Latest news with #HumanDevelopmentReport

Express Tribune

09-06-2025

Business
Express Tribune

Pakistan & AI

The recent Human Development Report published by the UNDP presents a stark reminder of Pakistan's precarious position in the global digital and economic order. Ranked among the 26 countries with the lowest Human Development Index, Pakistan is at a critical inflexion point - one where the decisions made today will determine whether it advances with the rest of the world or is left further behind. The theme of this year's report focuses on AI and its vast potential to accelerate human development. While many nations have begun leveraging AI to enhance economic productivity, improve governance and reform public service delivery, Pakistan's digital ecosystem remains largely unchanged. This is despite the country being home to one of the largest freelancing communities globally and a promising, youthful tech workforce. Unfortunately, as the report highlights, Pakistan has not capitalised on its digital potential. Digital inequalities, shaped by broader socioeconomic divides, continue to restrict access to education, infrastructure and opportunity. These gaps are not only limiting individual potential but are also constraining national progress. Meanwhile, the global race to dominate AI is accelerating rapidly. In a striking display of strategic diplomacy and economic ambition, US President Donald Trump recently visited the Middle East, accompanied by top executives from major American tech companies, such as Elon Musk, OpenAI's Sam Altman, Nvidia's Jensen Huang and Palantir's Alex Karp. During high-level meetings with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, these tech leaders negotiated and finalised transformative AI investment deals worth billions of dollars. One of the most notable outcomes was a $500 billion agreement between OpenAI and the government of Abu Dhabi. The deal is set to create one of the world's largest AI hubs in the UAE, covering 25 sq-km and requiring energy equivalent to five nuclear reactors. With this, the UAE positions itself as the regional epicentre for AI development, while Saudi Arabia and Qatar are also securing similar strategic partnerships with US tech giants. These developments are not distant diplomatic footnotes; they carry direct consequences for Pakistan. For decades, Pakistan's economy has relied heavily on exporting labour - both low-skilled workers and highly-trained professionals - to the Gulf. The remittances they send home form a substantial pillar of the country's forex reserves. However, as Gulf countries pivot toward AI-driven automation to replace manual, repetitive and even complex cognitive tasks, the demand for foreign labour is likely to decrease dramatically. According to experts, roles such as cashiers, truck drivers and clerical workers are among the first to be automated. Even software developers and specialists in fields like radiology and pathology may eventually be displaced by machines capable of performing such tasks faster and more accurately. With nearly 42% of Pakistan's workforce engaged in jobs vulnerable to automation, the risks are not hypothetical; they are imminent. Compounding the challenge is Pakistan's internal digital divide. The UNDP reports that half of the country's population still lacks access to smartphones, computers and reliable internet connectivity. This means millions are not only excluded from the digital economy but are also unprepared for the transformations it will bring. Without urgent intervention, this divide could become a chasm, further marginalising vulnerable groups and reinforcing systemic inequalities. While Pakistan has made some progress with initiatives like the National AI Policy 2024, policy documents alone cannot drive change. What is required is a coordinated, long-term national strategy focused on three key priorities: expanding digital infrastructure and access; investing in digital skills and education; and preparing public institutions to manage and regulate AI development effectively and equitably. The AI revolution presents an opportunity, but a profound challenge too. If Pakistan fails to act with vision and urgency, it risks being economically and strategically sidelined in a world where AI is rapidly becoming the defining force of progress.

[Graphic News] S. Korea places 20th in UN quality of life ranking

Korea Herald

26-05-2025

Politics
Korea Herald

[Graphic News] S. Korea places 20th in UN quality of life ranking

South Korea ranked 20th out of 193 countries in the United Nations Development Program's Human Development Index, which evaluates the quality of life in each country. According to the UNDP's 2025 Human Development Report, South Korea achieved an HDI score of 0.937 for 2023, up from 0.928 the previous year. Despite the increase, the country slipped one spot in the global ranking, from 19th to 20th. Iceland topped the list, followed by Norway, Switzerland and Denmark. Among neighboring countries, Japan rose one place to 23rd, while China fell three spots to 78th. The HDI is a composite index that quantifies a country's quality of life by factoring in life expectancy, expected years of schooling, average years of schooling and gross national income per capita.

