U.N ranks Afghanistan as fifth least developed country in the world

Afghanistan has dropped one place in the U.N. global human development index despite anticipation of significant improvement in its development indicators, IRIN reported on Sunday.

Afghanistan’s National Human Development Report, a 176-page document drafted by around 40 Afghan and international experts, included the results. Despite double-digit economic growth over the past several years, the country has failed to significantly reduce poverty and hunger. Among developing countries, Afghanistan has one of the lowest adult literacy rates: 23.5 percent in 2005, according to the report. Afghan women tend to be the most disadvantaged. Their school enrollment rates are about half of those for their males; many also have difficulty accessing health services and substantial employment opportunities.

The report also addressed major shortcomings in the country’s formal and informal legal mechanisms and called for a hybrid system that would bridge traditional rules and the formal legal system.

According to the article: “The report warned of Afghanistan’s limited progress towards its nine millennium development goals (MDGs). It said in spite of remarkable advances in human development since 2002, the country is not progressing fast enough in many sectors to achieve its MDGs by 2020, which will have ‘dire consequences for the poor and most vulnerable.’”

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