Vietnam has made good progress in human development, with an average annual Human Development Index (HDI) growth of 1.36 percent during the 1990-2018 period.

This places Vietnam among the group of countries with the highest HDI growth rate in the world.

This is one of the key finding of the 2019 Human Development Report, entitled “Beyond income, beyond averages, beyond today: Inequalities in human development in the 21st Century”, released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on December 9.”

Addressing the report launching ceremony in Hanoi, UNDP Resident Representative in Vietnam Caitlin Wiesen said the 2019 Human Development Report disclosed the next generation of inequalities emerging around digital technology, education, and the climate crisis and proposes new ways of measuring and approaching inequalities.

Wiesen praised Vietnam for having firmly embarked on people-centered development and equality in its current socio-economic development strategies and plans.

“Vietnam’s significant Human Development progress since 1990 has been achieved with relatively low increases in inequality,” she said.

Taking into account the Inequality Adjusted HDI, Vietnam is nine places higher than its HDI ranking in 2018, she added.

According to the report, with the HDI of 0.63, Vietnam ranks 118th out of 189 countries, and it needs only an additional 0.007 points to join the High Human Development group. Vietnam’s HDI rank is higher than India, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.

Vietnam has also been performing well in terms of gender equality. The Gender Development Index value of 1.003 puts the country in the top five groups of 166 countries in the world, with Vietnam ranking 68th out of 162 countries in Gender Inequality Index. Particularly commendable is the share of seats in parliament which places Vietnam among the top third of countries globally.

However, Caitlin said, there were important areas for improvement. Vietnam ranks among the bottom third of countries globally in terms of sex ratio at birth (1.12), violence against women by non-intimate partners (34.4 percent) and women with accounts in financial institutions or with mobile money service provider (30.4 percent).

Although Vietnam’s forest coverage as among the top third of countries globally, the country is among the bottom third of countries in terms of carbon emission per capita.

Addressing these would be a key challenge to ensure the sustainability of Vietnam’s growth, she said.

Caitlin suggested Vietnam raise people’s awareness of sex-selection issue.

Nguyen Tien Phong, Assistant Resident Representative of UNDP, said regarding to socio-economic sustainability, a lot of jobs generated by small and medium enterprises did not require skills, meaning Vietnam ranks low in skilled labour force and vulnerable employment.

Vu Dai Thang, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment, said Vietnam has issued an action plan on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development.

The Vietnamese Government’s determination was represented by the Nation Assembly's approval of the master plan on socio-economic development for ethnic minority people with the goal of ensure equality in human development. It was in accordance with the spirit “Don’t leave any one behind” upheld by the government, he said.