With a Human Development Index of 0.776, Armenia is ranked among the countries in high human development category, and is positioned 81th out of 189 countries and territories in the Human Development Report published by UNDP.
Between 1990 and 2019, Armenia’s life expectancy at birth increased by 7.2 years, mean years of schooling increased by 1.2 years and expected years of schooling increased by 2.2 years. Armenia’s GNI per capita increased by about 167.6 percent between 1990 and 2019.
Armenia’s 2019 HDI of 0.776 is above the average of 0.753 for countries in the high human development group and below the average of 0.791 for countries in Europe and Central Asia. From Europe and Central Asia, Armenia is compared with Azerbaijan and Georgia, which have HDIs ranked 88 and 61, respectively. Turkey and Iran are ranked 54th and 70th, while the Russian Federation is ranked 52nd.
In 2010, the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI) was introduced, which is the HDI ‘discounted’ for inequalities. Armenia’s IHDI for 2019 is 0.699, a loss of 9.9 percent due to inequality in the distribution of the HDI dimension indices. Azerbaijan and Georgia show losses due to inequality of 9.5 percent and 11.8 percent, respectively. The average loss due to inequality for high HDI countries is 17.9 percent and for Europe and Central Asia it is 11.9 percent.
In terms of gender-based inequalities in reproductive health, empowerment, and economic activity, Armenia’s Gender Inequality Index (GII) value is 0.245, ranking it 54 out of 162 countries in the 2019 index. In Armenia, 23.5 percent of parliamentary seats are held by women, and 97.3 percent of adult women have reached at least a secondary level of education compared to 97.2 percent of their male counterparts. For every 100,000 live births, 26.0 women die from pregnancy related causes; and the adolescent birth rate is 21.5 births per 1,000 women of ages 15-19. Female participation in the labor market is 47.1 percent compared to 65.9 for men. In comparison, Azerbaijan and Georgia are ranked at 73 and 76, respectively, on this index.
The frontrunners in the 2019 global HDI rankings are Norway, Ireland, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Iceland. At the bottom of the HDI rankings are Burundi, South Sudan, Chad, Central African Republic, and Niger.
