UN ranking based on three measurable dimensions
By JASMIN BONIMY, Guardian Staff Reporter, Jasmin@nasguard.com
The Bahamas has been named the 50th best place to live in the world, it was revealed in a United Nation's (UN) report.
The 2005 Human Development Report said that the country was ranked the third highest in the Caribbean region. Beating us out were Barbados, which ranked 13th and St Kitts and Nevis, which ranked 49th.
"The Bahamas is ranked 50th in the 2005 report with a Human Development Index (HDI) value of 0.832. Barbados ranks first in the region, with a value of 0.878," the report read. "The HDI focuses on three measurable dimensions of human development. Thus it combines measures of life expectancy, school enrollment, literacy and income to allow a broader view of a country's development than does income alone."
But in the 2001 report The Bahamas ranked 42nd, which means the country has dropped eight notches this year, but still remains in the Medium Human Development slot.
The U N survey ranks 177 countries annually in the developed, developing and third world.
The Scandinavian country of Norway has once again maintained its number one spot.
Sweden dropped four notches to become number six, making way for Iceland to occupy the number two spot.
Australia maintained its number three position. However Luxembourg jumped from number 15 last year to hold the number four position today.
The largest Caribbean island, Cuba, has kept its spot among the big nations.
Fidel Castro's realm has remained constant at number 52 among the 55 nations with high a high HDI in 2004 and it remains at number 52 among the 57 nations in 2005.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) officially launched the 16th Human Development Report in September, under the patronage of HRH Princess Basma, the Honourary Human Development Ambassador for UNDP.
Published annually since 1990, it focuses the global debate on key development issues, providing new ways of measuring development, fresh analysis of development problems and sometimes-controversial policy proposals, according to a statement released by UNDP.
The theme of the 2005 report is "International cooperation at a crossroads: Aid, trade and security in an unequal world."
