UAE ranks first in Arab World in Human Development Report 2020

The UAE ranked first in the Arab World in the Human Development Report 2020 issued by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), advancing by four positions from last year’s report and ranking 31st globally out of a total of 189 countries.

The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistic composite index of life expectancy, education (Literacy Rate, Gross Enrollment Ratio at different levels and Net Attendance Ratio), and per capita income indicators, which are used to rank countries into four tiers of human development.

Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Chairman of the UAE Competitiveness Council, said that the UAE, according to the national strategy to prepare for the next 50 years is envisaging the future with an ambitious vision, as well as reinforcing the culture of excellence, to be among the world’s top countries in terms of overall competitiveness.

Due to the vision and directives of its leadership, the country is proving, daily, its leadership in human development by ranking first in the Arab World and 31st globally, he added, stressing that the progress achieved by the UAE in global competitiveness reports are due to the successful policies adopted by its government that focus on developing national human resources and achieving the highest levels of advancement in the areas of education, health and quality of life, to achieve the country’s sustainable development in all sectors.

Hanan Mansour Ahli, Acting Director of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre, stated that by ranking first in the Arab World and 31st in the world and achieving progress every year, the UAE has demonstrated the hard work of its government in providing the highest levels of community wellbeing, as well as the significant support offered to citizens and cadres taking part in the country’s development process.

The 30th anniversary edition of the Human Development Report, ''The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene'', the UAE scored 0.890 points, advancing from last year’s total by 0.024 points.

The annual report takes into account factors including life expectancy at birth, expected years of schooling, mean total years of schooling, and gross national income per capita.

According to the report, life expectancy at birth in the UAE is 78 years, which falls under Goal 3 of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030, (Ensuring healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages). The country’s expected years of schooling is 14.3 years, with mean total years of schooling being 12.1 years, falling under Goal 4 (Ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all). The report highlights the fact that the country’s share of GDP is US$67,462, falling under Goal 8 of the SDGs which focuses on inclusive economic growth, productivity growth, job creation and entrepreneurship. Important part of economic growth is promoting policies that encourage entrepreneurship and job creation..

Norway ranked the first in the world, followed by Ireland, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Iceland. The UK ranked 13th while the US ranked 17th, and Japan and Israel were both ranked 19th, with Spain ranking 25th, and France 26th.