Türkiye ranks 45th in human development, UNDP report says

ANKARA

Türkiye has secured the 45th position among 193 nations in this year's release of the Human Development Index (HDI) by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Established 34 years ago by the UNDP, the HDI serves as a comprehensive gauge of human welfare, surpassing conventional financial metrics like gross domestic product (GDP). It amalgamates three fundamental criteria: longevity, education accessibility and living standards.

Türkiye has exhibited advancements over the past three decades, with its HDI value ascending from 0.598 in 1990 to 0.855 in 2022, marking a 43 percent surge.

Life expectancy at birth has increased by 10.8 years since 1990, while both mean years and expected years of schooling have witnessed increments of 4.4 and 10.8 years, respectively. Furthermore, the country's gross national income per capita has surged by 154.3 percent over the same period.

However, Türkiye's ranking experiences a decline when adjusted for inequality. Men continue to enjoy higher levels of human development than women, causing the nation's ranking to slip to 66th out of 166 countries in terms of gender equality-adjusted HDI.

The latest ranking, based on 2022 data, precedes the devastating earthquakes of February 2023. Despite the catastrophic loss of life and extensive damage, estimated at $103.6 billion or 9 percent of the projected GDP for 2023, the devastating events are not expected to influence Türkiye's ranking.

Türkiye remains within the "very high human development" category for the fourth consecutive year. Nonetheless, the latest index reveals a troubling divergence in human development outcomes, with economically disadvantaged nations struggling to recover lost ground in the wake of the pandemic.

On a global scale, the HDI has reached a record high, rebounding from pandemic-induced downturns over the past two years. However, this overall improvement conceals widening disparities, particularly evident in the failure of half of the world's poorest countries to reclaim their pre-pandemic levels.

“Like most of the world’s wealthier countries, Türkiye has bounced back vigorously from pandemic setbacks,” said Louisa Vinton, the UNDP's representative to Türkiye.

“But this encouraging progress is overshadowed by resurgent inequality that threatens millions of people around the world with the risk of being left behind.”