Press Release

Indonesia breaks into high human development category group

10 January 2020

Indonesia has joined the ranks of countries in the world with high human development, and the Asia-Pacific region witnessed the steepest rise globally in human development.

Indonesia has joined the ranks of countries in the world with high human development, and the Asia-Pacific region witnessed the steepest rise globally in human development.

These are among the key findings of the 2019 Human Development Report, released today by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and entitled “Beyond income, beyond averages, beyond today: inequalities in human development in the 21st Century.”

Asia Pacific leads the world in access to broadband internet and is gaining on more developed regions in life expectancy, education, and access to health care. Yet it continues to grapple with widespread multidimensional poverty and may be vulnerable to a new set of inequalities emerging around higher education and climate resilience.

The Human Development Report (HDR), which pioneers a more rounded way to measure countries’ progress beyond just economic growth, says that as the gap in basic standards is narrowing, with an unprecedented number of people escaping poverty, hunger and disease, the necessities to thrive have evolved. The next generation of inequalities is opening up, particularly around technology, education, and the climate crisis.

“This is the new face of inequality,” says UNDP Administrator, Achim Steiner. “And as this Human Development Report sets out, inequality is not beyond solutions.”

The report analyzes inequality in three steps: beyond income, beyond averages, and beyond today, proposing a battery of policy options to tackle it.

Indonesia’s HDI value for 2018 is 0.707— which put the country in the high human development category—positioning it at 111 out of 189 countries and territories.

Between 1990 and 2018, Indonesia’s HDI value increased from 0.525 to 0.707, an increase of 34.6 percent. During the same period, Indonesia’s life expectancy at birth increased by 9.2 years to 71.5 years, mean years of schooling increased by 4.7 years to 8 years and expected years of schooling increased by 2.8 years to 12.9 years. Indonesia’s GNI per capita increased by about 155.9 percent between 1990 and 2018.

“Making it into the group of countries with a high development status is an historic milestone for Indonesia, which the Office of UNDP in Indonesia is delighted to see. This achievement is a result of a strong national commitment to human development, that is not only economic growth but also people’s well-being, in particular health and education measured by the HDI.” said UNDP Indonesia Resident Representative Christophe Bahuet. “The Report also brings messages that needs to be heeded for Indonesia to further progress in human development, including the needs to reduce existing inequalities and to anticipate the new inequalities that the future brings”. UNDP will continue to be Indonesia’s partners for further progress in human development.” he added, ” said Resident Representative Christophe Bahuet.

17.4 percent of Indonesia’s HDI value is lost on account of inequalities — a greater loss compared to most of its East Asian and the Pacific neighbors (the average loss for the region is 16.6 percent). This confirms that inequality remains a challenge for Indonesia as it progresses economically, though the Government of Indonesia has attempted to ensure that the gains of economic development are shared widely and reach the farthest first.

Table A: Indonesia’s HDI trends based on consistent time series data and new goalposts

	Life expectancy at birth	Expected years of schooling	Mean years of schooling	GNI per capita (2011 PPP$)	HDI value
1990	62.3	10.1	3.3	4,399	0.525
1995	64.3	10.1	4.2	5,838	0.560
2000	65.8	10.6	6.7	5,422	0.604
2005	67.3	10.9	7.4	6,506	0.633
2010	69.2	12.2	7.4	8,234	0.666
2015	70.8	12.8	7.9	10,029	0.696
2016	71.0	12.9	8.0	10,419	0.700
2017	71.3	12.9	8.0	10,811	0.704
2018	71.5	12.9	8.0	11,256	0.707

Figure 1 below shows the contribution of each component index to Indonesia’s HDI since 1990.

Table B: Indonesia’s HDI and component indicators for 2018 relative to selected countries and groups

	HDI value	HDI rank	Life expectancy at birth	Expected years of schooling	Mean years of schooling	GNI per capita (2011 PPP US$)
Indonesia	0.707	111	71.5	12.9	8.0	11,256
China	0.758	85	76.7	13.9	7.9	16,127
Philippines	0.712	106	71.1	12.7	9.4	9,540
East Asia and the Pacific	0.741	—	75.3	13.4	7.9	14,611
High HDI	0.750	—	75.1	13.8	8.3	14,403