India's human development index in 2013 improved slightly from the previous year, while it ranked 135 out of 187 countries, according to the 2014 UNDP Human Development Report.
This is only seven positions ahead of Bangladesh, but well behind Sri Lanka, which is at 73. Nepal and Pakistan fall in the low development category, at 145 and 146 respectively.
The human development index is derived from a measurement of life expectancy, education, and income indices and is used to rank countries into four tiers of human development: very high, high, medium and low.
The report, released on Thursday morning, shows that India’s index is 0.586 out of a maximum of 1. India’s index was below the average of 0.614 for countries in the medium human development group.
Even though India demonstrated faster levels of economic growth in the 2000s, the country’s index grew slower than in the 1980s. But the index's growth in the 2000s was greater than in the 1990s. Between 1980 and 2013, India’s index increased from 0.369 to 0.586 which represents a 58.8% increase.
The report notes that the slowing of the global economy had also reduced the pace of improvement globally though some countries were impacted more than others.
India lags behind BRICS nations in all categories except South Africa, which ranks lower in life expectancy. None of the BRICS nations were in the high human development category.
Life expectancy
India has made significant progress between 1980 and 2013 with life expectancy at birth increasing by 11 years while the mean years and expected years of schooling increased by 2.5 years and 5.3 years respectively.
India fell below the medium human development average and the South Asia average for both life expectancy and mean years of schooling. It did, however, manage to equal the medium human development average for expected years of schooling, at 11.7, and ahead of the South Asia average of 11.2.
The increase in life expectancy is significant, but both Bangladesh and Pakistan show slightly better life expectancies. Indians of 25 years or older have received just 4.4 years of schooling on average, compared with a global average of 7.7 years.
Inequality and income
The report also gives an inequality adjusted index for 145 countries where data was available. Here India lost 29% in human development, just about as much as the whole of South Asia and far above the worldwide average. Much of it is due to education inequality.
Amongst the BRICS nations, India again lags behind, with Brazil at 27% and Russia much ahead at 12%. China and South Africa did not have the requisite data.
One measure where India fails drastically is on income. The annual income per person (measured in purchasing power parity terms) for India is $5,150, according to the report. This is slightly more than our neighbours but, once again, lowest amongst BRICS nations. It’s also less than half the global average of $13,723.
There are estimates for a newer multi-dimensional poverty index. This measures deprivations of families in education, health and standard of living using ten indicators and as a result gives us a much better indication of poverty than just with incomes. India hasn’t collected any new health data since 2005 and hence this couldn't be updated.
Gender
The report introduces the gender development index, which measures gender development gaps among 148 countries where data was available. Overall there is an 8% deficit for women, while the per capita income of men is more than double that of women. Among the BRICs nations, India's performance is the worst.
With respect to the gender inequality index, which tells us about inequalities in reproductive health, empowerment and economic activity, India ranks a lowly 127 out of 152 countries, the same as Pakistan but lower than Bangladesh at 115. Amongst the BRICS nations, India is again the lowest, with China at 37 and Russia at 52.
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This is only seven positions ahead of Bangladesh, but well behind Sri Lanka, which is at 73. Nepal and Pakistan fall in the low development category, at 145 and 146 respectively.
The human development index is derived from a measurement of life expectancy, education, and income indices and is used to rank countries into four tiers of human development: very high, high, medium and low.
The report, released on Thursday morning, shows that India’s index is 0.586 out of a maximum of 1. India’s index was below the average of 0.614 for countries in the medium human development group.
Even though India demonstrated faster levels of economic growth in the 2000s, the country’s index grew slower than in the 1980s. But the index's growth in the 2000s was greater than in the 1990s. Between 1980 and 2013, India’s index increased from 0.369 to 0.586 which represents a 58.8% increase.
The report notes that the slowing of the global economy had also reduced the pace of improvement globally though some countries were impacted more than others.
India lags behind BRICS nations in all categories except South Africa, which ranks lower in life expectancy. None of the BRICS nations were in the high human development category.
Life expectancy
India has made significant progress between 1980 and 2013 with life expectancy at birth increasing by 11 years while the mean years and expected years of schooling increased by 2.5 years and 5.3 years respectively.
India fell below the medium human development average and the South Asia average for both life expectancy and mean years of schooling. It did, however, manage to equal the medium human development average for expected years of schooling, at 11.7, and ahead of the South Asia average of 11.2.
The increase in life expectancy is significant, but both Bangladesh and Pakistan show slightly better life expectancies. Indians of 25 years or older have received just 4.4 years of schooling on average, compared with a global average of 7.7 years.
Inequality and income
The report also gives an inequality adjusted index for 145 countries where data was available. Here India lost 29% in human development, just about as much as the whole of South Asia and far above the worldwide average. Much of it is due to education inequality.
Amongst the BRICS nations, India again lags behind, with Brazil at 27% and Russia much ahead at 12%. China and South Africa did not have the requisite data.
One measure where India fails drastically is on income. The annual income per person (measured in purchasing power parity terms) for India is $5,150, according to the report. This is slightly more than our neighbours but, once again, lowest amongst BRICS nations. It’s also less than half the global average of $13,723.
There are estimates for a newer multi-dimensional poverty index. This measures deprivations of families in education, health and standard of living using ten indicators and as a result gives us a much better indication of poverty than just with incomes. India hasn’t collected any new health data since 2005 and hence this couldn't be updated.
Gender
The report introduces the gender development index, which measures gender development gaps among 148 countries where data was available. Overall there is an 8% deficit for women, while the per capita income of men is more than double that of women. Among the BRICs nations, India's performance is the worst.
With respect to the gender inequality index, which tells us about inequalities in reproductive health, empowerment and economic activity, India ranks a lowly 127 out of 152 countries, the same as Pakistan but lower than Bangladesh at 115. Amongst the BRICS nations, India is again the lowest, with China at 37 and Russia at 52.