Timor-Leste slips slightly in Human Development By Charles Scheiner, La’o Hamutuk
20 November 2006 Every year, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) publishes a Human Development Report. The 2006 edition, which was published on 9 November 2006, is entitled “Beyond Scarcity: Power, poverty and the global water crisis.” In addition to the thematic discussion and a wealth of statistical data on health, education, economics, and other factors, the UNDP calculates a “Human Development Index” (HDI) for every country in the world. The HDI combines life expectancy, education (literacy and school enrollment) and income to produce a composite measure of human development. In the 2006 report, which is based on data from 2004, the HDI for Timor-Leste is 0.512. Timor-Leste ranks 142nd of 177 countries with data. Except for Yemen, Haiti and several African countries, this is the lowest in the world. | Timor-Leste’s human developmentindex 2004 (from 2006 report) | | HDI value | Life expectancy at birth
(years) | Adult literacy rate
(% ages 15 and older) | Combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrolment ratio
(%) | | 1. Norway (0.965) | 1. Japan (82.2) | 1. Georgia (100.0) | 1. Australia (113.2) | | 140. Congo (0.520) | | 141. Sudan (0.516) | | 142. Timor-Leste (0.512) | | 143. Madagascar (0.509) | | 144. Cameroon (0.506) |
| | 135. Gambia (56.1) | | 136. Senegal (56.0) | | 137. Timor-Leste (56.0) | | 138. Papua New Guinea (55.7) | | 139. Madagascar (55.6) |
| | 108. Sudan (60.9) | | 109. Burundi (59.3) | | 110. Timor-Leste (58.6) | | 111. Ghana (57.9) | | 112. Papua New Guinea (57.3) |
| | 91. Costa Rica (72.4) | | 92. Iran, Islamic Rep. of (72.2) | | 93. Timor-Leste (71.7) | | 94. Honduras (71.4) | | 95. Tajikistan (70.8) |
| | 177. Niger (0.311) | 177. Swaziland (31.3) | 128. Mali (19.0) | 172. Niger (21.5) |
Since last year, Timor-Leste’s human development index has dropped slightly, falling below Sudan and Congo in the rankings. The 2005 UNDP Human Development Report, based on 2003 data, calculated Timor-Leste’s HDI as 0.513, ranking 140 out of 177. That was the first time the HDR included statistics about Timor-Leste. The complete 2006 UNDP Human Development Report and related information are available from http://hdr.undp.org/hdr2006/. The following statistical information for Timor-Leste is taken from the UNDP 2006 Human Development Report. In most cases, the information was collected in 2004. The link from each item will take you to the worldwide information for that statistic. 1. Human development index | Human development index (HDI) value, 2004 | 0.512 | | Life expectancy at birth (years) (HDI), 2004 | 56.0 | years | Adult literacy rate (% ages 15 and older) (HDI), 2004 | 58.6% | 1 2 | Combined gross enrolment ratio for primary, secondary and tertiary schools, 2004 | 72% | 2 3 | GDP per capita (PPP US$) (HDI), 2004 | .. | 4 | Life expectancy index | 0.52 | | Education index | 0.63 | | GDP index | 0.39 | | GDP per capita (PPP US$) rank minus HDI rank | 20 | | 2. Human development index trends | Human development index, 2004 | 0.512 | | 3. Human and income poverty: developing countries | Probability at birth of not surviving to age 40 (% of cohort), 2000-05 | 25.5% | | Population without sustainable access to an improved water source, 2004 | 42% | | Children underweight for age (% under age 5) (HPI..1), 1996-2004 | 46% | | 4. Human and income poverty: OECD countries, Central and Eastern Europe and the CIS | Probability at birth of not surviving to age 60 (% of cohort), 2000-05 | 42.4% | | MDG-68. Basic indicators for other UN member countries | Life expectancy at birth (HDI), 2000-05 | 55.2 | years | Combined gross enrolment ratio for primary, secondary and tertiary schools (HDI), 2004 | 71.7% | | Total population, 2004 | 887,000 | | Total fertility rate (births per woman), 2000-05 | 7.8 | | Under-five mortality rate (per 1,000 live births), 2004 | 80 | /1,000 | HIV prevalence (% ages 15-49), 2005 | [<0.2] | | People undernourished (% of total population), 2001-03 | 8% | | Population with sustainable access to an improved water source, 2004 | 58% | | 5. Demographic trends | Total population, 1975 | 700,000 | | Total population, 2004 | 900,000 | | Total population, 2015 | 1,500,000 | | Annual population growth rate, 1975-2004 | 1.0% | | Annual population growth rate, 2004-15 | 4.7% | | Urban population (% of total), 1975 | 14.6% | | Urban population (% of total), 2004 | 26.1% | | Urban population (% of total), 2015 | 31.2% | | Population under age 15 (% of total), 2004 | 41.6% | | Population under age 15 (% of total), 2015 | 46.7% | | Population ages 65 and older (% of total), 2004 | 2.9% | | Population ages 65 and older (% of total), 2015 | 3.0% | | Total fertility rate (births per woman), 1970-75 | 6.2 | | Total fertility rate (births per woman), 2000-05 | 7.8 | | 6. Commitment to health: resources, access and services | Public health expenditure (% of GDP), 2003 | 7.3% | | Private health expenditure (% of GDP), 2003 | 2.3% | | Health expenditure per capita (PPP US$), 2003 | $125 | per capita | One-year-olds fully immunized against tuberculosis, 2004 | 72% | | One-year-olds fully immunized