Malaysia Moves Up Human Development Index

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 16 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has gone up another spot on the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI) 2019 to be ranked 62nd out of 189 countries and maintaining its place in the Very High Human Development category. Malaysia scored 0.810 in the HDI value compared to 0.804 the previous year, and this was contributed by  Malaysia’s increase in average life expectancy to 76.2 years from 76 previously and Gross National Income per capita to USD 27,534 (RM111,554) from USD 27,227 (RM110,310) previously. This is above the average score of 0.747 for countries in East Asia and the Pacific, but still below the average of 0.898 for countries in the Very High Human Development category, according to the UN's Human Development Report 2020 released today. According to the report titled ‘The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene', the score helped put Malaysia in third place among South-East Asian countries, below Singapore and Brunei with both nations at first and second place respectively. Malaysia, for the Planetary-Pressures Adjusted Human Development Index (PHDI), a new experimental index introduced in the report this year to account for the strain that is put on the planet by human activity,  scored 0.669 points. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) resident representative for Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei, Niloy Banerjee, in a press release said the report recommends creating real, lasting change at the nexus of people, prosperity and the planet. "We are in an unprecedented moment in the history of our planet with warning signs writ large. We have a choice. We need to design and speedily execute the social, economic, and environmental transformations needed to rebalance our social and planetary systems in order for humans and the planet to thrive together. “We hope this report will be a resource to help Malaysia to make informed choices and investments, as it not only powers its way out of the Covid-19 aftermath but also sets the course for a more resilient, future-focused economy,” he said. -- BERNAMA