Nepal ranked 142 out of 177 countries in UN's 2007 Human Development Index (HDI),

Nepal ranked 142 out of 177 countries in UN's 2007 Human Development Index (HDI), which measures achievements in terms of life expectancy, educational status and standard of living.


The Global Human Development Report (HDR) for 2007/08 released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Tuesday states that enrollment in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Nepal is up to 58.1 percent from 56.1 percent last year and life expectancy of Nepalis has increased to 62.6 years from 62.1 years of last year. Similarly, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has increased by one third and purchasing power parity in US dollar terms has also increased.

Although in 2006 Nepal was placed at 138th spot, major adjustment was made in the index later due to shift in the statistics and Nepal ended at 144 th spot among the 177 countries on the HDI .

But despite positive changes in key indicators Nepal trails behind all the South Asian countries in terms of HDI. Sri Lanka (99 th) is the top among South Asian countries in terms of HDI, It is followed by Maldives (100th), India (128th), Bhutan (133rd), Pakistan (136th), Bangladesh (140th ) and Nepal.

Iceland has left Norway behind to take the top post this year. Norway had held the number one rank for the past six years.

The report notes that over a period of fifteen years, Nepal's life expectancy at birth increased by more than eight years, GDP per capita increased by one third and adult literacy rate grew by 18 percentage points.

But on the flip side, in terms of Human Poverty Index (HPI) the country ranked 84th among 108 developing countries. Furthermore, 17.4 percent of the population has probability of not surviving past the age of 40, adult literacy rate is merely 51.4 percent, 10 percent people are without access to safe water and 48 percent of children are underweight.

The report also states that the gender inequality is high in the country. In terms of gender related development index (GDI), Nepal ranks 134 th. Similarly, Nepal's HDI of 0.534 is well below the regional average of South Asia and substantially below the average of HDI for all developing countries.

The theme of this year's HDR is 'Fighting Climate Change: Human Solidarity in a Divided World' and seeks to draw attention to the devastating effects of climate change. It says that climate change has already led to rise in exposure to droughts, floods and storms and is destroying opportunity and reinforcing inequality in mainly third world countries.

"Avalanches and floods pose special risks to densely populated mountain regions. One of the countries facing severe risks today is Nepal, where glaciers are retreating at a rate of several meters each year. Lakes formed by melting glacier waters are expanding at an alarming rate - the Tsho Rolpa lake being a case in point, having increased more than sevenfold in the last 50 years", states the report.

The HDI forms part of the Human Development Report 2007, a flagship study produced annually by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It was released simultaneously in Brasilia and at UN Headquarters in New York on Tuesday. nepalnews.com ag Nov 28 07