Business Recorder

12-05-2025

Business
Business Recorder

Down there with the worst

EDITORIAL: Pakistan's descent to 168th out of 193 countries in the latest Human Development Index (HDI) ranking is an indictment of decades of governance that prioritised short-term economic indicators over long-term investment in people. As of the UNDP's 2025 Human Development Report, Pakistan now ranks among the world's 26 lowest-scoring countries — a category overwhelmingly composed of war-torn or desperately poor Sub-Saharan African states, and only one other South Asian country: Afghanistan. This new classification is not merely embarrassing; it is revealing. Pakistan's policymakers have long pointed to growth spurts, booming construction, rising remittances, or even stock market rallies as signs of progress. But these celebrations never masked the ground reality for most Pakistanis. Even in years when GDP growth neared 6 or 7 percent, Pakistan's HDI score remained stubbornly low. The economy grew, but people did not prosper. Development, in the human sense, never took root. The HDI, unlike GDP, captures a more complete picture of life. It measures not just income, but life expectancy and education — the very foundations of a functional society. For Pakistan to rank this low in 2025, despite decades of rhetoric about reform and digital revolutions, is to admit failure where it matters most. Literacy, maternal and child health, nutrition, and access to clean water remain chronic deficits. The education system is broken at the base, while public health infrastructure is perpetually under-resourced and overstretched. This is not a problem that began yesterday. It has been hardwired into the country's development priorities for generations. Instead of building institutions, governments outsourced education and health to underfunded provinces or private entities. Instead of investing in people, the state spent on prestige projects — highways, metro lines, power plants — without laying the social groundwork to make them count. And when debt-fuelled growth faltered, there was no social safety net to fall back on. The masses were left to fend for themselves. The UNDP report underlines that global human development is stalling, but it also shows that Pakistan is falling behind even within the group of low-income countries. The gap between nations with 'very high' and 'low' HDI scores — once slowly narrowing — has now begun to widen again. In this divergence, Pakistan is firmly on the wrong side. And it has reached this point not just because of global headwinds like conflict, Covid-19, or climate shocks — which have affected everyone — but because of its own refusal to confront structural rot. It is also telling that this year's Human Development Report focuses heavily on artificial intelligence and the possibilities it opens for countries willing to invest in the future. The implication is clear: countries that modernise, reform, and reimagine their systems with technology at the centre can leap ahead, even from low baselines. Pakistan, however, remains caught between two worlds — reluctant to reform, yet eager to declare itself open for business in the digital age. The contradiction is glaring. The country continues to produce tens of thousands of unemployed graduates each year with little digital fluency. It continues to run schools where basic arithmetic and literacy are not guaranteed. And it continues to invest more political capital in regulating dissent or controlling narratives than in improving what matters to people's lives — access to doctors, teachers, jobs, clean air, or safe drinking water. Pakistan's chronic underdevelopment is not simply a result of poverty. It is also a result of misplaced priorities, weak institutions, elite capture, and the persistent failure of successive governments — military and civilian — to put human capital at the centre of national planning. GDP figures can be manipulated by temporary inflows or accounting tricks. HDI figures cannot. They expose not just how a country is doing today, but what future it is building — or failing to build. With the 2030 sustainable development targets slipping further out of reach, and even basic development indicators going into reverse, the choices ahead are stark. Either the state undertakes a radical rethinking of its development paradigm — one that centres the citizen, not just the economy — or Pakistan will remain locked in a cycle of borrowed growth and deepening inequality. The warning signs are all there. And now, so is the global label: one of the least developed nations in the world. The longer that is accepted as normal, the harder it will be to escape. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025

Deccan Herald

09-05-2025

Business
Deccan Herald

Human development: Gaps delay goals

India has made a slight improvement in its ranking on the latest Human Development Index (HDI), but the report also shows that the country has much more to achieve. It has recorded a three-place rise from its 2022 rank of 133 to 130, out of 193 countries, but the fact remains that India is still in the bottom one-third of the world. According to the Human Development Report, 'A Matter of Choice: People and Possibilities in the Age of AI', India has registered an HDI value increase to 0.685 in 2023 from 0.676 in 2022. Considering that the pandemic years badly set the country back, just as much as the rest of the world, India's performance is credit-worthy in three areas. These are 'a long and healthy life, access to knowledge, and a decent standard of living'. India's life expectancy improved from 56.6 years in 1990 to 72 years in 2023. Children's tenure in school increased from 8.2 years to 13 years and the per capita income from $2,167.22 to $9046.76 during the period. Initiatives such as MGNREGS and RTE have a role in India also faces serious challenges in other areas – there is a high level of income inequality that has reduced the country's HDI by as much as 30%. While inequality in health and education has lessened, it remains high in terms of gender and income. Female labour force participation has improved but remains low. Political representation of women is also low and the constitutional amendment to improve this is yet to come into force. Much of India's neighbourhood mirrors these shortcomings, except Pakistan and Afghanistan – both have reported poorer performance. China and Sri Lanka have secured higher positions in the DBRS upgrades India's sovereign credit the report shows that human development has stalled to a 35-year low because of various factors including the Covid pandemic and the economic slowdown in most parts of the world. The annual HDI increase was the lowest in 2023 since 1990. A positive takeaway from the report is the widespread hope that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will boost human development. It is expected that AI will improve productivity, create jobs, and show results in areas such as education and health. The report says India has been able to retain 20% of its AI researchers. The country needs to use AI in diverse areas such as agriculture, healthcare, and public service delivery. At the same time, adoption needs to be backed by strong policies and safeguards to prevent AI from exacerbating inequalities.

Iraq Business

08-05-2025

Business
Iraq Business

Iraq Ranks "Medium" in Human Development

By John Lee. The UN's latest Human Development Report ranks Iraq in 126th place (jointly with Eswatini) out of 170 countries, based on data from 2023: Human Development Index (HDI) Global Rank: Joint-126th HDI Score: 0.695 Category: Medium Human Development Inequality-adjusted HDI (IHDI): 0.534 HDI Loss due to Inequality: 23.2% Health & Income Life Expectancy at Birth: 72.3 years Gross National Income (GNI) per capita (PPP): $12,654 Education Expected Years of Schooling: 12.4 years Mean Years of Schooling: 6.8 years Education Disparity Index: 29.7% (highest among human development indicators) Gender Disparity in Education: Girls: 13.7 expected years Boys: 12.6 expected years Adult Women (mean years): 5.2 years Adult Men (mean years): 6.3 years Income Distribution Top 10% Income Share: 27.3% Bottom 40% Income Share: 20.5% Top 1% Income Share: 15.7% Gini Coefficient: 29.5 Average Income by Gender: Women: $10,750 Men: $16,531 Women's Earnings as % of Men's: 65% Gender Development Gender Development Index (GDI): 0.964 (Group 2: low gender disparity) Female HDI: 0.682 Male HDI: 0.708 Female Life Expectancy Advantage: +3.7 years (Source: UNDP)