The Human Development Report (HDR), based on its quantitative methodological fundament – the Human Development Index is one of the longest-standing and most comprehensive tools for data-gathering, analysis, and policy assessment in the field of human development. Published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the HDR is being published continuously for more than three decades.
With its comprehensive and voluminous database from almost all countries in the World, it is an investigative instrument under the auspices of the UN system ever since 1990. The analytical scope of the HDR entails vital political, social, economic, and cultural topics related to human development.
The ranking of North Macedonia in the HDR did not commence as soon as quantitative data started to be collected for the needs of the Report in 1990. Longitudinal data indicates that North Macedonia has been present in the rankings since 2000, and ever since, the value trend of the HDI follows the developments in the global values of the HDI. North Macedonia is placed in the group of countries with high human development (second best cohort)3. The broader picture of the last two decades reveals that the progress of North Macedonia has been more rapid in the 2000-2010 period – 0, 90%, compared to the 2010-2021 period with only 0, 36% increase of the HDI value. A stable and gradual increase in the HDI occurred in period between 2000 and 2019, increasing the value of the index from 0,675 to 0,784 (UNDP, HDI 2021/22 Source Data). This trend started declining in 2020, as for most of the countries ranked in the HDI, dropping to 0,774 in 2020 and further plunging in 2021 to 0,770. This places the HDI of North Macedonia lower than the value achieved in 2018 (0,779) and close to the value of 2015 (0,762) meaning that at least four years of progress have been lost with the latest shift in the value of the index. If the trend continues in the following year(s) the number of years of lost progress in the HDI might rise to seven or higher.
Read the report here:
Pathway through uncertain times (Human Development Index 2022 – North Macedonia)