BARBADOS has retained its standing as the highest ranked developing country in the world, according to this yearﾴs Human Development Index (HDI).
The latest United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report, which will be officially released around the world today, revealed that out of 175 countries in all seven continents, Barbados was rated number 27 ﾖ just shy of some of the worldﾴs most developed nations.
The HDI, an annual compilation used to determine the UNDPﾴs allocation of development funding, measures individual countriesﾴ achievements in terms of the life expectancy, educational attainment and adjusted real income.
Listed among the 55 countries in the ﾓhigh human developmentﾔ category, Barbadosﾴ standing has improved since the report was released in 2002 when the island was ranked 31.
Also ranked in the high human development segment of the list are the Bahamas at 49, St. Kitts and Nevis at 51, Cuba one spot down at 52 and the twin island republic of Trinidad and Tobago at 54.
Barbados and Bahamas are the only two Caribbean countries among the top 50 nations in the high human development segment, headed by the European nation of Norway, which retained its number one ranking from last year.
A number of countries moved down the listing, including superpower United States which dropped by one spot to hold the number seven position this year, while Canada which held the number three spot last year lost significant ground to be rated behind the US at eight. The United Kingdom was one of the only countries to retain its past rating at 13.
Meanwhile, the only Caribbean nation to be listed among the 59 ﾓpriorityﾔ countries classified in the low human development segment of the report, is Haiti, identified a 150. The poverty stricken African nation Sierra Leone is rated lowest on the HDI at 175.
By Lisa Haynes, The Barbados Advocate
