by Ravin Singh
Guyana improved its overall ranking on the 2019 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Index, which is a statistical measure of improvement or deterioration in human welfare.
The country moved from 125 in 2018, to 123 in the 2019 report which was released on Monday by the UNDP in Bagota, Colombia.
The report is titled, “Beyond income, beyond averages, beyond today: inequalities in human development in the 21st Century”.
Credited for this overall improvement were marked achievements in several socio-economic areas.
Of particular importance, was the area of socio-economic sustainability, which saw some big numbers.
The report revealed that 96% of the country’s 744,000 population is currently using improved drinking-water sources, while 86% of the population is using improved sanitation facilities.
The Guyana Water Inc. – the country’s national water regulatory agency – has intensified its efforts over the last few years to ensure all Guyanese have access to potable water.
In education, the adult literacy rate is estimated to be 85.6%.
Adults are considered those persons who are 15 years and older.
And despite consistent disruption in electricity supply by the Guyana Power and Light (GPL), it was highlighted in the report that 88.8% of the country’s rural population has access to electricity.
Achieving a perfect score of 100 %, was the proportion of people older than the statutory pensionable age receiving an old-age pension
In the area of poverty, it was revealed that only 3.4 per cent of the country’s 744,000 population lives in multidimensional poverty, while 6.3 per cent of the country’s working population has a purchasing power parity (PPP) of US$3.1 a day.
For communications, the report disclosed that 37.3 per cent of the country’s population are internet users, while 83 of every 100 persons are mobile phone users; and for mobility, International inbound tourists were estimated to be 247,000.
The area of employment revealed some worrying numbers.
While overall unemployment remains at a constant 12%, unemployment among youth – ages 15-24 – stands at 22.6%.
Additionally, 56.8% of all employment were considered “vulnerable employment,” while 35.2% of youth between the ages of 15 and 24 are neither in school nor employed.
Further, in the gender analysis, it was discovered that Guyana’s maternal mortality ratio – the number of deaths per 100,000 live births – is 229 per 100,000 persons, compared with a regional average of 74, and a global average of 211.
The UN has set itself a target of reducing the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030.
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