Nowhere to go but up

You're never really ready for headlines like this...

Yesterday "La Hora", Guatemala's afternoon newspaper, splashed the following damning phrase across its front page:

"Haiti and Guatemala: The Most Backward Countries"

with the subtitle:

"UNDP presents Human Development report; in the Americas, only the Caribbean country is worse off."

OK, ouch. Why did Guatemala receive such a scathing condemnation? The lowest ranking of all the countries in Latin America, save for an impoverished island in the throes of political and social upheaval? Hardly an enviable position.

Let's take a closer glance at the report...

The Human Development Report, published each year by the United Nations Development Project, looks "beyond income to assess the level of people’s long-term well-being".

Human development is about much more than the rise or fall of national incomes. It is about creating an environment in which people can develop their full potential and lead productive, creative lives in accord with their needs and interests. People are the real wealth of nations. Development is thus about expanding the choices people have to lead lives that they value.

"UNDP: What is Human Development?"

Countries are rated in a Human Development Index (HDI) which focuses on three measurable dimensions of human development:

* living a long and healthy life

* being educated

* having a decent standard of living

"Thus it combines measures of life expectancy, school enrolment, literacy and income to allow a broader view of a country’s development than does income alone."

So here then, the moment you've all been waiting for... a select list of how the countries ranked:

1. Norway
2. Iceland
3. Australia
4. Luxembourg
5. Canada
6. Sweden
7. Switzerland
8. Ireland
9. Belgium
10. United States
11. Japan
12. Netherlands
13. Finland
14. Denmark
15. United Kingdom
.....

34. Argentina
37. Chile
46. Uruguay
47. Costa Rica
52. Cuba
53. Mexico
56. Panama
63. Brazil
69. Colombia
75. Venezuela
79. Peru
82. Ecuador
88. Paraguay
91. Belize
95. Dominican Republic
.....

104. El Salvador
112. Nicaragua
113. Bolivia
116. Honduras
117. Guatemala
153. Haiti
.....

177. Niger

Tomorrow I'll show you some of the scary numbers that earned Guatemala its place near the bottom of the heap!

Resources:

Human Development Report 2005

HDR Country Tables

Interactive Index Ranking Map (very cool)

Tags: Guatemala, Development, UNDP

Posted by elcanche at September 8, 2005 06:36 PM