Pakistan ranked 154th on HDI 2020

Pakistan was ranked 154th among 189 countries on the UN’s Human Development Index (HDI) 2020 which was released on Tuesday.

The index usually measures a combination of factors such as health, education, and standards of living. But with this year affected by the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic and a year of immense environmental impact, it included two more factors - a nation’s carbon dioxide emissions and material footprint that puts enormous strain on the planet.

“With its new, experimental planetary pressures–adjusted Human Development Index, we hope to open a new conversation on the path ahead for each country—a path yet unexplored,” said United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Administrator Achim Steiner said as he launched the HDR 2020, a flagship study which the programme produces annually.

“Humans wield more power over the planet than ever before. In the wake of Covid-19, record-breaking temperatures and spiralling inequality, it is time to use that power to redefine what we mean by progress, where our carbon and consumption footprints are no longer hidden,” he stated.

Among other South Asian countries, India ranked at 131 on the planetary pressures-adjusted index, Bangladesh 133, Sri Lanka 72, Maldives 95, Nepal 142, and Bhutan 129.

Rich countries such as Norway, Ireland, Hong Kong (China), Iceland, Germany led the rankings, while Niger, the Central African Republic, Chad, South Sudan and Burundi have the lowest scores in the HDI measurements.

The report estimates project that by 2100 the poorest countries in the world could experience up to 100 more days of extreme weather due to climate change each year- a number that could be cut in half if the Paris Agreement on climate change is fully implemented.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 16^th, 2020.