Turkey marks 'very high' progress in human development

ANKARA

Turkey was classified in the very high development category in 2018 for the first time, posting a 0.806 value in the human development index (HDI).

Turkey ranked 59th among 189 countries and territories, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) said in a report released Monday.

The country's index value rose 39% from 0.579 in 1990, according to the UNDP report.

The HDI is a summary measure for assessing long-term progress in three basic dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living.

A new generation of inequalities is opening up around education and technology, and climate change, according to the report.

Life expectancy at birth in Turkey surged 13.2 years in the last 28 years.

The country's mean years of schooling rose by 3.1 years, while expected years of schooling climbed by 7.5 years during the same period.

Turkey’s Gross National Income (GNI) per capita climbed over 120% between 1990 and 2018, the report said.

"Turkey’s 2018 HDI of 0.806 is below the average of 0.892 for countries in the very high human development group and above the average of 0.779 for countries in Europe and Central Asia," it noted.

The report also disclosed the standings for the gender inequality index, which reflects gender-based inequalities in three dimensions -- reproductive health, empowerment and economic activity.

Turkey stood at 66th place out of 162 countries with a gender inequality index value of 0.305 last year.

"In Turkey, 17.4% of parliamentary seats are held by women and 44.3% of adult women have reached at least a secondary level of education compared to 66.0% of their male counterparts," the report said.

Retaining its top position, Norway saw an index value of 0.954 last year. It was followed by Switzerland (0.946), Ireland (0.942), Germany (0.939) and Hong Kong (0.939).

Niger (0.377), Central African Republic (0.381), Chad (0.401), South Sudan (0.413) and Burundi (0.423) performed the worst.