Human Development Report 2009 Kuwait the Human

8/14/2019 Human Development Report 2009 Kuwait the Human

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Human Development Report 2009

Kuwait

The Human Development Index - going beyond incomeEach year since 1990 the Human Development Report has published the human developmentindex (HDI) which looks beyond GDP to a broader definition of well-being. The HDI provides acomposite measure of three dimensions of human development: living a long and healthy life(measured by life expectancy), being educated (measured by adult literacy and gross enrolmentin education) and having a decent standard of living (measured by purchasing power parity, PPP,income). The index is not in any sense a comprehensive measure of human development. It doesnot, for example, include important indicators such as gender or income inequality nor moredifficult to measure concepts like respect for human rights and political freedoms. What it doesprovide is a broadened prism for viewing human progress and the complex relationship betweenincome and well-being.

Of the components of the HDI, only income and gross enrolment are somewhat responsive toshort term policy changes. For that reason, it is important to examine changes in the humandevelopment index over time. The human development index trends tell an important story inthat respect. Between 1980 and 2007 Kuwait's HDI rose by 0.44% annually from 0.812 to 0.916today. HDI scores in all regions have increased progressively over the years (Figure 1) althoughall have experienced periods of slower growth or even reversals.

Figure 1: HDI Trends


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This year's HDI, which refers to 2007, highlights the very large gaps in well-being and lifechances that continue to divide our increasingly interconnected world. The HDI for Kuwait is0.916, which gives the country a rank of 31st out of 182 countries with data (Table 1).

Table 1: Kuwaits human development index 2007

HDI valueLife expectancy atbirth(years)

Adult literacy

rate(% ages 15and above)

Combined grossenrolment ratio(%)

GDP per capita(PPP US$)

1. Norway (0.971) 1. Japan (82.7)1. Georgia(100.0)

1. Australia(114.2)

1. Liechtenstein (85,382)

29. Slovenia(0.929)

32. Denmark(78.2)

48. SaintLucia (94.8)

94. Costa Rica(73.0)

6. Brunei Darussalam(50,200)

30. BruneiDarussalam(0.920)

33. Slovenia (78.2)49. Paraguay(94.6)

95. Uzbekistan(72.7)

7. Singapore (49,704)

31. Kuwait

(0.916)34. Kuwait (77.5)

50. Kuwait

(94.5)96. Kuwait (72.6) 8. Kuwait (47,812)

32. Cyprus(0.914)

35. United ArabEmirates (77.3)

51. Singapore(94.4)

97. Paraguay(72.1)

9. United States (45,592)

33. Qatar (0.910)36. BruneiDarussalam (77.0)

52. Thailand(94.1)

98. Nicaragua(72.1)

10. Ireland (44,613)

182. Niger (0.340)176. Afghanistan(43.6)

151. Mali(26.2)

177. Djibouti(25.5)

181. Congo (DemocraticRepublic of the) (298)

By looking at some of the most fundamental aspects of peoples lives and opportunities the HDIprovides a much more complete picture of a country's development than other indicators, such asGDP per capita. Figure 2 illustrates that countries on the same level of HDI can have verydifferent levels of income or that countries with similar levels of income can have very different

HDIs.

Figure 2: The human development index gives a more complete picture than income


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Building the capabilities of womenThe HDI measures average achievements in a country, but it does not incorporate the degree ofgender imbalance in these achievements. The gender-related development index (GDI),introduced in Human Development Report 1995, measures achievements in the same dimensionsusing the same indicators as the HDI but captures inequalities in achievement between womenand men. It is simply the HDI adjusted downward for gender inequality. The greater the genderdisparity in basic human development, the lower is a country's GDI relative to its HDI.

Kuwait's GDI value, 0.892 should be compared to its HDI value of 0.916. Its GDI value is 97.4%

of its HDI value. Out of the 155 countries with both HDI and GDI values, 130 countries have abetter ratio than Kuwait's.

Table 2 shows how Kuwaits ratio of GDI to HDI compares to other countries, and also shows itsvalues for selected underlying indicators in the calculation of the GDI.

Table 2: The GDI compared to the HDI a measure of gender disparity

GDI as % of HDI

Life expectancy atbirth(years) 2004

Adult literacy rate(% ages 15 and older)

2004

Combined primary, secondaryand tertiary gross enrolment ratio2004

Female as % male Female as % male Female as % male

1. Mongolia(100.0%) 1. RussianFederation (121.7%) 1. Lesotho (122.5%) 1. Cuba (121.0%)

129. Oman(97.7%)

142. Jordan(105.2%)

49. Romania (98.6%) 6. Estonia (116.1%)

130. Nigeria(97.7%)

143. Belize(105.1%)

50. South Africa(98.1%)

7. Mongolia (115.1%)

131. Kuwait(97.4%)

144. Kuwait(105.1%)

51. Kuwait (97.9%) 8. Kuwait (114.9%)


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132. Austria(97.4%)

145. EquatorialGuinea (105.0%)

52. Uzbekistan (97.8%) 9. Suriname (114.3%)

133. Ethiopia(97.3%)

146. Burkina Faso(105.0%)

53. Greece (97.7%) 10. Iceland (113.4%)

155. Afghanistan

(88.0%)

190. Swaziland

(98.0%)

145. Afghanistan

(29.2%)

175. Afghanistan (55.6%)

MigrationEvery year, millions of people cross national or international borders seeking better livingstandards. Most migrants, internal and international, reap gains in the form of higher incomes,better access to education and health, and improved prospects for their children. Most of theworlds 195 million international migrants have moved from one developing country to anotheror between developed countries.

Kuwait has an emigration rate of 16.6%. The major continent of destination for migrants fromKuwait is Asia with 84.1% of emigrants living there.

Table 3: Emigrants

Origin of migrantsEmigration rate(%)

Major continent of destination formigrants

(%)

1. Antigua and Barbuda 45.3 Asia 46.6

15. Occupied PalestinianTerritories

23.9 Asia 85.4

25. Kuwait 16.6 Asia 84.1

28. Bahrain 15.9 Asia 86.1

39. Lebanon 12.9 Northern America 31.2

173. Oman 0.7 Asia 60.4

181. Mongolia 0.3 Europe 40.7Global aggregates

Arab States 4.7 Asia 43.6

Very high human development 3.4 Europe 39.2

World 3.0 Europe 33.4

The United States is host to nearly 40 million international migrants more than any othercountry though as a share of total population it is Qatar which has the most migrants more than4 in every 5 people are migrants. In Kuwait, there are 1,869.7 thousand migrants which represent69.2% of the total population.

Table 4: Immigrants

Destination of migrants Immigrant stock(thousands) Destination of migrants Immigrants as a share ofpopulation (%) 2005

1. United States 39,266.5 1. Qatar 80.5

5. Saudi Arabia 6,336.7 1. Qatar 80.5

15. United ArabEmirates

2,863.0

19. Jordan 2,345.22. United ArabEmirates

70.0


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23. Kuwait 1,869.7 3. Kuwait 69.2

26. OccupiedPalestinian Territories

1,660.65. Occupied PalestinianTerritories

44.1

31. Syrian ArabRepublic

1,326.4 6. Jordan 42.1

147. Tunisia 34.9 177. Morocco 0.2182. Vanuatu 1.0 182. China 0.0

Global aggregates

Arab States 21,327.3 Arab States 6.8

Very high humandevelopment

107,625.9Very high humandevelopment

11.1

World 195,245.4 World 3.0

Kuwait was mentioned in the Report in pages 22, 38, and 83.

Documents

Human Development Report 2009 Kuwait the Human