Human Development Index: Bangladesh up two notches

Bangladesh has moved up two notches in the Human Development Index this year, but remains behind four other South Asian countries.

Sri Lanka, Maldives, India and Bhutan are ahead of Bangladesh in the index, while Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan are behind.

United Nations Development Programme's "The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene" was unveiled at the Planning Commission in the capital yesterday, six days after the global launch.

Top UNDP officials said Bangladeshmoved up two notches to 133 among 189 countries thanks to the remarkable progress made in life expectancy, per capita income, and other socio-economic areas.

Norway tops the HDI list, followed by Ireland and Switzerland.

In 2019, 24.6 percent of Bangladesh's population was multidimensionally poor, with a further 18.2 percent classified as vulnerable to multidimensional poverty, said Balazs Hovarth, senior economic advisor to UNDP Asia Pacific, while making a presentation virtually on the new report.

Both numbers have markedly fallen in the past decades. "But this is a serious area that requires policy attention," he added.

Besides, the pandemic might wipe out years of progress, he apprehended. 

Sudipto Mukerjee, UNDP Bangladesh resident representative, said multidimensional poverty identifies multiple deprivations at the household and individual levels in health, education and living standard.

"Bangladesh is on the right track, but there should be steps to stop the growing disparity. Disparity can harm society," he told The Daily Star.

Planning Minister MA Mannan said, "Many people are living under the poverty line due to unacceptable levels of disparity. We need to reduce disparity. We will continue our efforts to make an equity-based society."

In the Human Development Index, Sri Lanka was ranked 72, the best among the eight south Asian countries.

Maldives was the second best, ranking 95. Bhutan ranked 129, India 131, Bangladesh 133, Nepal 142, Pakistan 154, and Afghanistan 169.

Only Afghanistan was categorised as having low human development.

Bangladesh has significantly reduced the gap with several other South Asian countries including India, said Sudipto, adding that Maldives, Bhutan were smaller countries that faced fewer challenges.

Those two countries do not face recurrent disasters and the impacts of climate change like Bangladesh does, he added.

'IMPRESSIVE STRIDES'

Bangladesh has made impressive strides in human development, the report said.

Between 1990 and 2019, Bangladesh's HDI value has increased by 60.4 percent. The country's 2019 HDI score is above the average for countries in the medium human development group.

Life expectancy in Bangladesh at birth increased by 14.4 years, mean years of schooling (average number of completed years of education of people aged 25 years and older) increased by 3.4 years, and expected years of schooling increased by six years.

Bangladesh's GNI per capita also increased by about 220.1 percent between 1990 and 2019.

Bangladesh will have to adopt inclusive growth which will not leave anyone behind, said Sudipto.

Planning Minister MA Mannan said there is no doubt that Bangladesh has done well.

"But it is also true that we couldn't reach the level we desired. We have to continue working," he added.

"These types of reports help us understand the reality...find our weaknesses,  and set our focus."

The UNDP report usually measures a nation's health, education, and living standards. This year's 30th Anniversary Edition includes a country's carbon dioxide emissions and its material footprint.

These show how the global development landscape would change if both the wellbeing of people and the planet were central to defining humanity's progress. For example, more than 50 countries dropped out of the very high human development group, reflecting their dependence on fossil fuels and material footprint.