The numbers don't lie
Brazil has shown consistent improvement in people's living conditions over the last 30 years. It was one of the countries that improved the most in the last three decades.
Brazil moved up one position in the 2013 Human Development Index (HDI) compared to the previous year, rising from 80th to 79th place in the ranking of the most and least developed nations, which includes 187 countries. The data has just been revealed by the 2013 Human Development Report.
The HDI (Human Development Index) is an index measured based on indicators of income, health, and education. The index ranges on a scale from 0 to 1. The closer to 1, the higher the HDI. The ranking divides countries into four categories: those with a "very high," "high," "medium," and "low" development index.
Over the last three decades, the country has registered a 36,4% growth in the HDI, rising from 0,545 (low development) in 1980 to 0,744 in 2013 (high development). Compared to 2012, most countries remained stable in the 2013 development ranking.
Of the 187 nations surveyed, 38 countries rose, 114 maintained their positions, and 35 fell. Norway remains in first place in the world ranking, followed by Australia, Switzerland, and Sweden. The United States, previously the third most developed country, fell to fifth place. The three worst-ranked countries are the African nations of Niger, Congo, and the Central African Republic.
Brazil, therefore, has demonstrated a consistent improvement in people's living conditions over the last 30 years. It was one of the countries that improved the most in the last three decades. In the report, the UN praises Brazil's efforts to promote social inclusion and increase the purchasing power of the poorest population.
The Human Development Index takes into account three factors: health data based on life expectancy at birth; education, with information on average years of schooling for the adult population and expected years of schooling for children; and gross national income, which identifies the resources that remained in the country. With recent decisions by Congress, especially in the area of education, the trend is for Brazil to improve even further in this "ranking".
* This is an opinion article, the responsibility of the author, and does not reflect the opinion of Brasil 247.