Thirty-six of the 50 least developed countries in the world are located in Africa, according to the United Nations latest Human Development Index (HDI) report. This one statistic puts in some perspective how far the region has to go to compete with other economies in the world.
The HDI is a sober reminder of the lack of social development and access to basic services for most Africans across the vast continent.
The index takes an alternative look at a country's progress in health, education and income, rather than conventional measures such as rate of economic growth.
The most 'developed' Sub-Saharan African country was Mauritius, ranked 80th globally out of 187 nations.
"Though many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa showed improvement in their GII [Gender Inequality Index] value between 2000 and 2012, they still perform worse than countries in other regions, mainly because of higher maternal mortality ratios and adolescent fertility rates and huge gaps in educational attainment."
The 10 least developed countries in the world are all from Africa:
Niger was the least developed country in the world, followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali, Eritrea, Central African Republic, Guinea and Burundi.
"Between 2003 and 2009... many resource-rich African countries where FDI contributed substantially to economic growth saw some of the lowest non-income Human Development Index (HDI) values," said the report." However, the impact on development is limited when such investments are confined to enclaves and de-linked from the rest of the economy."
Clearly, investment growth isn't enough, especially if the spillover benefits from FDI are unlikely to be widespread if there is no sustained investment in improving people's skills and social well-being.
"In this regard, relatively resource-poor Ethiopia and Tanzania are noteworthy for their large increase in non-income HDI value between 2000 and 2010 and for their above-average FDI over the same period."
Signs of improvement ahead
Africa's poverty and troubles are well-documented, which is why the HDI report is more focused on the growth trajectory of emerging economies in non-economic development.
"One of the most heartening developments in recent years has been the broad progress in human development of many developing countries and their emergence onto the global stage: the 'rise of the South'," the report notes.
Emerging economic giants like China, India and Brazil are leading the way in establishing trade ties with less developed regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa.
"Sub-Saharan Africa has become a major new source and destination for South-South trade," the report noted. "Between 1992 and 2011, China's trade with Sub-Saharan Africa rose from USD 1 billion to more than USD 140 billion. Indian companies are investing in African industries ranging from infrastructure to hospitality, while Brazilian firms are some of the largest employers in Angola."
Beyond investments, Brazil, China and India are also leading development assistance in places like Sub-Saharan Africa.
Brazil has exported its successful school grant program and its program to fight illiteracy in Africa, the HDI report notes.
"In 2011, it [Brazil] had 53 bilateral health agreements with 22 African countries. China has complemented its investment flows and trade arrangements with finance and technical assistance for building hard infrastructure.
China is also doubling concessionary loans to USD 20 billion over the next three years, and India's Export-Import Bank has extended USD 2.9 billion in lines of credit to Sub-Saharan African countries and has offered additional loans of USD 5 billion over the next five years.
"Between 2001 and 2008, countries and institutions from the South met 47% of official infrastructure financing for Sub-Saharan Africa."
The United Nations believes the rising 'South-South' trade ties will alleviate many African countries and improve their social well-being and help them rise up the HDI ranks.
Gabon emerged as the second best SSA nation and 106th globally, while Botswana (119th), South Africa (121) and Namibia (128th) made up the five most HDI developed nations in the region.
Nations at top of HDI list
Qatar was the leading Middle East nation in terms of HDI, at an impressive 36th, while the United Arab Emirates was not far behind at 41st globally. Saudi Arabia, the region's largest economy, was placed 57th globally.
Among nations hit by the Arab Spring, Bahrain was ranked 48th, while Libya (64th) led North African states.
"Of the 20 countries with the largest increases in mean years of schooling over 1980-2010, eight were in the Arab States. In most of these countries, employment opportunities failed to keep pace with educational attainment," the report concluded.
© alifarabia.com 2013
