Bangladesh ranks 129th in UNDP’s HD index
Bangladesh has ranked 129th out of 189 countries in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Index (HDI) 2021-22.
In the previous report, which was published in 2020, Bangladesh ranked 128th.
UNDP published its ‘Human Development Report 2021-22’ on Thursday.
Bangladesh scored 0.661, that is, 0.0006 more than its previous score.
In South Asia, Sri Lanka ranks highest 73rd while India and Pakistan rank 132nd and 161st. The Maldives, Bhutan, Nepal and Afghanistan ranked 90th, 127th, 143th and 180th respectively.
UNDP creates this index by evaluating the health, education and income data to determine the rate of human development of a country.
According to the latest report, Bangladesh is in the medium human development bracket of the list.
Although Bangladesh has slightly improved in the HDI score, the average life expectancy in Bangladesh has decreased for both men and women.
The report shows that the current average life expectancy in Bangladesh is 72.4, which is higher than India (67.2) and Pakistan (66.1).
But in the 2020 HDI report, the average life expectancy for men and women in Bangladesh was 70.9 and 74.6 respectively.
This year, the average life expectancy has gone down to 70.6 and 74.3 for men and women respectively.
In the gender equality index, Bangladesh has done better than India and Pakistan.
In terms of purchasing power parity, Bangladesh’s per capita income has risen to $5,472 from last year’s $4,976.
This year’s UNDP HDI report has been titled ‘Uncertain times, unsettled lives: shaping our future in a transforming world’.
According to the report, the Covid-19 pandemic is a major driver behind the global reversion.
It also pointed to political, financial and climate-related crises as reasons important reason behind this global decline in human development.