Kingdom maintains ranking on Human Development Index

AMMAN — The Kingdom has maintained its ranking in the Human Development Index (HDI) for the past two years, standing in 77th place, according to a recent report.

Issued by the UNDP, the 2014 Human Development Report “Sustaining Human Progress: Reducing Vulnerabilities and Building Resilience” puts Jordan’s HDI value for 2013 at 0.745 — which is in the high human development category — positioning the country 77th out of 187 countries and territories. 

“Between 1980 and 2013, Jordan’s HDI value increased from 0.587 to 0.745, an increase of 27.0 per cent or an average annual increase of about 0.73 per cent,” the report said, adding that the Kingdom shares this rank with Serbia.

Between 1980 and 2013, Jordan’s life expectancy at birth increased by 7.7 years, while mean years of schooling rose by 6.8 years and expected years of schooling by 1.4 years, according to the report.

It added that Jordan’s 2013 HDI of 0.745 is above the average of 0.735 for countries in the high human development group and above the average of 0.682 for Arab countries.

Arab states similar to Jordan in 2013 HDI rank, size and population are Kuwait and Libya, which are ranked 46 and 55 respectively, according to an explanatory document about Jordan released with the report.

The HDI is an average measure of basic human development achievements in a country. “It masks inequality in the distribution of human development across the population at the country level, according to a UNDP statement.

The report points to a slowdown in human development growth across all regions, as measured by the HDI, the statement said.

“It notes that threats such as financial crises, fluctuations in food prices, natural disasters and violent conflict significantly impede progress.”

The report added that reducing both poverty and people’s vulnerability to falling into poverty must be a central objective of the post-2015 agenda.