Islamabad: Pakistan’s ranking on 2022-23 Human Development Index (HDI) witnessed slight improvement as country was ranked 161st position among 191 countries, according to new UN Development Programme (UNDP) report.

HDI is composite of statistics measuring such factors as per capita income, educational attainment and life expectancy.

In last (2021-22) HDI ranking, Pakistan was placed at 164 amid global fall in development set off by Covid-19 endemic.

Latest report, ‘Breaking gridlock’, revealed widening disparities between haves and have-nots, despite record-high global human development scores in 2023.

Rich countries experienced unprecedented development, Human Development Report details, yet half of world’s poorest nations continue to languish below their pre-Covid crisis levels.

India ranked at 132nd on HDI index, Sri Lanka 73rd, Bangladesh 129th, Maldives 90, Nepal 143, Bhutan 127 and Afghanistan 180.

Switzerland tops this year’s rankings, followed by Norway and Iceland, while Central African Republic, South Sudan and Somalia lagged furthest behind.

Published in The Daily National Courier, March, 15 2024

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