UNDP: World Human Development to Drop by 2050

Havana, Feb 11. – The current environmental scenarios suggest that by 2050 human development index (HDI) will have a considerable reduction, said Barbara Pesce-Monteiro, permanent representative in Cuba of the UN Program for Development (UNDP).

Considering the data provided in the Human Development Report for 2011, it is possible to predict that by 2050 the HDI will fall between five and eight percent, with more pronounced drops in poor countries, where the decline may go up to 24 percent, said Pesce-Monteiro.

During the presentation of the document at the 21st International Book Fair, Pesce-Monteiro highlighted the importance of taking measures to prevent many nations from moving away again from the global patterns and increase the development gap. The HDI represents a nation's achievements in three basic dimensions: health (expressed in life expectancy at birth), education (as adult literacy rate and combined gross enrollment rate), and standard of living (measured by the GDP per capita).

Pesce-Monteiro highlighted Cuba's work in different fields measured in the report, which resulted in ranking 51st among 187 nations, with an HDI considered high.(Prensa Latina)