India climbed one spot to 130 among 189 countries in the latest human development index released Friday by the United Nations Development Programme.
Within South Asia, India’s human development index (HDI) value is above the average of 0.638 for the region, with Bangladesh and Pakistan, countries with similar population size, being ranked 136 and 150 respectively.
In 2016, India’s HDI value of 0.624 put it at 131 rank.
The HDI is a summary measure for assessing long-term progress in three basic dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living.
India’s HDI value for 2017 is 0.640, which put the country in the medium human development category, according to the Human Development Report (HDR) released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Norway, Switzerland, Australia, Ireland and Germany led the ranking, while Niger, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Chad and Burundi have the lowest scores in the HDI’s measurement of national achievements in health, education and income.
“Still, India performs better than its neighbours Bangladesh and Pakistan, ranking 127 out 160 countries on the Gender Inequality Index,” the UNDP said.