Ethiopia’s HDI Low Despite Improvement: UNDP 2019 Report

Addis Ababa, December 10,2019 (FBC) – Even if Ethiopia’s Human Development Index (HDI) shows 65.8% increase between 2000 and 2018, it is still below the average of countries in the low human development category, according to the recent UNDP Human Development Report.

Launching the 2019 Human Development Report today, UNDP Ethiopia Resident Representative Turhan Saleh said “when you take a comprehensive measure of human development, Ethiopia has improved quite a lot because it made some good policy choices and investment in health, education and water and sanitation.”

The Resident Representative stressed that “despite the improvement Ethiopia is still below the average for low human development countries and for Sub-Saharan Africa. So we have room to catch up as it still needs to keep up even with its neighbors.”

The report positioned Ethiopia at 173rd out of the 189 countries with 0.470 value for 2018 HDI and categorized it under the low human development.

In terms of Gender Inequality Index, the report ranked Ethiopia 123rd out of 162 countries with only 37.3 percent of parliamentary seats held by women.

As inequality in a country increases, the loss in human development also increases, the report stated, adding that “in the case of Ethiopia, inequality is having a profound cost to the country.”

It also shows that the country’s loss stands at 28 percent while its Human Development Index falls to 0.337.

The HDI measures long-term progress in three basic dimensions of human development, a long and healthy life, access to knowledge as well as a decent standard of living.

According to the report, new inequalities are becoming more pronounced, particularly around tertiary education, seismic effects of technology and climate crisis, making it harder for those already behind to catch up.

Saleh pointed out that “countries need to look at inequalities beyond income, averages; and most of all beyond today.”

Source: ENA