September 17: Nepal’s HDI value for 2017 is 0.574 which puts the country in the medium human development category, according to a report published by UNDP. As per the report, Nepal lies in the 149th position out of 189 countries and territories surveyed by the organisation.
The report further states that Nepal’s HDI value increased from 0.378 to 0.574 between 1990 and 2017, an increase of 51.9 percent. However, Nepal’s 2017 HDI of 0.574 is below the average of 0.645 for countries in the medium human development group and below the average of 0.638 for countries in South Asia.
The HDI is a summary measure for assessing long-term progress in three basic dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living.
A long and healthy life is measured by life expectancy. Knowledge level is measured by mean years of education among the adult population, which is the average number of years of education received in a life-time by people aged 25 years and older; and access to learning and knowledge by expected years of schooling for children of school-entry age, which is the total number of years of schooling a child of school-entry age can expect to receive if prevailing patterns of age-specific enrolment rates stay the same throughout the child's life. Standard of living is measured by Gross National Income (GNI) per capita expressed in constant 2011 international dollars converted using purchasing power parity (PPP) conversion rates.
Table A reviews Nepal’s progress in each of the HDI indicators. Between 1990 and 2017, Nepal’s life expectancy at birth increased by 16.3 years, mean years of schooling increased by 2.9 years and expected years of schooling increased by 4.7 years. Nepal’s GNI per capita increased by about 111.6 percent between 1990 and 2017.
Table A: Nepal’s HDI trends based on consistent time series data and new goalposts
|
|
Life expectancy at birth |
Expected years of schooling |
Mean years of schooling |
GNI per capita (2011 PPP$) |
HDI value |
|
1990 |
54.3 |
7.5 |
2.0 |
1,168 |
0.378 |
|
1995 |
58.5 |
8.1 |
2.2 |
1,322 |
0.410 |
|
2000 |
62.4 |
9.0 |
2.4 |
1,526 |
0.446 |
|
2005 |
65.5 |
9.6 |
2.8 |
1,689 |
0.475 |
|
2010 |
67.9 |
12.0 |
3.3 |
2,001 |
0.529 |
|
2015 |
69.9 |
12.2 |
4.7 |
2,353 |
0.566 |
|
2016 |
70.3 |
12.2 |
4.9 |
2,334 |
0.569 |
|
2017 |
70.6 |
12.2 |
4.9 |
2,471 |
0.574 |
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