The UNDP’s Human Development Report 2019 provides an overview of the diversity of inequalities that shape the world in the 21st century and how to tackle the issue.

Vietnam ranks 118th out of 189 countries and territories and is making sound progress in human development, with an average annual HDI growth rate of 1.36 per cent during the 1990-2018 period.

It added that Vietnam has achieved good results in terms of gender equality. With a gender development index of 1.003, Vietnam ranks among the top five groups of 166 countries and territories worldwide, ranking 68th out of 162 in terms of gender development. In particular, Vietnam is in the top one-third of the world’s leading countries and territories in the proportion of women in its National Assembly.

The report has also analyzed and addressed gender gaps and inequalities between population groups and geographical areas. Analytical data from Vietnam shows that despite significant progress at the national level, ethnic minority groups still lag behind in many aspects of human capacity, especially in terms of life expectancy, health, and education (vocational training at the tertiary education level).

According to UNDP Resident Representative in Vietnam Ms. Caitlin Wiesen, the Human Development Report 2019 revealed a new generation of emerging inequalities surrounding technology issues, education, and climate crisis, and also proposed new ways to measure and access these inequalities. Vietnam was right to consistently choose human-centered development and equality in its socioeconomic development strategies and plans, she emphasized.

She added that Vietnam has achieved remarkable growth in human development since 1990, with inequalities being slowly bridged. Based on the HDI adjusted for inequality, Vietnam ranked nine levels higher than its position in 2018.

Vietnam is also one of only a few countries to take a pioneering approach in applying the method and measurement of the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), since 2015. It has achieved the sound reduction in poverty, with an MPI of 0.019, ranking its 29th out of 102 countries and territories and putting it among the leaders in the index in East Asia and the Pacific. VN Economic Times