Nepal tops regional ranking in inclusive development index

Nepal is not only advancing – in the last five years – in the Inclusive Development Index (IDI) but also ranks first in the South Asian region, a global report published today shows.
"Under the developing economies category, with overall score of 4.24, Nepal ranks 27th on the IDI, showing remarkable improvement over the last five years,” the Inclusive Growth and Development Report-2017 published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) reads.
"Nepal ranks 26th in Growth with a score of 3.35, whereas the country ranks 51st in Inclusion with a score of 3.25, but ranks 1st in Intergenerational Equity with a score of 6.11.”
“Intergenerational equity, which refers to whether economic performance is being pursued at the expense of future generations, is another limitation of GDP," the report reads, adding that increasing output, which at first glance would be 'good' for GDP, may come at the expense of externalities such as environmental damage, reduced leisure time, or the depletion of natural resources. "In other words, there is no link between GDP and the sustainability of the economy."
Though the country is ranked second to Lesotho – under the developing economies – for most improved five-year trend, it far below at 72 in GDP per capita, the report adds.
“Nepal, among the six countries, registered IDI scores that are 20 or more places higher than its GDP per capita rankings, suggesting that its development model is considerably more balanced and inclusive than that of countries with a comparable national income per capita.”
Notably, Nepal’s poverty rate has declined by 25 percentage points in this time, and its income inequality – net income Gini – by almost 8 percentage points, it reads, adding that Nepal outperforms all others on the intergenerational equity pillar during the most recent year, and has relatively low unemployment, including youth unemployment, and strong female participation in the workforce. “However, it performs poorly on GDP per capita and labor productivity.”
The framework indicates that the informal sector is dogged by low wages, leaving many workers in poverty. Priority areas include tackling corruption and administrative barriers to starting and growing a business, as well as continuing to improve infrastructure and basic services including education; particularly the availability and quality of vocational training, the report added.
Regionally, Nepal ranked 27th is followed by Bangladesh at 36th, Sri Lanka at 39th, Pakistan at 52nd and India at 60th in the IDI -2017.
The Inclusive Development Index (IDI) has been calculated by giving equal weight to the three pillars – growth, inclusion, and intergenerational equity – as well as the 12 indicators therein. However, if the bottom-line measure of national economic performance is sustained, broad-based progress in living standards, then a case could be made that the indicator or indicators that most closely approximate this concept should be weighted more heavily.
As measured by household surveys, median household income is attracting growing interest as an alternative to GDP per capita, the more commonly cited measure of a country’s material wellbeing. One drawback with GDP per capita is that it takes no account of distribution: it simply divides a nation’s income by the size of its population, the report states, adding, “If inequality in that country is very high, the resulting figure will provide a misleadingly optimistic suggestion of living standards for most individuals.”
Analysis of the 12 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that comprise the Inclusive Development Index, alongside the seven pillars of Policy and Institutional Indicators, suggests that median household income is indeed a reasonable proxy for inclusive growth and development as a whole even though it captures only one of the four dimensions of broad-based progress in living standards – income; opportunity; security; and quality of life – emphasised in the report.

IDI-2017 (Nepal)
GDP – 3%
Labour productivity and growth – 2%
Health lIfe expe nctancy trend – 1 yrs
Employmemt trend – (-0.3%)

Net Income GINI Trend – (-7.7)
Poverty Trend – 25.3%
Wealthy GINI Trend – 11.8
Median Income Trend – $1.2

Adjusted Net Savings Trend – 3.4%
Carbon Intensity Trend KG per$ of GDP – (-4.4)
Public Debt Trend – (-3.7%)
Dependency Ratio Trend – (-8.8%)

Nepal happier than India

Nepal is a happier country than India, according to a global report.
The World Happiness Report 2016 Update – which was released in Rome yesterday, ahead of UN World Happiness Day – has ranked Nepal ahead of India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in South Asia. UN World Happiness Day is celebrated on March 20.
The study that ranks countries by their happiness level, has listed Nepal at the 107th ranks among 156 countries with a score of 4.793. Bangladesh is in the 110th position with a score of 4.643, Sri Lanka (4.415) is 117th, and India with a score of 4.404 is in 118th position. Similarly, Afghanistan is at the 154th position with a score of 3.360.
However, Bhutan and Pakistan are happier than Nepal, according to the report that has ranked Bhutan at 84th position with a score of 5.196 and Pakistan at 92nd position with a score of 5.132.
The fourth World Happiness Report reflects growing global interest in using happiness and subjective well-being as primary indicators of the quality of human development. It also reflects results of subjective well-being research, and is expected to enable policies that support better lives.
This year, for the first time, the World Happiness Report gives a special role to the measurement and consequences of inequality in the distribution of well-being among countries and regions. The report states that people are happier living in societies where there is less inequality of happiness. "They also find that happiness inequality has increased significantly – comparing 2012-2015 to 2005-2011 – in most countries, in almost all global regions, and for the population of the world as a whole," it added.
According to the report, Denmark is the world' happiest country followed by Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Finland. Likewise, Burundi is least happy, followed by Syria, Togo, Afghanistan and Benin. Denmark overtook Switzerland as the world’s happiest place, according to a report that urged nations regardless of wealth to tackle inequality and the environment. The United States came in at 13, the United Kingdom at 23, France at 32, and Italy at 50.
The report, prepared by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the Earth Institute at Columbia University, showed Syria, Afghanistan and eight sub-Saharan countries as the 10 least happy places on earth to live.
The rankings, which are based on surveys in 156 countries conducted over three years (2013-2015), reveal an average score of 5.1, out of 10. Seven key variables explain three-quarters of the variation in annual national average scores over time and among countries: real GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, having someone to count on, perceived freedom to make life choices, freedom from corruption, and generosity, stated the report