Brazil’s Human Development Index sees slight increase

However, the country occupies the 79th position in the HDI ranking

Carolina Gonçalves

Published on 14/09/2018 - 14:42

Brasília

Rio de Janeiro - Moradores do Complexo da Maré vivem expectativa de mudanças sociais. Conjunto de barracos à beira de um canal conhecido como favelinha da Mc Laren (Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil) — © Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil

Brazil’s Human Development Index (IDH) saw a 0.001 point uptick in 2017 compared to 2016, and stands at 0.759 on a scale from zero to one—one being the maximum a country’s human development can reach.

According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the 0.14% increase in Brazilians’ per capita income ensured that the country continued making progress, however slightly, in human development in 2017, despite the persisting inequalities in the population’s access to health care, education, and economic perspectives.

The new index secures Brazil’s 79th position in the ranking with 189 nations. In Latin America, the country ranks fifth, behind Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and Venezuela. However, it performed better than the 0.758 regional average for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Taking adjustments for inequalities in income, health care, and education into account, the Brazilian HDI sinks to 0.578.

Considering data collected since 1990, the country experienced a 0.81 percent growth in its yearly HDI rate, with an increase of 10 years in life expectancy—now 75.7 years of age—and another 3.2 years in children’s schooling time after school starts. The average of studying adults aged 25 or older went from 3.8 percent to 7.8 percent, and the income of Brazilians in this period grew 28.6 percent.