Vietnam makes progress in human development

The 2019 Human Development Report, published by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), used data from 189 countries and territories to rank them based on the three HDI components of longevity, education and per capita income.

According to the report, Vietnam’s 2018 HDI of 0.693 is above the average of 0.634 for countries in the Medium Human Development group.

Vietnam respectfully ranks 118th out of 189 countries, and needs only an additional 0.007 points to join the High Human Development group. It’s worth noting that Vietnam’s HDI rank in 2018 was higher than India’s, Lao, Myanmar and Cambodia.

Meanwhile, Vietnam’s loss of HDI value due to inequality in 2018 is 16.3 per cent, its loss of income due to inequality is 18.1 per cent and, its GINI coefficient – a statistical measure of economic inequality in a population – at 35.3 – are among the lowest in the East Asia and Pacific region.

Vietnam has also been performing well in terms of gender equality. The Gender Development Index value of 1.003 puts the country in the top five groups of 166 countries in the world, with Vietnam ranking highly, 68th out of 162 countries in Gender Inequality Index. Particularly commendable is the share of seats in parliament which places Vietnam among the top third of countries globally.

According to UNDP Resident Representative Caitlin Wiesen the 2019 Human Development Report disclosed the next generation of inequalities emerging around digital technology, education, and the climate crisis as well as proposing new ways of measuring and approaching inequalities.

She praised Vietnam for having firmly embarked on people-centered development and equality in its current socio-economic development strategies and plans.

However, she said, there were important areas with room still for improvement. Vietnam ranks among the bottom third of countries globally in terms of sex ratio at birth (1.12), violence against women by non-intimate partners (34.4 per cent) and women with accounts in financial institutions or with mobile money service provider (30.4 per cent).

She suggested that Vietnam should raise people’s awareness on sex-selection issue.