Kazakhstan shows high human development, moves up one point in UN Ranking

ASTANA. November 5. KAZINFORM Kazakhstan has achieved significant results on indicators of Human Development Index (HDI) this year, ranking 68th among 187 countries, according to the United Nations 2011 Human Development Report presented on November 2.

The country's HDI value for 2011 equaled 0.745, which improves Kazakhstan's rank by one point compared to last year. In 2010, the national HDI stood at 0.740, placing the country to the 66^th place, yet among 169 countries. As in the previous year, the country was again included in the list of 46 countries with high human development. In the period of 2005-2011, Kazakhstan's HDI ranking moved two points upward, the HDI value increasing from 0.714 to 0.745.

As the report notes, the HDI is a composite index measuring average achievement in three basic dimensions of human development - a long and healthy life, knowledge, and a decent standard of living. The indicator of the first dimension - the quality of life - is life expectancy at birth. In 2011, this indicator equaled 67.0 years in Kazakhstan, whereas in 2010, it was reported as 65.4 years. The second dimension - the quality of education - is measured with mean years of schooling and expected years of schooling. On these indicators, Kazakhstan demonstrates 10.4 and 15.1 years respectively. As for the standard of living, this dimension is measured by the value of gross national income (GNI) per capita. In 2011, Kazakhstan's GNI per capita equaled US $ 10,585, the Kazakh MFA's press service reports.

In addition, the 2011 report includes values of Gender Inequality Index, which represents a composite measure that reflects inequality in achievements between women and men. In 2011, Kazakhstan has ranked 56^th on this index, demonstrating a significant improvement compared to 2008 when it occupied the 67^th position.

As for the index of Multidimensional Poverty, that is the percentage of the population that is multidimensionally poor, Kazakhstan shows a very small value of 0.002. Moreover, the report indicates zero for the percentage of the population in severe poverty. As in previous years, Kazakhstan has demonstrated a high adult literacy rate, which is equal to 99.7 percent.

The 2011 report shows Kazakhstan trailing Russia by two points and outpacing Turkmenistan, ranking 102^nd, Uzbekistan (115), Kyrgyzstan (126), and Tajikistan (127).

Among former Soviet Union countries, Belarus ranks highest with the 65^th position followed by Russia, while Tajikistan ranks lowest.

The HDI leaders are Norway, Australia, and The Netherlands, while Burundi, Niger, and the Democratic Republic of Congo have the lowest scores.

The Human Development Report is an independent yearly publication of the United Nations Development Programme. The first report was published in 1990. It introduced the human development index as a new indicator. The main idea behind HDI is that a country's health and education situation must be considered together with its economic growth when evaluating its development level.