Kuwait ranks the top among Arab countries and 33 worldwide in the Human Development Index (HDI) of the “Arab Human Development Report 2009: Challenges to Human Security in the Arab Countries,” issued by the UN Development Program's (UNDP) Regional Bureau for Arab States. Representative of Kuwait and the Arab States at the World Bank, Dr Merza Hasan, told KUNA that Kuwait's attainment of this rank reflected the efforts exerted in the field of human development, despite the challenges faced in recent years. He explained that there were a number of factors in the report, prepared by the UNDP every two years, that were positive in the case of Kuwait and helped boost its ranking. He said in the adult literacy rate (aged 15 and older), Kuwait registered 93.3 percent, while the number of children enrolled in all three schooling levels was at 74.9 percent. “Kuwait is also in the lead in terms of life expectancy at birth, which is at 77.3 percent,” he said, adding that it was up from the 67.6 percent in 1970 “thanks to the improved health services and the increase in awareness among citizens.” Infant mortality rate (per 1,000 live births was at nine per 1,000 in Kuwait, which was one of the best rates worldwide and in the region), Hasan said. In terms of basic services, he said Kuwait had the highest rate in terms of electricity and water services, standing at 100 percent - a percentage that no other country in the world has recorded. Kuwait also recorded high rates in use of technology and its availability to citizens. Hasan noted that Kuwait also recorded the lowest level of unemployment in the Arab world, at two percent, but noted that there were many challenges in this area, as there was a large segment of Kuwaitis at the youth stage and these would need the creation of jobs, which in turn would burden the public and private sectors. On the health sector, Hasan said the report indicated a high level of obesity among women (aged 15 and above), but noted that 98 percent of all births were carried out by specialists, while vaccination against measles was at 99 percent - one of the highest rates worldwide. On educational index, Hasan said Kuwait was one of the best Arab states when it came to education, noting that this was reaffirmed by the World Bank in its reports. He explained that besides the aforementioned high rate of adult literacy, Kuwait and Jordan together ranked first among Arab states in terms of standards of educational method in its different forms, including the access to education, general equality, quality of education, and other aspects. This, he said, reflected the positive investment in education. Kuwaitis considered environmental pollutants as the most serious threat to human security, showing the high level of awareness among Kuwaitis of environmental issues, Hasan said. Hasan said that since the issuance of the first Arab Human Development Report in 2002, a deep discussion was launched over the ability of boosting human development in the Arab region and the challenges faced in this area. The report considers reform a must in the Arab region, and sustainable change must come from within, he said. As for the other five member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Hasan said Qatar ranked second among Arab states (35th worldwide), the UAE ranked third (39th worldwide), Bahrain fourth (41st worldwide), Oman sixth (58th worldwide), and Saudi Arabia seventh (61st worldwide).
