UNDP Human Development Index 2014: How did China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and neighbors fare?

By Abie Epstein, July 27, 2014

The Human Development Report, published by the Human Development Report Office of the United Nations Development Programme, is an annual report measuring human development across the world.

This years report, entitled Sustaining Progress: Reducing Vulnerabilities and Building Resilience, focuses on the two concepts of vulnerability and resilience in regards to human development and how they can its effect progress.

Key findings from 2014 revealed that 1.2 billion people live on US$1.25 a day or less, 1.5 billion people in 91 developing countries are living in poverty alongside deprivations in health, education and living standards, nearly 80% of the global population lack social protection, and 842 million people suffer from persistent hunger. According to the report, poverty is declining overall but almost 800 million people are at risk of falling back into poverty if setbacks occur.

Hong Kong has held onto 15th place, which it shares with South Korea this year. Japan has dropped one place to 17th with Vietnam at 121st and India at 135th. Taiwan and Macau do not appear on the ranking since they are not UN member states, but in previous years it has ben estimated that they should sit at around 22nd and 25th place, respectively. North Korea does not appear either due to a lack of reliable data, but they're reckoned to be around the 150 mark. China has moved up two spots up to 91st.

An important change to this year's index is the Gender Development Index (GDI), which has been featured for the first time. It measures the gender gap in human development achievements revealing that in 16 countries female HDI values are equal or higher than those for males.

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