Pakistan’s position in the Human Development Index (HDI) has improved by being ranked at 161st out of 191 countries.

Pakistan’s rank enhanced in 2024 relatively as Pakistan ranked 164th position in 2023 with 0.540 points.

The main characteristics of the HDI are education, healthcare, and income ranging between 0 to 1.

The report showed that the world has restored to the pre-pandemic aspects that widened the gap between poor and rich countries. It emphasized development in rich countries is at a fast pace; however, poor nations continue to live in poverty.

In the Southeast Asian region, Sri Lanka held the top place with 73rd place with 0.782 points. Bangladesh is at 129th with 0.661 points; while India is ranked 132nd with 0.633 points, Nepal at 143rd, and Afghanistan is positioned last in the region that has 0.478 points in the 180th position.

The Global Human Development Index derailed twice during the pandemic year from 2021 to 2022.

The 2023 estimate was based on life expectancy, education, and standard of living metrics that were affected because of the pandemic and the Russian war.

“After two years of actually reversing in terms of global human development with the pandemic and all its consequences, we have seen a rebound,” UNDP head, Achim Steiner told AFP.

The top five high-ranking countries in the report are Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Hong Kong, and Australia indicating economic well-being, educational opportunities and healthy life expectancy.

“Despite our deeply interconnected global societies, we are falling short. We must leverage our interdependence as well as our capacities to address our shared and existential challenges and ensure people’s aspirations are met,” he added, noting a significant human toll behind the statistics.

The US has not nestled on the top ten list of the index that there is a need to work in health and education fields for people.

The Human Development Index shows the measure of human development and its main indicators are health, knowledge, and standard of living.