JEDDAH – Saudi Arabia ranked 34th in the Human Development Index (HDI) of 2014 out of a total of 187 countries and territories.



Saudi Arabia’s HDI value for 2013 is 0.836— which is in the very high human development category—positioning the country at 34 out of 187 countries and territories. Between 1980 and 2013, Saudi Arabia’s HDI value increased from 0.583 to 0.836, an increase of 43.3 percent or an average annual increase of about 1.10 percent.



Between 1980 and 2013, Saudi Arabia’s life expectancy at birth increased by 12.5 years, mean years of schooling increased by 4.5 years and expected years of schooling increased by 9.6 years. Saudi Arabia’s GNI per capita decreased by about 22.9 percent between 1980 and 2013.

The current figure is considered very high within the global indicator.



According to the 2014 Human Development Report released by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) office in Riyadh on Thursday, human development is improving in Arab states, with some countries showing very high development.



Still, there remain wide variations between these countries, as the region faces several challenges that can hinder progress.



Qatar ranks first among Arab countries in the index, while Sudan scores lowest. The region is ahead in terms of per capita income, at $15,817, which is 15 percent higher than the world average. The region, however, trails global averages in life expectancy and years of schooling.



The report, entitled “Sustaining Human Progress: Reducing Vulnerabilities and Building Resilience,” provides a human development perspective on vulnerability and proposes ways to strengthen resilience.



 The HDI is a summary measure for assessing long-term progress in three basic dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living. Just as in the 2013 HDR, a long and healthy life is measured by life expectancy.



Access to knowledge is measured by: i) mean years of education among the adult population, which is the average number of years of education received in a life-time by people aged 25 years and older; and ii) expected years of schooling for children of school-entry age, which is the total number of years of schooling a child of school-entry age can expect to receive if prevailing patterns of age-specific enrolment rates stay the same throughout the child's life. Standard of living is measured by gross national income (GNI) per capita expressed in constant 2011 international dollars converted using purchasing power parity (PPP) rates.



To ensure as much cross-country comparability as possible, the HDI is based primarily on international data from the United Nations Population Division, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Institute for Statistics and the World Bank.



The report points to major challenges in the region, including conflict, youth unemployment and inequality, which have created overlapping vulnerabilities that, if left unchecked, can hamper human development now and in the future.



“By addressing vulnerabilities, development progress and human development will become increasingly equitable and sustainable,” UNDP Administrator Helen Clark said in her report.



Ongoing conflicts in Syria and elsewhere in the region have severely affected families and created the world’s largest population of displaced people and refugees who face daunting economic and social challenges, the report further said.



Women and children, who make up the highest proportion of displaced people, face overlapping deprivations, the report added.



They often live in poverty without access to public services, such as basic health care and education. Such deprivations can cause lasting health problems, including mental health complications, and contribute to lost livelihoods, undermining long-term capabilities.



Saudi Arabia has a Gender Inequality Index (GII) value of 0.321, ranking it 56 out of 149 countries in the 2013 index. — SG