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Human Development Index (HDI) 2006

While Bhutan has shown a steady improvement in the global Human Development Index (HDI) ranking in recent years, this year Bhutan's ranking fell a step back, according to UNDP Human Development Report, 2006.

With an overall HDI of 0.538 Bhutan was ranked 135 out of 177 countries, from 134 in 2005, according to the report which was released, in Thimphu jointly by UNDP and the National Environment Commission.

But Bhutan's HDI value had increased from 0.536 in 2005 to 0.538 in 2006 mainly because of increase in the life expectancy component.

A UN spokesperson said that while HDI is valued as an important tool to analyse trends, one has to be cautious when comparing it with HDIs in different editions of the report.

"As international agencies continue to improve their statistics, including updating the data, the year to year changes in the HDI often reflects revisions to data rather than real changes in the country," the spokesperson said.

Moreover, most of the data were from statistics collected in 2004 or before which implies that Bhutan's data, in some cases, is not in line with the national estimates. For instance, life expectancy rate, according to national data, is 66.1, against 64 as reflected in the report.

"This indicates that there is need to work on more updated data for Bhutan by using the census 2005 results," said the spokesperson.

This year, there is a shift in positions among the SAARC countries, which are grouped in the Middle Human Development category among 83 countries.

While Bhutan ranks low at 72 with Nepal and Bangladesh closely behind, Pakistan has moved a step ahead at 71. Sri Lanka, which leads the region in the global index, has moved up six steps from 96 in 2005. India and Maldives have moved up seven and four steps respectively.

There is also a major shift in positions at the top. While Norway still holds the league, Ireland has replaced Luxembourg to take the fourth place, pushing the latter down the line at 12th position. Ranking fifth, Sweden replaces Canada to be on the top five. The United States, the world's largest economy, has moved up two steps from 11th position in 2004.

The report states that, as with any index that aggregates data across several areas of achievement, the HDI is also subject to change given the shifts in statistical reporting systems. "In some cases these shifts can affect a country's ranking in either a positive or negative direction, regardless of underlying performance," states the report.

The report elaborates that some 32 countries have, in the past, included adult education when reporting school enrolment. "By definition the school enrolment data used in the HDI should not include adult education. This has been rectified and this could mean that most countries would have an adverse effect on the HDI ranking," states the report.

The HDI, an integral part of the report, ranks countries based on wider issues of human development like life expectancy, school enrolment and literacy, rather than just the income.

A composite measure, the HDI focuses mainly on three measurable dimensions of human development - living a long and healthy life, being educated and having a decent standard of living that clearly shows the distinction between income and human well-being.

The HDI, this year, highlights the large gaps in well-being and life chances that continue to divide the interconnected world. The word "global village", states the report, does not hold true when inspected through the lens of human development. "It appears deeply divided between the streets of the haves and the have nots," the report states.

The report also states that HDI rank does not always depend on income rank or vice versa. The United States, whose citizens are on average the second richest in the world after Luxembourg, stands six places lower in its HDI rank than its income rank.

This year's report delves in the twin themes of "water for life and livelihood", two critical foundations for human development and one of the main MDG targets. The report points out despite the finance, technology, and capacity to improve things, more than one billion people are still denied the right to clean water and 2.6 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation.

by Karma Choden, Kuensel, Bhutan's National Newspaper, 2006