War-torn Iraq, Gabon, Ghana ranks above Nigeria in human development
Nigeria is very bad at developing its own people, the latest human development index (HDI) suggests.
The HDI was created by the United Nations “to emphasise that people and their capabilities should be the ultimate criteria for assessing the development of a country, not economic growth alone,” the UN says.
Life expectancy at birth; education, measured by mean of years of schooling for adults aged 25 years and more, and expected years of schooling for children of school entering age are some of the factors the HDI measures.
The standard of living is also a major factor.
Nigeria is ranked 152nd among 188 countries. The ranking is arrived at from 2014 figures.
Ranking categories
- Very high human development: Ranking 1-49
- High human development: Ranking 50-105
- Medium human development: Ranking 106-143
- Low human development: Ranking 145-188
There is no African country among the nations with “very high” HDIs. That category is led by Norway which occupies highest spot.
Nigeria falls among the countries with “low” HDIs. The “African giant” is ranked below Algeria which occupies Africa’s top spot at 83, and falls in the “high” HDI category.
Other countries ranking above Nigeria includes war-torn Iraq (121), Tunisia (96), Botswana (106), Egypt (108), Gabon (110), South Africa (116), Morocco (126), Namibia (126), Bangladesh (142) and Ghana (140).
How Nigeria fared
- Human Development Index (HDI) – 0.514 (Norway scored 0.944)
- Life expectancy at birth – 52.8
- Expected years of schooling – 9.0
- Mean years of schooling – 5.9
- Gross national income (GNI) per capita – $5,341 (It’s $64,992 in Norway)
- GNI per capita rank minus HDI rank – -24 (Norway scored +5)
The reasons for Nigeria’s apparent dismal performance are not far fetched.
This map says a lot
Terrorism in the northeast, national-spread unemployment, human rights violations by security forces, and corruption are few of the other factors responsible for the poor ranking..
