Nigeria Content Online

Nigeria is ranked
142 out of 169 least prosperous countries in the world, according to
data released on Thursday in New York by the United Nations Development
Programme.

The country was
listed 15 among 42 country considered to belong in the ‘least human
development’ category. Countries are grouped into groups of Very High
Human Development, High Human Development, Medium Human Development,
and Low High Human Development.

Zimbabwe, at 169, is at the bottom and rated the worst country to live in.

The report assessed
countries in terms of their education, wealth, and life expectancy,
measured through what it called Human Development Index (HDI).

The 2010 report,
entitled ‘The Real Wealth of Nations: Pathways to Human Development’,
examined progress in health, education, and income over the past 40
years. The 2010 report introduced three new indices for poverty,
inequality, and gender.

According to the
report, Nigeria’s wealth – as defined by gross domestic product per
head – has slipped, while its educational ranking has failed to keep up
with that of other countries.

The GDP per head in Nigeria is a mere $1,224, compared to $9,812 in South Africa, $1,628 in Kenya, and $2,197 in Cameroon.

Nigeria’s life
expectancy was 48.4 years on average, below that of Ghana (57.1.),
Cameroon (51.7), Benin Republic (62.3), and Uganda (54.1).

Leading nations

Mauritius ranked highest among sub-Saharan states – number 72 in the world – and is followed by Gabon, 93, and Botswana, 98.

“This year’s report
of the HDI should not be compared to the HDI that appeared in previous
editions of the Human Development Report, due to the use of different
indicators and calculations,” a statement from the UNDP said.

According to the
2010 report, Norway is the best country to live in, followed by
Australia, New Zealand, U.S, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Netherlands,
Canada, Sweden, Germany, Japan, Korea Republic, Switzerland, France,
Israel, Finland, Iceland, Belgium, Denmark, and Spain.

UN
Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, launched the Human Development Report
2010 in New York. The UN said parallel ceremonies to present the
flagship report also took place in Nairobi as well as Dakar.

Though Nigeria’s HDI rating is 0.423, the HDI of Sub-Saharan Africa
as a region increased from 0.293 in 1980 to 0.389 today, placing
Nigeria above the regional average.