Sri Lanka's ranking in the Human Development Index (HDI) has risen from 72 to 71 out of 189 countries, maintaining the country's status as the best performer in South Asia, local media reports quoting a report by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) said here on Wednesday.
The Human Development Report 2019 by the UNDP noted that Sri Lanka's HDI climbed from 0.776 in 2017 to 0.780 in 2018. The report noted that the country has defeated malaria this year and maintained an annual 0.49 percent growth in HDI from 2010 to 2018.
However, the report noted that taxation policies have increased the number of people living below the 2.50-U.S. dollar-per-day poverty line in the country. Notably, the new Sri Lankan government has recently announced widespread tax reliefs, especially on indirect taxes such as value added tax, to address this issue.
Sri Lanka is the highest ranked country in South Asia in terms of HDI. Sri Lanka and Maldives are the only South Asian countries categorized as having High Human Development by the UNDP.
Xinhua
