Brazil improved on HDI in 2014, but slid one place down in world ranking

Brazil's Human Development Index (HDI) improved in 2014. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) reported that the country's HDI rose from 0.752 in 2013 to 0.755 in 2014. Despite the increase, Brazil was down one place to 75th in the human development ranking of 188 countries.

According to the 2015 Human Development Report released Monday (Dec. 14), Brazil has been overtaken by Sri Lanka, which experienced accelerated growth in the past year. The HDI measures human development based on three main indicators: life expectancy, education, and income.

Andréa Bolzon, Human Development Report Coordinator for Brazil, explained that pace of growth discrepancies between countries have led to Brazil's slide. “Although Brazil has improved on its HDI, there was another country that grew at a faster pace—hence the downfall.”

Ranking 75th, Brazil lags behind such Latin American countries as Argentina (40th), Chile (42nd), Uruguay (52nd), Cuba (67th), and Venezuela (71st). The top-ranked country globally was Norway, followed by Australia and Switzerland. Niger was last in the ranking.

The report shows that Brazil has had progress with indicators that reflect social improvement, including life expectancy at birth, which rose from 74.2 in 2013 to 74.5 in 2014, and the mean years of schooling which rose from 7.4 to 7.7 in that period. 

The Gross National Income (GNI) per capita decreased in 2014 (15,175), compared to 2013 (15,288).  Brazil's GNI had not seen a downturn since 1990. “The report showed that in terms of income per capita, there was a slight reduction, and of course this is also reflected in our human development index. Now we have to wait and see how things will come up in the report going forward,” Bolzon said. Asked if Brazil's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) shrink can impact the HDI adversely, she said this is a possibility, because income, one of its indicators, is related to GDP.

Brazil's HDI has been growing steadily for a good while. Between 1990 and 2014, it grew 24.2%, the top figure for the period among South American countries. As for the global ranking, Brazil has gone up three places between 2009 and 2014.

Brazil's public policies have been reflected directly in this progress, according to Andréa Bolzon. “The report acknowledges these social protection and conditional cash transfer programs as important steps in improving human development. Country development has its setbacks, so if you have a strong social safety net, things obviously get safer for everyone,” she pointed out.

The UNDP report, titled Work for Human Development, provides data on 188 countries and points out strategies to create opportunities and ensure the well-being of workers.

Translated by Mayra Borges