JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Indonesia’s rank on the Human Development Index (HDI) dropped to 113 out of 188 countries in 2016 from 110 in the previous year as the development disparity in Indonesia is still wide.
With the ranking, Indonesia remains in the medium group category on the HDI.
Countries ranked below Indonesia are, among others, Palestine (114), Vietnam (115) and the Philippines (116). Indonesia’s closest neighbor, Malaysia, sits in the high group category at 59th position.
According to the Human Development Report 2016 issued by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), human development in the last 25 years (1990-2015) has advanced rapidly. Indonesia has also experienced a significant increase.
"However, the achievements have not benefited everyone," the director of UNDP Indonesia, Christophe Bahuet, said during the launch of the Human Development Report 2016, entitled "Human Development for All" in Jakarta on Wednesday.
In Indonesia, he said, gross national income increased 135.4 percent; life expectancy rose by 5.8 years; means years of schooling with an average of 4.6 years; and expected years of schooling rose by 2.8 years.
Improvement
Christophe said the Indonesian government had a strong commitment to coping with the inequality. However, Indonesia must continue to work to improve the HDI from the medium to the high category. Indonesia scored 0.689 in the HDI in 2015. However, due to inequality, the score dropped to 0.563 or an 8.2 percent decrease in 2016. The disparity in Indonesia, however, is still better than the average score of countries in Asia Pacific, which fell by 19.3 percent
Advisor on Sustainable Development Goals at UNDP Indonesia, Ansye Sopacua, said the development disparity in Indonesia could be seen from gender inequality. The HDI score for Indonesian men is 0.712, higher than the 0.660 for female. Life expectancy at birth for women is 71.2 years, while men 67 years.
Mean years of schooling for women average at 7.4 years and a gross national income per capita is US$6,668 (about Rp 88.73 million with exchange rate of Rp 13 308). As for males, the average is 8.5 years with gross national income per capita of $13,391 (about Rp 178.20 million).
Although Indonesia\'s HDI position is above the Philippines, its gender equality index is lower. Indonesia\'s maternal mortality rate is 126. About 42.9 percent of women enjoy at least secondary education. While for the Indonesian males, the number is 51.7 percent. In the same three indicators, the Philippines faired better.
Ansye said public policy had accommodated gender equality, but implementation was low. For example, the quota of 30 percent women in the legislature has not been fulfilled. "Inequality in terms of gender, towns and villages still exists and must be addressed seriously. Human development for all can be achieved through commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals," he said.
In addition, he said, about 140 million people still live on less than Rp 20,000 per day. A total of 19.4 million people suffer from malnutrition. In terms of health, there are 2 million children under the age of 1 who have not received full immunization and the maternal mortality rate is 305 per 100,000 live births. For access to basic services, nearly 5 million children are not attending school.
The group of people who must receive special attention are the poor and marginalized.
(ELN)