Ukraine inches forward in human development

Ukraine recorded slow but steady development progress over the previous year, according to this year’s Human Development Report, released today by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Ukraine’s HDI value for 2019 is 0.779— which put the country in the high human development category— positioning it at 74 out of 189 countries and territories. The rank is shared with Grenada, Mexico and Saint Kitts and Nevis. Between 1990 and 2019, Ukraine’s HDI value increased from 0.725 to 0.779, an increase of 7.4 percent.

Dafina Gercheva, UNDP Resident Representative in Ukraine said Ukraine’s Gender Development Index (GDI), a component of the overall human development index tracking gender-based inequality, was showing progress.

“Ukraine saw gains in women’s representation in parliament last year, and its GDI value of 1.000 is better than the regional average of 0.953,” Gercheva said.

“But there remains a lot to do to ensure equal access to opportunities and choices for men and women in Ukraine.”

While globally Ukraine is in the high human development category (HDI above 0.753), it is below the average for the Europe and Central Asia region (0.791), and it lags behind other large countries in the region Kazakhstan (0.825) and Russia (0.824).

The new report includes a series of adjustments to take into account inequalities in society, meaning that the components of the index are not directly comparable with those given in previous reports.

As HDI is an average measure of basic human development achievements across a country, the HDI masks inequality in the distribution of human development across the population at the country level. To capture the effect of inequality on human development, the 2010 Human Development Report introduced the IHDI, which takes into account inequality in all components of the HDI (by ‘discounting’ each component’s average value according to its level of inequality.)

When so adjusted, Ukraine has an IHDI of 0.728, with a “loss” of development due to inequality of 6.5 percent. While it still trails both Kazakhstan (0.766) and Russia (0.740), their respective losses, at 7.2 percent and 10.2 percent, are higher, reflecting greater inequalities in these countries. Ukraine also edges ahead of the average IHDI for Europe and Central Asia (0.697), where the average loss of development due to inequality in 11.9 percent.

The report data depicts the state of human development before the COVID-19 pandemic. Data reflecting changes caused by the pandemic and its socioeconomic fallout in 2020 will be available in 2021 and will be presented in tables and related analyses of the 2021 Human Development Report, UNDP said.

The COVID-19 pandemic is the latest crisis facing the world, but unless humans release their grip on nature, it won’t be the last, the report warns. It includes a new experimental index on human progress that takes into account countries’ carbon dioxide emissions and material footprint.

The wider report lays out a stark choice for world leaders – take bold steps to reduce the immense pressure that is being exerted on the environment and the natural world, or humanity’s progress will stall.

“Humans wield more power over the planet than ever before. In the wake of COVID-19, record-breaking temperatures and spiralling inequality, it is time to use that power to redefine what we mean by progress, where our carbon and consumption footprints are no longer hidden,” said UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner.

“As this report shows, no country in the world has yet achieved very high human development without putting immense strain on the planet. But we could be the first generation to right this wrong. That is the next frontier for human development,” he said.

The report argues that as people and planet enter an entirely new geological epoch, the Anthropocene or the Age of Humans, it is time to for all countries to redesign their paths to progress by fully accounting for the dangerous pressures humans put on the planet, and dismantle the gross imbalances of power and opportunity that prevent change.

To illustrate the point, the 30th anniversary edition of the Human Development Report, The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene, introduces an experimental new lens to its annual Human Development Index (HDI).

By adjusting the HDI, which measures a nation’s health, education, and standards of living, to include two more elements: a country’s carbon dioxide emissions and its material footprint, the index shows how the global development landscape would change if both the wellbeing of people and also the planet were central to defining humanity’s progress.

With the resulting Planetary-Pressures Adjusted HDI – or PHDI – a new global picture emerges, painting a less rosy but clearer assessment of human progress. For example, more than 50 countries drop out of the very high human development group, reflecting their dependence on fossil fuels and material footprint.

Despite these adjustments, countries like Costa Rica, Moldova, and Panama move upwards by at least 30 places, recognizing that lighter pressure on the planet is possible.

“The Human Development Report is an important product by the United Nations. In a time where action is needed, the new generation of Human Development Reports, with greater emphasis on the defining issues of our time such as climate change and inequalities, helps us to steer our efforts towards the future we want,” said Stefan Löfven, Prime Minister of Sweden, host country of the launch of the report.

The next frontier for human development will require working with and not against nature, while transforming social norms, values, and government and financial incentives, the report argues.

For example, new estimates project that by 2100 the poorest countries in the world could experience up to 100 more days of extreme weather due to climate change each year- a number that could be cut in half if the Paris Agreement on climate change is fully implemented.