According to a report launched by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Pakistan ranks 145 out of 187 countries and territories this year while India is at 134 and Bangladesh at 146 in Human Development Index (HDI) . Pakistan’s HDI value for 2011 is 0.504, in the low human development category, positioning the country. Between 1980 and 2011, Pakistan’s HDI value increased from 0.359 to 0.504, an increase of 41.0 per cent or average annual increase of about 1.1 per cent. In 2010’s HDR, Pakistan was ranked 125 out of 169 countries. However, it is misleading to compare values and rankings with those of previously published reports, because underlying data and methods have changed, as well as number of countries included in HDI.
Gender Inequality Index (GII) reflects gender-based inequalities in three dimensions reproductive health, empowerment, and economic activity. Pakistan has a GII value of 0.573, ranking it 115 out of 146 countries in the 2011 index. In Pakistan, 21.0 per cent of parliamentary seats are held by women, and 23.5 per cent of adult women have reached a secondary or higher level of education compared to 46.8 per cent of their male counterparts. For every 100,000 live births, 260 women die from pregnancy related causes; and adolescent fertility rate is 31.6 births per 1000 live births. Female participation in labour market is 21.7 per cent compared to 84.9 for men. In comparison, India and Bangladesh are ranked at 129 and 112 respectively on this index. In Pakistan, women’s parliamentarian representation has improved with 21 per cent of parliamentary seats held by women. GII reflects gender-based inequalities in three dimensions – reproductive health, empowerment, and economic activity. Pakistan has a GII value of 0.573, ranking it 115 out of 146 countries in 2011 index.
In GII, South Asian women are shown to lag significantly behind men in education and labour force participation. Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) identifies multiple deprivations in the same households in education, health and standard of living. In Pakistan 49.4 per cent of the population suffer multiple deprivations while an additional 11.0 per cent are vulnerable to multiple deprivations. The breadth of deprivation (intensity) in Pakistan, which is the average percentage of deprivation experienced by people in multidimensional poverty, is 53.4 per cent. MPI, which is the share of population that is multi-dimensionally poor, adjusted by intensity of deprivations, is 0.264. India and Bangladesh have MPIs of 0.283 and 0.292 respectively. Norway, Australia and the Netherlands rank the highest in HDI while Democratic Republic of the Congo, Niger and Burundi are at the bottom.
Deputy Chairman Planning Commission of Pakistan Dr Nadeem-ul-Haq said the country needs to improve governance at every level.” We need to change the entire software of the country starting from policy decisions to management of cities to improve human development index, youth needed to be involved in development”. He said that we need to develop our cities as per international standards.
UNDP country Director Toshihiro Tanaka said Pakistan is among those countries which are being affected by climate change and we can say recent floods and rains and even earthquake of 2005 is a result of climatic change. Hence government also needs to focus on improving environmental conditions he added. Dr Adel Najam Vice Chancellor, Lahore University of Management Sciences said recent disasters, like floods, earthquake, law and order is said to be main reason for below human index Pakistan, that is affecting from the conflict in the region. Bushra Gohar, Member National Assembly said development progress in world’s poorest countries could be halted or even reversed by mid-century unless bold steps are taken to slow climate change, prevent further environmental damage, and reduce deep inequalities within and among nations.
2011’s report argues that environmental sustainability can be most fairly and effectively achieved by addressing health, education, income, and gender disparities together with global action on energy production and ecosystem protection. It further warns that South Asia must overcome acute poverty and internal inequalities to maintain current rates of progress. According to Report, South Asia has the world’s highest levels of urban air pollution in its ranks, with cities in Bangladesh and Pakistan suffering from acute air contamination. The report also warns that deteriorating environmental conditions and increasingly extreme weather conditions —such as severe floods that have hit Pakistan for two years in a row—could undermine economic progress in many countries in the region. In addition to providing deeper understanding of how environmental sustainability is inextricably linked to inequality, the annual report also provides Human Development Index (HDI) which measures national achievement in health, education and income. It was Pakistan’s late economist Mahbub ul Haq, who devised HDI in the first Human Development Report in 1990 together with the Nobel laureate, Amartya Sen.
