YANGON, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's human development index (HDI) has moved up attaining medium human development status and ranking 145 out of 188 countries, said Human Development Report 2016 of the United Nations (UN), released by the UN Development Program (UNDP) and launched in Yangon Wednesday.
According to the report, Myanmar's Human Development Index (HDI) for 2016 reached 0.556, up from 0.536 in 2014 when it ranked 148 out of 188 countries.
However, Myanmar's HDI remains below the average for East Asia and Pacific (0.720). It was attributed to the fact that Myanmar is still performing below the average of Southeast Asia in such areas as maternal health and under five mortality.
The HDI measures not only economic growth, but also the quality of growth in terms of human development and human wellbeing.
This is a good predictor for Myanmar's pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), said Renata Dessallien, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative.
Myanmar's ability to achieve the SDGs is linked to its continued commitment to improve human development for its people, the report said.
Almost 1.5 billion people worldwide live in multidimensional poverty-reflecting acute deprivations in health, education and standards of living, according to the report.
