KATHMANDU: Nepal has been ranked 146th on the Human Development Index (HDI) by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), according to its latest report.

The HDI report indicates that Nepal achieved an HDI value of 0.610, positioning the country at 146th among 193 countries and territories worldwide.

This value marks a slight increase of 0.010 compared to 2021, resulting in Nepal moving up three places from the previous year.

The HDI serves as a comprehensive measure to assess the average achievement in three fundamental dimensions of human development: longevity, education, and standard of living.

Over the period from 1990 to 2022, Nepal’s HDI value witnessed a significant change, rising from 0.395 to 0.601, marking a notable increase of 52.2 percent.

Additionally, during the same period, life expectancy at birth increased by 15.7 years, expected years of schooling rose by 5.4 years, and mean years of schooling increased by 2.1 years.

Nepal’s Gross National Income (GNI) per capita also saw substantial growth, rising by approximately 165.7 percent between 1990 and 2022.

Key findings from the 2023/24 Human Development Report (HDR) highlight that all 38 countries within the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) achieved higher HDI scores compared to 2019 levels.

However, among the 35 least developed countries (LDCs), more than half experienced a decline in HDI in 2020 and/or 2021, with 18 countries still below their 2019 human development levels.

The report underscores the challenges faced by developing regions, indicating a shift towards a lower HDI trajectory, potentially leading to permanent setbacks in future human development progress.

The impact of these setbacks is particularly evident in Afghanistan and Ukraine.

Afghanistan’s HDI has regressed by a significant ten years, while Ukraine’s HDI dropped to its lowest level since 2004.

Furthermore, the report highlights research suggesting that countries governed by populist regimes experience lower GDP growth rates.

It indicates that fifteen years after the assumption of power by a populist government, the GDP per capita is estimated to be 10 percent lower compared to scenarios under non-populist governments.