Iraq Ranks "Medium" in Human Development
By John Lee.
The UN's latest Human Development Report ranks Iraq in 126th place (jointly with Eswatini) out of 170 countries, based on data from 2023:
Human Development Index (HDI)
Global Rank: Joint-126th
HDI Score: 0.695
Category: Medium Human Development
Inequality-adjusted HDI (IHDI): 0.534
HDI Loss due to Inequality: 23.2%
Health & Income
Life Expectancy at Birth: 72.3 years
Gross National Income (GNI) per capita (PPP): $12,654
Education
Expected Years of Schooling: 12.4 years
Mean Years of Schooling: 6.8 years
Education Disparity Index: 29.7% (highest among human development indicators)
Gender Disparity in Education: Girls: 13.7 expected years Boys: 12.6 expected years Adult Women (mean years): 5.2 years Adult Men (mean years): 6.3 years
Income Distribution
Top 10% Income Share: 27.3%
Bottom 40% Income Share: 20.5%
Top 1% Income Share: 15.7%
Gini Coefficient: 29.5
Average Income by Gender: Women: $10,750 Men: $16,531 Women's Earnings as % of Men's: 65%
Gender Development
Gender Development Index (GDI): 0.964 (Group 2: low gender disparity)
Female HDI: 0.682
Male HDI: 0.708
Female Life Expectancy Advantage: +3.7 years
(Source: UNDP)
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