Brasília – In the past two decades, Brazil’s Municipal Human Development Index (MHDI) has increased by 50%, from 0.493 in 1991, which is considered very low, to 0.727 in 2010, a high score, according to the Brazil 2013 Human Development Atlas. During this period, the country saw MHDI soar by 47.5%.
In 1991, 85.5% of Brazilian cities had very low MHDI scores. By 2010, only 0.6% of municipalities in the country had low scores. According to the survey, in 2010, 74% of municipalities had either high or average scores, whereas in 1991, no Brazilian cities had high scores and only 0.8% had average ones. As per the scale of the study, the zero-to-0.49 score bracket is considered very low, 0.5-0.59 is low, 0.6-0.69 is average, 0.7-0,79 is high and 0.8-1.0 is very high.
The MHDI is a survey of over 180 socioeconomic indicators from the IBGE’s 1991, 2000 and 2010 Censuses. The study covers three different aspects of human development: the opportunity to lead a long, healthy life (longevity), access to knowledge (education) and a standard of living that meets one’s basic needs (income). The index ranges from zero to one, and the nearest the score is to one, the highest the human development.
According to the Atlas, produced by the United Nations Development Programme (Undp) in partnership with the Institute of Applied Economic Research (Ipea) and Fundação João Pinheiro, Brazil has succeeded in reducing inequality, especially through pronounced growth in the least-developed municipalities of the North and Northeast.
“Brazil had a very uneven profile. There has been improvement, but the country has an Amazonian, humongous inequality that is decreasing. Brazil used to be one of the most unequal countries in the world, and it still is, but progress has been made. We can anticipate a better future,” said the Ipea chairman and interim minister of the Secretariat for Strategic Affairs, Marcelo Neri.
The increase in Brazil’s overall index was mostly due to the Longevity MHDI, which was up 23.2% between 1991 and 2010. The index stood at 0.816 in 2010. As a result, life expectancy for Brazilians increased by 9.2 years, from 64.7 years in 1991 to 73.9 years in 2010.
“There has been a significant improvement in life expectancy. The life expectancy for a Brazilian who is born today is nine years higher than it was 20 years ago, especially due to a decline in child mortality rates,” said the Undp delegate in Brazil Jorge Chediek.
The municipalities of Blumenau, Brusque, Balneário Camboriú and Rio do Sul, in the southern state of Santa Catarina, posted the highest Longevity MHDI scores, at 0.894, with a life expectancy of 78.6 years. The cities of Cacimbas (state of Paraíba) and Roteiro (Alagoas), in the Northeast, scored the lowest index (0.672) with a life expectancy of 65.3 years.
The survey also notes that monthly per capita income in Brazil has increased by R$ 346 in the past two decades, as per August 2010. Between 1991 and 2010, the Income MHDI was up 14.2%; however, 90% of Brazil’s 5,565 municipalities have either low or average scores in this index.
Despite the growth, inequality becomes clear when one compares the extremes in either end of the spectrum. The municipality of São Caetano do Sul (São Paulo), in Southeast Brazil, ranks first in Income MHDI, with a monthly per capita income of R$ 2,043. The lowest-ranking municipality, Marajá do Sena (Maranhão), in Northeast Brazil, scored a monthly per capita income of R$ 96.25. The difference is more than twentyfold.
Although it had the least contribution to the country’s overall MHDI, the Education MHDI went from 0.278 in 1991 to 0.637 in 2010. According to the Atlas, the growth was driven by a 156% increase in school attendance among young people during the period.
Landmark
To the Undp’s Chediek, Brazil has achieved “amazing progress” in inequality reduction and improving human development. “We regard Brazil as a landmark country that had historical liabilities in economic, regional and racial inequalities. The report shows that through clear-cut actions and strong commitment in public policies, one can address historical inequalities within a short period of time,” he said.
After mapping out indicators for the 5,565 municipalities, the next step for the survey according to Chediek, will be to group up more in-depth data from the 14 largest metropolitan areas of the country. The Undp should also release a report with qualitative analyses of the information – rather than quantitative only –, including public policymaking suggestions.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
