Notícias

Lithuania has been placed 35th out of 187 countries in the United Nations (UN) Human Development Report 2014, which measures a Human Development Index  

Lithuania has been placed 35th out of 187 countries in the United Nations (UN) Human Development Report 2014, which measures a Human Development Index. This is the best result in the history of Lithuania. Lithuania has risen 6 places since 2013. As a result, it has entered the club of 49 countries with a“very high human development” level, climbing out of the broader group of countries rates as having “high human development”.

Lithuania shares 35th place with neighbouring Poland. According to the compilers of the index, Lithuania is fourth in the Central and Eastern European region, with Slovenia (in 25th place), the Czech Republic (28th) and Estonia (33rd) ahead of it. Latvia is ranked 48th and Russia 57th. According to the UN’s estimates, Norway, Australia and Switzerland are at the top of the human development ranking with Niger at the bottom.

The Human Development Index is produced by assessing life expectancy, the average and expected years of schooling, and the gross national product per capita. The index states that, compared to 2013, the average duration of schooling in Lithuania has increased by almost 2 years, while the expected duration of schooling has increased by almost a year. Estimated life expectancy remains unchanged. 

In terms of the level of education in Lithuania, our country is not far behind the top ranking states. However, in life expectancy - which in Lithuania is 72.1 years - we lag behind not only the top ranking countries, but also some Central and Eastern European countries. For example, the average life expectancy in Estonia is 74.4 years, in the Czech Republic  77.7, and in Slovenia 79.6. The indicator in top ranking countries is as high as 83 years. It can be presumed that social problems and high suicide rates have the biggest impact on this indicator in Lithuania. 

The full report is available here.