Haq's Musings

Riaz Haq writes this data-driven blog to provide information, express his opinions and make comments on many topics. Subjects include personal activities, education, South Asia, South Asian community, regional and international affairs and US politics to financial markets. For investors interested in South Asia, Riaz has another blog called South Asia Investor at http://www.southasiainvestor.com and a YouTube video channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkrIDyFbC9N9evXYb9cA_gQ

Showing posts with label 2010. Show all posts

Friday, November 5, 2010

Pakistan Ahead of India on Key Human Development Indices

Although Pakistan at 125 ranks 6 places below India at 119 on UNDP's 2010 human development index, Pakistanis fare much better than their Indian counterparts on several sub-indices including life expectancy, years of schooling and gender parity.

India lags behind its neighbors, Pakistan and Bangladesh, on human development indices like life expectancy at birth and mean or average years of schooling and gender parity, a United Nations Development Program (UNDP) report released Thursday said.

On gender parity, Pakistan ranks 112, ten places ahead of India at 122.

Titled "Real Wealth of Nations: Pathways to Human Development", the report had a global launch and was released at the UN in New York by UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon, according to media reports.

According to the report, life expectancy at birth in India is 64.4 years, while in Pakistan it is 67.2 years. In Bangladesh, life expectancy is 66.9 years.

Similarly, mean years of schooling in India is 4.4 years while in Pakistan and Bangladesh it is 4.9 and 4.8 years respectively.

Sri Lanka, which is ranked above India on HDI at 91, also fares better than India on the two indices. Its life expectancy at birth is 74.4 years and mean years of schooling is 8.2 years.

Reproductive health is the largest contributor to the inequality index. The other indicators, based on which it is calculated, include women's participation in the labor force, their level of empowerment based on educational attainment and parliamentary representation.

For maternal mortality, the figure for Pakistan is 320 deaths per 100,000 live births. In India, the corresponding figure stands at 450. The country also falters on adolescent fertility rate, another indicator of reproductive health.

According to the HDR 2010, the adolescent fertility rate in India is 68 births per 1,000 live births as compared to 45 births per 1,000 live births in Pakistan. The figures illustrate that Pakistan has fewer younger mothers.

Overall, both India and Pakistan are near the bottom of the list of medium human development countries while Bangladesh shows up among low human development nations. This report is just another reminder that the governments and the peoples of the entire South Asian region have a lot of work to do in terms of poverty reduction and education and health improvements to catch up with the rest of the world.

Related Links:

Haq's Musings

BRI C, Chindia and the "Indian Miracle"

Explore the World--Gapminder.org

Multi-dimensional Poverty Index Finds Indians Poorer than Africans

South Asia Slipping in Human Development

OPHI Country Briefing: Pakistan

OPHI Country Briefing: India

Slumdog Inspires India's "Big Switch"

Do Urban Slums Offer Hope?

Pakistan Most Urbanized in South Asia

Sub-replacement Fertility Rates

Female Genocide Unfolding in India

Missing: 50 Million Indian Girls

Population Growth and Migration

The Empty Cradle By Phillip Longman

Demographics Trend Favor Muslims in the West?

Friday, April 2, 2010

Pakistani-Americans: Stand Up and Be Counted

US Census 2010 is under way! It is an extensive exercise that happens once a decade and it produces data that guides the various branches of US government and its agencies, politicians, marketers, and just about every one else who needs America's demographics data.

The numbers produced by the Census drive the allocation of seats in the US Congress, budget appropriations, government policies, college enrollment, as well as big decisions on products, employment and target markets by private corporations targeting American consumers.

Here's how US Census Bureau describes the importance of census data:

1. Every year, the federal government allocates more than $400 billion to states and communities based, in part, on census data.

2. Census data are used to determine locations of schools, hospitals, new housing development, retail stores, and other community facilities.

3. Census data determine boundaries of state and local legislative and congressional districts.

Given the great significance of the Census 2010 results, it is extremely important for Pakistani-Americans to stand up and be counted. They must fill out the forms and send them in for the sake of their local communities, and for their own sake. They should understand that the ten minutes spent to fill out the Census 2010 form will have a significant impact on them and their local communities for the next ten years.

This year, among the various racial categories, there is an opportunity to mark "other Asian" and fill out "PAKISTANI" under the field to ensure the full recognition of the population of Pakistani-Americans (both citizens and non-citizens) residing in the United States. Upon request, the Census Bureau will provide you the form in Urdu language. The information provided on census forms is protected by the law, and it can not be used for any purpose other than for the count 2010.

I appeal to all Americans and American residents, including Pakistani-Americans, to fulfill their civic duty of ensuring correct US census results in 2010.

Here's a video clip about Census 2010 produced by Pakistani PAC: