Latest news with #2025HumanDevelopmentIndex
Hi Dubai
12-05-2025
- Business
- Hi Dubai
UAE Climbs to 15th in Global Human Development Rankings, Leading Arab World
The United Arab Emirates has surged 11 places to rank 15th globally in the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) 2025 Human Development Index (HDI), reaffirming its leadership among nations with very high human development. Out of 193 countries, the UAE outperformed major economies including Canada, the United States, Japan, and Australia. It remains the only Arab nation in the top 20, highlighting the country's long-term strategy focused on human wellbeing, innovation, and sustainability. The UAE achieved an HDI score of 0.94 in the 2025 report, which emphasized the importance of human potential in the age of artificial intelligence. Key indicators include a life expectancy of 82.9 years, 15.6 expected years of schooling, and a gross national income per capita of $71,142 — all contributing to the UAE's alignment with global Sustainable Development Goals. Health Minister Abdulrahman Al Owais attributed the achievement to sustained investments in high-quality, innovative healthcare. Education Minister Sara Al Amiri noted the country's future-focused policies designed to equip youth for an AI-driven world. Hanan Mansour Ahli, Managing Director of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre, said the UAE's rise reflects a human-centric development model built on education, health, and innovation. The report also spotlighted the UAE's global position in attracting AI talent, ranking third worldwide in net migration of AI-skilled professionals in 2023. As the world adapts to rapid technological change, the UNDP stressed the need for inclusive strategies that empower people while integrating AI into daily life. The UAE's performance underscores its growing status as a model for balanced, forward-looking development in an increasingly digital world. News Source: Emirates News Agency
Morocco World
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Morocco World
HDI: Morocco Joins High Human Development Category in UNDP's 2025 Index
Doha – Morocco has officially moved from 'medium human development' to 'high human development' status according to the 2025 Human Development Index (HDI) published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Tuesday. The North African country maintained its 120th position globally among 193 countries but improved its overall score to 0.710, crossing the crucial 0.700 threshold that marks entry into the high development category. In the previous year's report, Morocco held the same rank but with a score of 0.698, which placed it in the medium development group. 'This improvement reflects significant advances in the fundamental dimensions of human development: health, education, and standard of living,' according to Morocco's National Human Development Observatory. The report indicates Morocco's life expectancy at birth stands at 75.3 years, with expected years of schooling at 15.1 years and actual schooling years at 6.2, while gross national income per capita reaches $8,653. Despite this progress, Morocco still lags behind several regional neighbors. Algeria (96th), Tunisia (105th), and Libya (115th) all rank higher in the global standings, as do Lebanon (102nd) and Gabon (108th). Morocco ranked 13th among Arab countries, with the UAE leading the region at 15th globally, followed by Saudi Arabia (37th), Bahrain (38th), Qatar (43rd), Oman (50th), and Kuwait (52nd). However, data shows that 6.4% of Moroccans continue to live in multidimensional poverty, with an average deprivation rate of 42% across essential domains. Read also: Is Morocco Really Doing Badly in Human Development? Critics of the HDI argue its rankings can be misleading. In an interview with MWN last year, Political scientist Abdelkarim Amengay notes the index 'heavily relies on GDP per capita, which automatically favors oil-producing countries but doesn't reflect the reality of other factors.' He questions how Libya, with dysfunctional state institutions for over a decade, could rank higher than Morocco, pointing to how oil wealth inflates GDP figures without necessarily improving citizens' lives. Regarding gender equality, Morocco falls into the fifth global group – those countries with the lowest equity levels – scoring 0.859 on the Gender Inequality Index. While the report acknowledges a downward trend in this index, suggesting gradual improvement, it stresses that Morocco must focus on 'reducing maternal mortality rates, increasing women's representation in decision-making bodies, and improving their access to education and the labor market.' AI and human development At the international level, Iceland tops the HDI rankings, followed by Norway, Switzerland, Denmark, and Germany, while South Sudan, Central African Republic, Somalia, Chad, Niger, and Mali occupy the bottom positions. This year's UNDP report, titled 'A matter of choice: People and possibilities in the age of AI,' brings to the forefront the importance of freedom of choice in human development and examines how AI can support this freedom. It pinpoints that while AI is advancing rapidly, human development struggles to keep pace, with nearly a third of people worldwide expecting AI to soon affect education, health, and work regardless of their development level. The report warns of a concerning global trend, noting that if the current slow growth in human development becomes the norm, development goals could be delayed by decades, making the world 'less safe, more divided, and more vulnerable to economic and environmental shocks.'
