- Better than SA, Namibia and Kenya in human development index
- Only Mauritius and the Seychelles have better risk response capacity for natural disasters
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistical tool used to measure a country’s overall achievement in its social and economic dimensions. The dimensions that are considered for countries are based on access to knowledge of citizens, a long and healthy life and a decent standard of living.
Countries are ranked yearly by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) based on the HDI report released in their annual reports. The HDI is one of the best tools used to track the level of development of a country as it takes into account all major social and economic indicators of economic development.
A country is considered to be having very high human development when it is in the 0,8 – 1.0 tier, high human development 0.7 – 0.79, medium human development 0.55 – 0. 70, and low human development is below 0.55.
Botswana’s 2020 Human Development Index score of 0.735 positions the country in the high development category. The four major indicators combined in the calculation of the index include life expectancy for health, expected years of schooling or the mean number of years of schooling for education and Gross National Income per capita for standard of living.
Widespread disparities remain in Botswana albeit many people stepping above minimum floors of achievement. The country scored 0.735 above countries like South Africa with a score of 0.705, Namibia with 0.645, Kenya’s 0.579 and Zimbabwe’s 0.563.
Botswana also scored 0.709 in 2020 on the Gender Gap Index, placing it 12th in sub-Saharan Africa and 73rd in the world. With an estimated Gini Index of 53.3 in 2015, inequalities in the distribution of income and consumption expenditure among individuals or households remain high in Botswana, although there was a 11.9 percent improvement from 2009.
The INFORM Global Risk Index (GRI) identifies countries at risk from humanitarian crises and disasters that could overwhelm national response capacity. The GRI is made up of three dimensions: hazards and exposure, vulnerability and lack of coping capacity. With a GRI of 3.2, Botswana is rated as a low risk-class country. In the region, only Mauritius and the Seychelles have lower scores. Inequality and droughts are the country’s highest risk factors.
The Human Development Index reflects commendable improvement on average, showing improvements in achievements such as life expectancy at birth, which is driven largely by sharp declines in infant mortality rates. However, many people have been left behind, and inequalities remain widespread across different capabilities. Reference is often made to life and death, while others refer to access to knowledge and life-changing technologies.
Despite having shrunk considerably, the difference in life expectancy at birth between low and very high human development countries is still 19 years. There are differences in expected longevity at every age. The difference in life expectancy at age 70 is almost 5 years. Some 42 percent of adults in low human development countries have primary school education, compared with 94 percent in very high human development countries.
The wide gaps are seen at all education levels. Only 3.2 percent of adults in low human development countries have a tertiary education, compared with 29 percent in developed countries. In access to technology, developing countries have 67 mobile phone subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, half the number in very high human development countries. For access to broadband, low human development countries have less than 1 subscription per 100 inhabitants, compared with 28 per 100 inhabitants in very high human development countries.
The positive correlation between higher income inequality and lower intergenerational mobility in income, referred to as the Great Gatsby Curve, is well known. Both are driven by underlying economic and social factors, so understanding and tackling these drivers could both promote mobility and redress inequality.
This article was prepared by Data Collection & Analysis (DCA), a business market research and surveys firm. Feedback or inquiries can be relayed to 76 740 658/ research@easternman.co.bw.
