São Paulo – Three Arab nations are in the list of countries with the highest Human Development Index (HDI). The ranking was disclosed yesterday (5th) by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). According to the study, between the 38 countries with "very high" human development are Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Kuwait is the 31st in the list, Qatar the 33rd and the Emirates, the 35th. The three first places in the ranking are occupied by Norway, Australia and Iceland.
The HDI study evaluated 182 countries. The index measures the quality of life in countries and takes into consideration, for this purpose, figures like riches, education and average life expectancy. Brazil is part of the group of nations with a high HDI, alongside another 45 nations, and is in the 75th position in the ranking, the same as in the previous research. There is also a list of nations with very low human development index.
Among the 22 Arab nations, 20 were researched by the United Nations (UN) program. Apart from the three that are in the list of countries with the highest HDI, another five – Bahrain, Libya, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon – are in the same group as Brazil, with high human development. Among the countries with medium HDIs are the other 12: Jordan, Tunisia, Algeria, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Morocco, the Comoros, Yemen, Sudan, Mauritania and Djibouti. There are no Arab nations in the list of countries with low human development.
Among the three Arab nations with the highest Human Development Index, two have risen in the UNDP ranking when compared to the previous research. Kuwait remained stable. But Qatar rose one point and the Emirates, two. Kuwait has an HDI of 0.916, Qatar, 0.910 and the United Arab Emirates, 0.903. In the list of countries with the highest HDIs are countries with figures above 0.900. The nation which has the lowest human development among the 182 researched is Niger, in Africa.
Kuwait, Qatar and the Emirates are in the Arabian Gulf and are rich nations. The three explore oil or gas. Kuwait is a small nation, in terms of area, with a population of 2.6 million people. The country, however, has 104 billion barrels of oil, which represent 8% of the total worldwide. Half of the country’s GDP is connected to oil and the commodity also represents 95% of export revenues. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Kuwait is US$ 158 billion and the per capita income, US$ 57,400.
Qatar has a population of 833,000 inhabitants and a GDP of US$ 102 billion. Per capita income in the country is US$ 110,000. The country is also a great producer of gas and oil. The oil reserves of Qatar total 15 billion barrels and those of gas, 26 trillion cubic meters, 14% of the global reserves. The Emirates, in turn, have a more diversified economy. The country has a population of 4.7 million people. Gas and oil answer to around 25% of GDP. The Emirates also has strong tourism and service sectors.
*Translated by Mark Ament
