Date: 10 December 2019 Issue: 610 Source: Youm7 (09/12/2019)

UNDP: makes progress in the 2019

The 2019 Human Development Report issued by the United Nations Development Program revealed that Egypt has made further progress in the 2019 Human Development Index, ranking 116 globally, while maintaining 7th in Africa and 12th among Arab countries.

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The human development report issued by the United Nations Development Program is one of the most important indicators for measuring country development levels, as it relies on several dimensions in its analyzes such as social, development and human indicators, expressing the social status of the citizen and his living standard, deemed the true criterion for assessing the level of development in any country. Levels and indicators of economic growth and others should not be sufficient, as a high rate of growth does not mean that its fruits necessarily reach everyone. Hence the report indicates many observations that should be read carefully and placed within their proper context, as follows:

1. The Human Development Index is a brief measure to assess long- term progress in three basic dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge, and a decent standard of living.

2. It is necessary to deal cautiously with Egypt’s ranking in the report, as a changed rank does not always mean a change in the performance of the state, as much as it may be due to a change in the performance of other countries. So, it is necessary to focus on the content of indicators, not only the rank.

3. The news report indicates Egypt's progress in the human development index for 2019, as it achieved 70 percent, ranking 116th, which reflects the efforts made by the state to improve the lives of citizens. But compared to the previous year, this progress is a slight improvement, as Egypt ranked 115 with 69.6 percent previously, while in 2017 it ranked relatively better at 111.

4. Despite the slight improvement in the development index, looking at the inequality adjusted development index, which reflects the level of human development after adjusting for inequality, Egypt accounted for 49 percent, retreating 8 places from its basic ranking in the rate of human development.

5. The inequality index is based on analyzes of education, health and income, where the rate of inequality in education reached 38.1 percent, a significant increase from the previous year, when it reached 36.9 percent, while in income it reached 36.5 percent compared to 36.3 percent last year. The health index hovered at 11.6 percent, same as last year. Thus, education is the lowest sector in achieving equality, while income and health follow in rank, respectively.

6. Comparing this report with the income and expenditure survey reports published by CAPMAS as well as the Credit Suisse report on wealth in Egypt confirms the existence of a structural problem represented by inequality and increased poverty in the Egyptian society.

7. In addition to the above, comparing equality in wealth and income reveals that the Gini coefficient of wealth in Egypt has recorded 91 percent, while in relation to income it has recorded only 30 percent according to the income and expenditure survey, which indicates a great disparity in the distribution of wealth and that income distribution is less discrepant. In other words, the increases witnessed in Egypt's fortunes are limited to unproductive assets such as real estate, not productive projects that create jobs and improve the lives of all Egyptians.

8. The report also revealed the ranking of the inequality index, which reflects in three dimensions: , empowerment and economic activity, with Egypt ranking 102 out of 162. The gender inequality index reached 0.450, as women occupied only 14.9 percent of parliamentary seats, while 59.2 percent of adult women obtained at least a secondary education compared to 71.2 percent of their male counterparts. 9. Accordingly, there is a structural problem, and hence it is necessary that the government focus in the coming period on the size of the middle class and its expansion and protection from joining the ranks of the poor. The objective is to achieve the original goal which is sustainable development wherein human welfare and social justice clearly lie, and as adopted by many countries such as , which was able to eliminate 60 percent of poverty, as well as , whose size of the middle class is the highest in the world.

https://www.gfmag.com/global-data/economic-data/wealth-distribution-income-inequality.

* The link to the report: http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/human-development-report-2019

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