RIYADH, 8 September 2005 — Saudi Arabia ranked 77th among 177 countries in the world in terms of Human Development Index but 44th by GDP per capita which stood at $13,226.
This was disclosed at a press conference yesterday by Dr. El-Mostafa Benlamlih, UN resident coordinator and UNDP resident representative, while releasing the summary of the Human Development Report 2005. The media briefing coincided with the launch of the HD Report in New York the same day.
The Kingdom’s HDI, measured in terms of life span, healthy life, level of literacy, and standard of living stood at 0.772, below Qatar’s HDI of 0.849, which was ranked first among the Arab countries. Yemen was the worst performer with an HDI of 0.489.
The report on Saudi Arabia shows how the country fares at different levels in terms of poverty alleviation, building the capabilities of women, and gender empowerment. The report, however, stresses that the statistics may not be foolproof, since they are based on the 2003 data. Moreover, there may be discrepancy between international and national data.
The Kingdom got 72nd ranking on the basis of life expectancy at birth (71.8 years), while it occupied the 136th slot on the yardstick of primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrolment ratio, with 57 percent of its population pursuing studies at various levels.
In this context Dr. El-Mostafa told newsmen that even though the Kingdom was investing heavily in providing education facilities to the Saudis, there was a problem with regard to the development of right aptitude among students. “It is much more than sticking to the curriculum. It has to do with how they learn and what attitude do they show to the learning process,” he observed.
In terms of human poverty index (HPI), which focuses on the proportion of people living below a threshold level in basic dimensions of human development, such as life span, access to education, and a decent standard of living, the Kingdom was placed 32nd among 103 countries with the HPI value standing at 14.9 percent.
According to the report, the Kingdom has to catch up with other Gulf states in terms of building the capabilities of women. Of the 140 countries that were ranked in this category, Saudi Arabia was placed 65th in terms of gender-related development index, with a value of 0.749.
The gender empowerment measure (GEM) reveals whether women take an active part in economic and public life. It focuses on gender inequality in key areas of economic and political participation and decision-making. Based on these parameters, the Kingdom got a ranking of 78 out of 140 countries. The best performer in this category among the GCC states was Kuwait and the worst Yemen.
