Vietnam Makes Progress in Human Development, Poverty Reduction

Vietnam has made great progress in human development and multidimensional poverty reduction, but it still faces challenges in minimizing differences between regions and population groups, the gender gap, and environmental issues regarding carbon dioxide emission and biodiversity. Country Director of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Vietnam Caitlin Wiesen made the statement during a seminar in Hanoi on Wednesday to announce Vietnam’s Human Development Indices (HDI): Statistical Update 2018. The report places Vietnam’s HDI in the high-medium group. With 0.69 points in 2017, Vietnam ranked 116th out of 189 countries and needs to earn 0.006 points to reach the high HDI group. In Vietnam the average life expectancy is 76.5 years, second in Asia-Pacific. Vietnam’s multidimensional poverty index for 2018 is 0.0197, 31st out of 189 countries. (VOV Oct 18)