PHNOM PENH, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia has seen the highest increase rate of Human Development Index (HDI) across East Asia and the Pacific in 2015, said a United Nations Development Program (UNDP) press release on Tuesday.
The press release said that the Global Human Development Report 2016, published annually by the UNDP, showed that Cambodia's health, education and standard of living have improved from 1990 when its HDI was first measured.
It said that from 1990 to 2015, Cambodia's annual HDI growth rate of 1.84 percent has outpaced the average in East Asia and the Pacific, currently at 1.35 percent, making it among the top seven countries in the world with the fastest HDI growth rate.
According to the report, Cambodia's 2015 HDI value of 0.563 showed a 57 percent increase from 0.357 in 1990. However, this still falls below the 0.631 average for countries in the medium human development group and below the 0.721 average for countries in East Asia and the Pacific.
The county's HDI ranking in 2015 is 143 out of 188 countries, putting it at the medium human development group along with Laos with an HDI ranking of 138 and Myanmar at 145.
More than improvements in HDI, Cambodia has also shown progress in reducing poverty, when measured in multidimensional terms, the report said, adding that unlike income poverty, the Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index (MPI) takes into account deprivations in health, education and living standards, at the household level.
Cambodia's MPI decreased from 0.211 in 2011 to 0.150 in 2014 while the headcount ratio of people in multi-dimensional poverty declined from 46.8 percent to 33.8 percent within the same period, it said.
From 1995 to 2015, Cambodia's life expectancy at birth increased by 15.2 years, and its GNI (Gross National Income) per capita increased by about 277.9 percent, the report said.
With such notable gains, Cambodia still faces challenges in reducing poverty and inequality, it said, adding that there is still a need to ensure that human development is equitably distributed and that women in particular are included.
"We celebrate the gains that the country has achieved, but we are looking ahead at strategic ways in addressing the remaining challenges that impede human development," Nick Beresford, country director of UNDP in Cambodia, said.
"The crux of UNDP's work in Cambodia is that no one gets left behind," he said. "We want to ensure that over the years, more and more Cambodians experience significant changes in their well-being. And that human development truly is for everyone."
