The UN Development Program (UNDP) published the 2009 Human Development Index this week, examining three dimensions of human welfare: living a long and healthy life, having a decent standard of living, and being educated. The Index considers 182 countries, and divides them into four categories: very high human development, high human development, medium human development, and low human development.
The first 38 countries made the very high development category, and include Norway (ranked 1), Australia (ranked 2), and the US (ranked 13). Countries 39-83, which include Bahrain (39), Chile (44) and Peru (78), achieved high human development. The largest number of countries, numbers 84-158, falls into the middle development category, and El Salvador (106) falls somewhere in the middle of this group. Other middle development countries include Armenia (84), Guatemala (122), and Honduras (124). The bottom tier include countries such as Togo (159), Ethiopia (171) and Niger (182), that have achieved little in terms of human development.
Despite falling from a raking of 103 in 2007/08 to 106 this year, El Salvador’s overall score rose from .735 to .747. Since the 1990’s El Salvador’s performance has increased at an annual rate of .99% from a raw score of .573.
|
Year |
Life Expectancy at Birth (years)/Ranking |
Adult Literacy Rate (% above 15 years of age)/ Ranking |
Combined Gross Enrollment Ratio (%)/ Ranking |
GDP Per Capita (PPP US$)/ Ranking |
HDI Value/ Ranking |
| 2009 | 71.3/ 94 | 82.0/ 96 | 74.0/ 88 | 5,804/ 99 | .747/ 106 |
| 2008 | 71.3/ 86 | 80.6/ 89 | 70.4/ 100 | 5,255/ 100 | .735/103 |
While these indicators provide an overall view of how a country is development, the UNDP also created other indices that provide a more complete picture of such issues as poverty and the empowerment of women. The Human Poverty Index (HPI-1) for example examines the proportions of people living below the measure of the HDI. While considering the same issues of health, education and standard of living, the HPI-1 also looks at adult literacy, percentage of population expected to live past the age of 40, number of people not using water sources, and the percentage of youth who are underweight.
This year, El Salvador’s HPI-1 score is 14.6%, which gave them a ranking of 63 of the 135 countries considered. In 2008, El Salvador had a score of 15.1% and was ranked 35 of 108 countries. (See table below for 2009/2008 scores)
|
Year |
Probability of not surviving to age 40 |
Adult illiteracy rate |
People not using an improved water source |
Children underweight for age |
Human Poverty Index |
| 2009 Report (data from 2007) | 10.7/ 89 | 18.0/ 96 | 16/ 88 | 10/ 64 | 14.6/ 63 |
| 2008 Report (data from 2004) | 9.6/ 97 | 19.4/ 114 | 16/ 58 | 10/53 | 15.1/35 |
To cover gender-related imbalances not covered by the HDI, the UNDP added the Gender-related Development Index (GDI) in 1995. The GDI measures the same indicators as the HDI, though it captures inequalities by adjusting downwards to reflect the status of women. The greater the difference between the HDI and the GDI numbers, the greater the inequalities between men and women. The 2009 report indicates a 99.1% difference between the HDI and GDI, with 85 of the 155 countries of the GDI scoring better.
The UNDP also considers migration, and the economic benefits that result from the money remitted back home to help family members or the greater community. The 2009 Human Development Report noted that El Salvador has an emigration rate of 14.3% – 86.8% of Salvadoran immigrants are living in the U.S.
Over the past few months, the Funes Administration has begun enacting reforms to the health and educational systems that, if successful, will result in higher levels of development. The country, however, continues to face significant economic development issues that have been exacerbated by the global economic crisis. Funes and team has a lot of work ahead to lessen the dependence on remittances and create sustainable jobs at home.
Voices on the Border 