Afghanistan inched up one place to rank 169th out of 189 countries on the 2020 Human Development Index (HDI) released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Afghanistan’s HDI score for 2019 improved to 0.511 compared to 0.496 the year before.
Afghanistan’s gross national per capita rose to $3,566 in 2019 from $2,355 in 2018 on PPP basis, according to the report.
“We need to make sure we consider the Afghanistan context as we move to the next stage of developing our programmes, that considers the balance between growth and the environment,” UNDP’s representative in Afghanistan, Abdullah Dardari, said at the national launch of the report in Afghanistan.
“We need to move from classic economic development to SDG and HDI economic development to keep the balance with human development and the environment” he said.
Ramiz Alakbarov US resident coordinator in Afghanistan, said: “We cannot continue with way we interact with nature. Development cannot be achieved at the expense if destroying our nature” –added
The Human Development Index is a summary of measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development – a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable and have a decent standard of living.
Norway topped the index, followed by Ireland and Switzerland.
