Egypt's PM, JICA chief discuss boosting investment, education ties at TICAD 9    Egyptian pound wavers vs. USD in early trade    SCZONE showcases investment opportunities to eight Japanese companies    Egypt urges Israel to accept Gaza deal amid intensifying fighting    Egypt, ADIB explore strategic partnership in digital healthcare, investment    Egypt's PM meets Tokyo governor, witnesses signing of education agreements    Egypt welcomes international efforts for peace in Ukraine    Al-Sisi, Macron reaffirm strategic partnership, coordinate on Gaza crisis    Egypt's Sisi, France's Macron discuss Gaza ceasefire efforts in phone call    Contact Reports Strong 1H-2025 on Financing, Insurance Gains    Egypt, India's BDR Group in talks to establish biologics, cancer drug facility    AUC graduates first cohort of film industry business certificate    Egypt to tighten waste rules, cut rice straw fees to curb pollution    Egypt recovers collection of ancient artefacts from Netherlands    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    Egypt, Namibia explore closer pharmaceutical cooperation    Fitch Ratings: ASEAN Islamic finance set to surpass $1t by 2026-end    Renowned Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim dies at 88    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Idris discuss strategic ties, stability    Egypt to inaugurate Grand Egyptian Museum on 1 November    Egypt's Sisi: Egypt is gateway for aid to Gaza, not displacement    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Egypt ranks 101 in the Human Development Report
Published in Almasry Alyoum on 05 - 11 - 2010

Egypt ranks as a medium development country, coming 101 out of 169 countries on the human development index, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) report released on Thursday said.
Entitled "The Real Wealth of Nations: Pathways to Human Development", the report was unveiled at the UN by secretary general Ban Ki-moon. The index measures the extent of states' achievements in various indicators including, amongst others, areas of health, education and income. Norway, Australia and New Zealand were at the top of the indicators and Niger, Congo and Zimbabwe were ranked as the lowest developed countries.
Arab countries ranking higher than Egypt included Algeria (84), Bahrain (39), Tunisia (81), UAE (32), Saudi Arabia (55), Kuwait (47), and Jordan (82). Of the 135 countries analyzed according to their improvements in their human development indices, five are Arab states, lead by Oman, and closely followed by Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.
The report pointed out that the source of this progress is not due to development of oil and gas revenues as might be expected but is rather the result of "the substantial achievements made by these countries in health and education, in other words, in the two human development dimensions not associated with income."
In the overall category of the human development, Syria ranked as a medium development country at number 111, and Morocco at 114, and in the low human development category Yemen ranked 133, Mauritania 136 and Sudan 154.
The report also pointed out that the Arab Human Development Report for 2009 showed very strong discrepancies between actual practices and official support for democracy and human rights and the rule of law.
The report pointed out that some countries are characterized by multi-party systems, including Jordan, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt and Yemen, while Lebanon and Morocco differ from other countries in terms of political pluralism that has prevailed since their independence.
According to the report, "Many governments continue to impose restrictions on political freedoms. For instance, all Arab Gulf States, with the exception of Bahrain, prohibit the establishment of political organizations."
It went on to say that "the region has recently witnessed remarkable progress in terms of democratic reforms, but that many of these reforms were countered by increased restrictions on the rights of citizens in other areas."
It was noted however that these reforms have not led to "a change in the structural power base in Arab countries, where the executive authorities still assume control with no accountability whatsoever."
The report took Egypt as an example saying, "Egypt amended its constitution to allow multiple candidates to stand in the presidential elections, but then immediately passed a law restricting this right to licensed parties."
Improvements in the education sector in most Arab countries were reported, particularly in the increased enrollment of girls in school. The overall rate of school enrollment in the Arab countries doubled during the past four decades; rising from 34 percent in 1970 to 64 percent in 2010 said the report.
In the field of gender equality, it was noted, that labor laws sometimes contribute to the reduction of employment opportunities for females. In Egypt for example, women are not allowed to work at night in most industries, because of legal restrictions. The wage gap between the sexes remains wide in many countries of the world.
The average life expectancy at birth in Arab countries rose from 51 years in 1970 to 70 years in 2010, which represents the best improvement witnessed in any part of the world.
The report emphasized the negative effects of armed conflict on human development. Ms. Amat al Alim Alsoswa, the Assistant of the Secretary General, Assistant Administrator of United Nations Development Program and Director of its Regional Bureau for Arab States said, "The Arab region's share of conflict is on average more than three times more than that of other regions of the world during the 18 year period which extended from 1990 to 2008."
This year's report added three new indices to monitor progress in the area of human development. The first measures inequality of distribution in the population, the second, gender inequality index, reflects women's disadvantage in three dimensions—reproductive health, empowerment and the labor market , and the third measures multiple deprivations at the individual level in health, education and standard of living .
Translated from the Arabic Edition.


Clic here to read the story from its source.