Human Development Index: Bangladesh 3-notch up

Bangladesh moved up three spots and ranked 139th out of 188 countries in Global Human Development Index 2015 due to the remarkable progress it has made in many socio-economic areas, including life expectancy and per capita income.

According to Human Development Report (HDR) 2016 released in Dhaka yesterday, Bangladesh is categorised as “medium human development” country, and achieved an HDI value of 0.579 in 2015.

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The General Economics Division of the Planning Commission and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Bangladesh jointly organised the launching of HDR 2016 in Dhaka following the global launch in Stockholm, Sweden, less than two weeks ago.

Bangladesh maintained a higher average annual HDI growth rate -- 1.64 percent -- from 1990 to 2015, compared to all other South Asian countries, including India (1.52 percent), according to the report.

Despite the country's growing progress, Bangladesh is still fifth among South Asian nations in HDR rankings. Sri Lanka ranked 73rd, the Maldives 105th, India 131st, Bhutan 132nd, Nepal 144th and Pakistan 147th.

Norway topped the list while Central African Republic was at the bottom.

According to HDR 2016, life expectancy at birth in Bangladesh stood at 72 years. Its gross national income per capita based on PPP (purchasing power parity) was $3,341 in 2015. It was $5,663 in India and $5,031 in Pakistan.

During the same period, unemployment rate in Bangladesh was 4.4 percent, while it was 3.5 percent in India and 5.4 percent in Pakistan.

Supplementary indicators about perceptions of well-being showed that majority of people in the country were satisfied with healthcare, education quality and social security and standard of living, and had trust in the national government, according to the report.

The UNDP publishes the annual assessment based on three broad elements -- a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living.

“Bangladesh has shown tremendous progress in human development over the last two decades. Our average annual growth of HDI is better than any other countries in South Asia,” Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said at the launching of the report at the NEC Conference Room of planning ministry.

“Our social indicators show that we are doing better in health, education, life expectancy at birth while our per capita income is increasing,” he said.

While presenting key findings of the report, Selim Jahan, director of the Human Development Report Office of the UN and the lead author of HDR 2016, cautioned against paying too much attention to national averages.

“In order to further advance, we need to examine more closely not just what has been achieved, but also who has been excluded and why,” he said.

Selim, however, said the progress of Bangladesh in the HDI was remarkable with the country's index value increasing in the last few years.

The average life expectancy in Bangladesh is 72 years. Besides, Bangladesh is well ahead of India and Pakistan in the case of under 5 mortality rate and gender equality, he said.

Bangladesh has been most successful in translating its income into human development. But, he said, many African countries could not do that although their per capita income is higher than Bangladesh.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam said Bangladesh has become a role model among developing countries as its progress in recent years has impressed the world.

“We have to continue our development march for providing benefits to the people, especially the marginalised and excluded ones,” he said.

Principal Coordinator for SDG Affairs at Prime Minister's Office Abul Kalam Azad said, “Bangladesh has done tremendous jobs in achieving MDGs and we are taking all-out preparation to successfully implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) also.”

Chairing the launching session, Shamsul Alam, member, GED, Planning Commission, said, “Bangladesh is marching forward unabated both in economic and social fronts. We are graduating from a least developed country to a newly developing nation.”