UNDP
Regional Bureau for Arab States 1UN Plaza, new York, New York, 100017, USA
Tel: 212-9638302
Fax: 8002539646
E-mail:
publications@un.org
Activity Title:
Creating Opportunities for Future Generations
Type:
Arab Human Development Report 2002
Brief:
The first Arab Human Development Report for the Arab States has illustrated substantial progress over the past three decades. Life expectancy has increased by 15 years; mortality rates for children under five years of age have fallen by about two thirds; adult literacy has almost doubled—and women’s literacy has tripled—reflecting large increases in gross educational enrollments. Yet it is evident that Arab countries have not developed as quickly as comparable nations in other regions. More than half of Arab women are illiterate. The region’s infant mortality rate is double that of Latin American and the Caribbean, and four times that of East Asia. Over the past 20 years, growth per capita income was the lowest in the world except for sub-Saharan Africa. The Report probes the causes of these deficits and identifies three areas where Arab institutional structures are hindering performance and crippling human development: governance, women’s empowerment, and knowledge.
