Context:
Human Development Report 2023-24 released by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Key Highlights of the Human Development Report
- The 2023-2024 Human Development Report builds on the 2021–2022 Human Development Report findings, which saw the global Human development Index value fall for the first time—two years in a row.
- India’s ranking on the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI) improved by one position in 2022 to 134 out of 193 countries ranked compared to 135 out of 191 countries in 2021.
- Top five countries in the list are Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Hong Kong, China (SAR) and Sweden.
- After a drop in 2021, India’s HDI value increases from 0.633 to 0.644 in 2022, placing the country in the medium human development category.
In 2022, India saw improvements across all HDI indicators – life expectancy, education, and Gross National Income (GNI) per capita.
- Life expectancy rose from 67.2 to 67.7 years
- Expected years of schooling reached 12.6 from 11.9
- Mean years of schooling increased to 6.57
- Gross National Income (GNI) per capita saw an increase from $6,542 to $6,951.
- GNI is the total amount of money earned by a nation’s people and businesses.
HDI Ranking of the India’s Neighbors
- China : 75th
- Sri Lanka: 78th
- Bhutan: 125th
- Bangladesh: 129th
- Nepal: 146th
- Pakistan: 164th
HDI Ranking of BRICS Countries:
- Russia: 56th
- Brazil: 89th
- South Africa: 110th
Human development Index (HDI)
- It was introduced by Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq, with assistance from Amartya Sen from India in 1990.
- The HDI was created to emphasize that people and their capabilities should be the ultimate criteria for assessing the development of a country, not economic growth alone.
- Indicators and dimensions of the Index:
Gender Inequality Index (GII)
- It is an index for the measurement of gender disparity introduced in the 2010 Human Development Report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
- In 2022, India has been ranked at 108 out of 193 countries with a score of 0.437. Its rank was 122 out of 191 countries with a score of 0.490 in the GII-2021.
Dimensions and Indicators of the Index:
| S. No. | Dimensions | Indicators |
| 1. | Reproductive health | · Maternal Mortillity Ratio · Adolescent Birth Rate |
| 2. | Empowerment | · Female and Male population with at least secondary eduction · Female and male shares of parliamentary seats |
| 3. | Labour Market | · Female and male labour force participation rates |