191 countries on the UN Human Development Index, scoring 0.544 points. This marks a slight improvement from 2023, when Pakistan was ranked 164th with 0.540 points, three places below its 2022 ranking.

The report also highlights that Pakistan’s HDI rank remained steady at 161st globally from 2019 to 2021. The index comprises health, education, and income indicators, each ranging from 0 to 1.

In South Asia, Sri Lanka leads at 73rd place with 0.782 points, followed by Bangladesh at 129th with 0.661 points, and India at 132nd with 0.633 points. Nepal ranks 143rd, while Afghanistan trails at 180th with 0.478 points, although it’s slightly above the bottom 10.

Globally, South Sudan ranks last at 191st with 0.385 points, while Switzerland tops the list at 0.962 points, followed by Norway at 0.961 points.

The report observes that while global development has returned to pre-pandemic levels, a growing gap between rich and poor countries persists. This rebound follows two years of decline, primarily due to the COVID-19 crisis which reversed five years of progress.

Despite overall positive trends, inequality persists, with the poorest nations falling behind, exacerbating global polarisation.

“The result is a dangerous gridlock that must be urgently tackled through collective action,” the United Nations warned in a post on social media.

The report also recognizes that “rich countries experienced unprecedented development, yet half of the world’s poorest nations continue to languish.”

The United Nations’ Human Development Index (HDI) combines economic and non-economic factors to measure a country’s prosperity, including life expectancy, educational attainment, and gross national income per capita.

The report underscores a reversal in the trend of reducing inequalities between wealthy and poor nations, emphasising the need for collective action to address shared challenges and ensure people’s aspirations are met.

Additionally, the report identifies a “democracy paradox,” wherein support for democracy coexists with endorsement of leaders who may sabotage democratic principles, increasing political polarisation and inward-looking policy approaches.