against measles, 2004 | 55% | | Contraceptive prevalence rate (% of married women ages 15-49), 1996-2004 | 10% | | Births attended by skilled health personnel, 1996-2004 | 18% | | Physicians (per 100,000 people), 1990-2004 | 10 | /100,000 | 7. Water, sanitation and nutritional status | Population with sustainable access to improved sanitation, 2004 | 36% | | Population with sustainable access to an improved water source, 2004 | 58% | | Population undernourished (% total), 1990-92 | 11% | | Population undernourished (% total), 2001-03 | 8% | | Children underweight for age (% under age 5), 1996-2004 | 46% | | Children under height for age (% under age 5), 1996-2004 | 49% | | Infants with low birthweight, 1996-2004 | 10% | | 9. Leading global health crises and risks | HIV prevalence (% ages 15-49), 2005 | [<0.2%] | | Children under age 5 using insecticide-treated bednets, 1999-2004 | 8% | | Children under age 5 with fever treated with antimalarial drugs, 1999-2004 | 47% | | Tuberculosis cases - prevalence (per 100,000 people), 2004 | 692 | /100,000 | Tuberculosis cases detected under DOTS, 2004 | 46% | | Tuberculosis cases cured under DOTS, 2003 | 81% | | 10. Survival: progress and setbacks | Life expectancy at birth, 1970-75 | 40.0 | years | Life expectancy at birth, 2000-05 | 55.2 | years | Infant mortality rate (per 1,000 live births), 2004 | 64 | /1,000 | Under-five mortality rate (per 1,000 live births), 2004 | 80 | /1,000 | Probability at birth of surviving to age 65, female (% of cohort), 2000-05 | 52.7% | | Probability at birth of surviving to age 65, male (% of cohort), 2000-05 | 47.3% | | Maternal mortality ratio adjusted (per 100,000 live births), 2000 | 660 | /100,000 | 12. Literacy and enrolment | Net secondary enrolment ratio, 2004 | 20% | 5 6 | 14. Economic performance | GDP, 2004 | $300,000,000 | | GDP per capita (US$), 2004 | $367 | per capita | 18. Flows of aid, private capital and debt | Official development assistance (ODA) received (net disbursements) Total, 2004 | $152,800,000 | | Official development assistance (ODA) received (net disbursements) Per capita, 2004 | $172.2 | per capita | Official development assistance (ODA) received (net disbursements) (as % of GDP), 2004 | 45.1% | | 19. Priorities in public spending | Public expenditure on health (% of GDP), 2003-04 | 7.3% | | 21. Energy and the environment | Electricity consumption per capita (kilowatt-hours), 2003 | 301 | kwh 7 | Carbon dioxide emissions - Per capita (metric tons), 2003 | 0.2 | | Carbon dioxide emissions - Share of world total (%), 2003 | (.) | | Ratification of environmental treaties - Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety | no | | Ratification of environmental treaties - Framework Convention on Climate Change | no | | Ratification of environmental treaties - Kyoto Protocol to the Framework Convention on Climate Change | no | | Ratification of environmental treaties - Convention on Biological Diversity | no | | 22. Refugees and armaments | Refugees by country of asylum (thousands), 2005 | 0 | | Refugees by country of origin (thousands), 2005 | 0 | | Total armed forces, 2006 | 1,000 | | 24. Gender-related development index | Life expectancy at birth, female, 2004 | 57.1 | years | Life expectancy at birth, male, 2004 | 54.9 | years | 26. Gender inequality in education | Gross tertiary enrolment - female ratio (%), 2004 | 12% | 10 11 | Gross tertiary enrolment - ratio of female to male , 2004 | 1.48 | 10 11 | 27. Gender inequality in economic activity | Female economic activity rate (% ages 15 and older), 2004 | 53.5% | | Female economic activity (index, 1990=100, ages 15 and older), 2004 | 107 | | Female economic activity (as % of male rate, ages 15 and older), 2004 | 66% | | 29. Women's political participation | Women in government at ministerial level (as % of total), 2005 | 22.2% | | Seats in lower house or single house held by women (as % of total), 2006 | 25.3% | 12 | 30. Status of major international human rights instruments | International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, 1948 | no | | International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, 1965 | yes | | International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 | yes | | International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 1966 | yes | | Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, 1979 | yes | | Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, 1984 | yes | | Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989 | yes | | MDG-69. Status of fundamental labour rights conventions | Freedom of association and collective bargaining - Convention 87 | no | | Freedom of association and collective bargaining - Convention 98 | no | | Elimination of forced and compulsory labour - Convention 29 | no | | Elimination of forced and compulsory labour - Convention 105 | no | | Elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation - Convention 100 | no | | Elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation - Convention 111 | no | | Abolition of child labour - Convention 138 | no | | Abolition of child labour - Convention 182 | no | |
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