Recently Dublin hosted a presentation of the UN 2003 Human Development Report. For the thirteenth time this international organization has published ratings of 150-180 points (this year 175) based on economic and social indices. To avoid confusion because of the abundance of human development indices, it was decided to define it in only three directions: a chance for living a long life in good health, education, and access to assets securing decent living standards. In other words, the quality of life, including in Ukraine, is calculated based on the GDP, education level, the quality of health care service, and life expectancy.
This year our country occupied 75th place, considerably lagging behind Belarus (53) and Russia (63). Announcing the leaders of the list did not make any sensation. The same as last year, experts decided that the best places to live are Norway, Iceland, and Sweden. Permanent champion of the 1994- 2000 reports, Canada, now boasts only eighth place. The closing part of the list hasn’t change at all: African countries are dragging behind, with Sierra-Leone bringing up the rear (175).
It is worth mention that Ukraine’s position in the UN ratings had never been stable. Its debut in 1993-1994 was quite successful: 45th among 165 countries. After that, its results were less optimistic: 54th in 1995, 80th in 1996, 95th in 1997, and 102nd in 1998. Only in recent years has the vector finally changed: last year Ukraine rose back to 80th place. However, the same year the Ministry for Foreign affairs called the UN verdict into question, claiming in their official statement that the indices were outdated. First, it should be taken into consideration that the data under analyses are no less than a year old, which makes evaluation of the developing countries incorrect. Second, not always do the data come to the UN headquarters from official sources.
This year, in evaluating Ukraine’s position in the rating, the United Nations Development Program in Ukraine speaks about flaws in Ukrainian statistics. First, some confusion arises in calculating the Ukrainians’ education level. The changes in the terms of school education and the age of starting school does not make it possible to define the true number of those getting a secondary education. Speaking of GDP, international experts are convinced that Ukraine’s method of its calculation is incorrect, not to mention the unaccounted shadow sector. “In reality, Ukraine’s position should be much higher,” believes Ella Libanova, Ph.D. in economics. “This should happen in next year’s report, of course, under the condition that we change our method of calculations and improve our economic and demographic indices, which prevent us from occupying a higher place.”
However, improving these indices is precisely the goal of the millennium approved by UN member states, which became the subject for the present report. Ukraine, along with other 188 countries, undertook obligations to enter 2015 eliminating poverty and infectious diseases, reducing the morbidity rate among mothers and children, and creating favorable ecological conditions.
Speaking of poverty, according to the plan, in the next twelve years there should be no more than 5.5% poor people in Ukraine. So far, according to official data, there are 27% poor in Ukraine at present, while, according to an Institute of Sociology at the Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences poll, 46% Ukrainians consider themselves poor. However, Minister for Labor and Social Policies Mykhailo Papiyev stated that we have come through the first stage of the Poverty Reduction Strategy quite successfully. In nine months of 2002 alone, the poverty level has been reduced by 27.8%, and in its abject form by 15%.
The situation concerning demographic indices is more complex and far from optimistic. According to various forecasts, by 2006 the number of Ukrainians will decline by 5 to 7 million. Moreover, the maternal morbidity level in our country is twice as high as the European average. Experts connect this to the large number of abortions and population’s insufficient knowledge of issues concerning reproductive health. Note that in the last decade the birth rate in Ukraine has declined by 38.5%, morbidity rate increased by 26.5%, and those aged above 60 constitute one-fifth of the population. According to experts’ forecasts, by 2050 a situation could arise in Ukraine when there will be 900 pensioners for every 1000 working people.
As regards the average life span (which, by expert calculations, plays a deciding role in defining a country’s position in the rating), our indices can be viewed as positive only compared to African countries. The difference between the average male and female lifespan is 11 years, since 47% men in Ukraine do not make it to pension age. Among the factors influencing this strategic index gerontologists name work-related traumas and deaths along with an unfavorable ecological situation. To quote data of the Ecological Hygiene and Toxicology Institute of the Academy of Medical Sciences, there are 85 kilograms of hazardous substances for every living Ukrainian.
