HDI in Pakistan:: Human Development Index (HDI)

The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite statistic developed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
to measure a country's overall achievement in its social and economic dimensions. It focuses on three key dimensions of human
development:
1. Life Expectancy: This measures the average lifespan of a population, reflecting health and longevity.
2. Education: This dimension considers two factors:
o Mean years of schooling for adults aged 25 years or older.
o Expected years of schooling for children entering school.
3. Standard of Living: This is measured by Gross National Income (GNI) per capita in purchasing power parity (PPP), which
adjusts for differences in price levels between countries.
Countries are ranked based on these three dimensions, with an HDI value ranging from 0 (low human development) to 1 (high human
development). HDI provides a broader understanding of well-being than purely economic measures like GDP per capita
HDI in Pakistan:
As of 2023, Pakistan ranks 164th out of 193 countries on the Human Development Index (HDI) with a score of 0.540, placing it in the
"low human development" category. This marks a drop from its 2022 rank of 161. The country's HDI has suffered due to several
factors, including economic challenges, political instability, and the lasting impact of the devastating floods in 2022. Additionally,
Pakistan's inequality-adjusted HDI shows a significant decline, further highlighting the disparities within the population.
While Pakistan's Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) has remained stable, the Gender Inequality Index (GII) also reflects ongoing
challenges, as the country ranks 135th globally. To improve its HDI, experts suggest that Pakistan will need to address these social
and economic challenges, including securing better climate and sustainable development financing (
UNDP
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How gender inequality is affecting the economic development of Pakistan?
Gender inequality is considered to be a major factor affecting economic development. Pakistan is currently ranked as the second lowest country
in the world for gender equality by Global Gender Gap Index.
• There is lack of access to quality family planning services, especially in rural areas, therefore woman have a high fertility rate, an average of 3.8
children per woman This means that Pakistan’s population is rapidly increasing which is hindering economic development.
• The status of women is low, especially in rural areas. Women are not permitted to leave the home to work, and this loss of labour adversely
affects the economic development of Pakistan, both regionally and nationally.
• The number of women in education is significantly lower than that of men. 33% percent of primary school age girls do not attend school in
Pakistan, compared to 21% of boys. Girls are therefore not equipped to participate in the work place, reducing their contributions to the over-all
economic development of Pakistan.
Q.how infant and maternal mortality rates have implications for healthcare provision in Pakistan?
• Many areas of Pakistan, especially rural areas, lack sufficient nutritious food and access to clean water is a common problem in the informal
settlements around many urban centres, both of these factors result in higher than average infant mortality rates which help to lower the over-all
life expectancy.
• The infant mortality rate for Pakistan in 2020 is 59.109 deaths per 1000 live births, a 1.84% decline from 2019. Pakistan’s Maternal Mortality
Rate (MMR) is approximately 299 per 100,000 live births. Both figures have social and financial implications for health provision in Pakistan.
• Pakistan currently uses about 1% of its GDP on healthcare. In order for maternal and infant mortality rates to decrease, more money has to be
provided for improving hospital care and making hospitals more accessible. However, this would reduce the money available for other aspects of
health care in Pakistan.
• In many areas of Pakistan, especially the tribally controlled areas, children are not vaccinated against infectious diseases. This increases infant
mortality rates. Pakistan is one of the few countries where measles is still endemic. This causes implications for health care as health care
workers are often regarded with suspicion and have to gain the trust and agreement of local leaders before a vaccination programme can take
place. This is expensive in terms of time and money.
• The COVID crisis has reduced the number of health workers and the health services available to concentrate on infant and maternal mortality.
Schemes such as the Vaccinators on Wheels (World bank financed) have partly helped, but health services in Pakistan remain over-stretched.
Assess the implications for service provision of increasing life expectancy in Pakistan.
The current life for Pakistan expectancy is estimated at 67.33 years (2020), this is a 0.23% increase from 2019. Consequently, the number of
elderly dependent people in Pakistan is projected to rise after 2025.
• Increasing life expectancy will make demands on services in Pakistan, especially medical and health services. This means that less money is
available for economic and other development.
• Pakistan is been attempting to improve health care, for example investing in training programmes and in public health and running accelerated
programmes for training nurses to meet increasing demands.
• However, Pakistan has only approximately 10% of the required number nurses for its population size, and very few of these are trained in
geriatric care. • There are relatively few hospitals in rural areas of Pakistan, and only the large public and private hospitals the bigger cities, such
as Karachi, provide geriatric services. Therefore, service provision for an older population in Pakistan will have an increasing rural/urban lack of
balance.
• Expanding any services to meet the demands of an increasing older population will require considerable investment. Pakistan’s negative
balance of payments mean that the government is unlikely to be able to provide this, as reflected by current expenditure on health care which is
relatively low, approximately 2.4% of GPD.
• Families traditionally care for older people, however, falling birth rates and rising life expectancy rates are increasing the dependency ratios of
the elderly. Pakistan may move from traditional care to greater use of homes for the elderly, putting an increasing strain on service provision.
• An over-all assessment might suggest a negative impact for Pakistan. However, longer life expectancy will mean that people need to be
economically active for longer which might provide additional government income for service provision.

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The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite statistic developed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

How gender inequality is affecting the economic development of Pakistan?

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