Costa Rica in the Human Development Index
I found an interesting resource that compares “well-being” of the nations of the world based on factors like poverty, literacy, education, and life expectancy. It’s called the Human Development Index. From the map below, you can see the prosperous areas in dark green (North America, Europe, Australia), the developing areas in light green and yellow (Central and South America, Asia), and the troubled areas in shades of orange, red, and black (Africa, the Middle East and South Asia).
Undoubtedly, Africa is the most desperate continent (desperate for food, medicine, peace, freedom, etc.). This is evident from the map and from what we see in the news everyday. What surprises me from the report is where Costa Rica ranks: 47th (just behind Kuwait and Croatia, just ahead of Mexico and Panama). Many view Costa Rica as a rich, flourishing nation. The HDI ranking demonstrates - at least in part - that this is only half of the story (I write about the “other Costa Rica” here).
Just in terms of rankings (and if you know me you know that I’m a big rankings/statistics/trivia guy), I’ve listed how some of the countries stack up below. It surprised me to learn that Costa Rica ranks below countries such as Slovenia, Hungary, Poland, Chile, Lithuania, Slovakia, and Uruguay. Obviously, there are other places in much greater need than Costa Rica - I mentioned Africa - but I think it’s important to remember that the country has real problems and an immeasurable need to hear the good news of Jesus Christ (as do ALL nations).
Here are excerpts from the HDI rankings:
The Top 10
1. Norway
2. Iceland
3. Australia
4. Luxembourg
5. Canada
6. Sweden
7. Switzerland
8. Ireland
9. Belgium
10. United States
The Bottom 10 (countries with “no data” such as Iraq and Afghanistan are excluded from the rankings)
168. Mozambique
169. Burundi
170. Ethiopia
171. Central African Republic
172. Guinea-Bissau
173. Chad
174. Mali
175. Burkina Faso
176. Sierra Leone
177. Niger
Top 10 - North & South America
5. Canada
10. United States
30. Barbados
34. Argentina
37. Chile
46. Uruguay
47. Costa Rica
49. Saint Kitts and Nevis
50. Bahamas
52. Cuba
Bottom 10 - North & South America
91. Belize
95. Dominican Republic
98. Jamaica
104. El Salvador
107. Guyana
112. Nicaragua
113. Bolivia
116. Honduras
117. Guatemala
153. Haiti
If you take one thought from this post, I hope it’s this: every country needs to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. Pray that Believers will listen to God’s call to bring His Message of grace and love to the nations.
Nathan said:
I found other country rankings at http://www.nationmaster.com. In terms of average annual income, Costa Rica ranks a little lower than it does in the HDI list. In this index, Costa Rica is 56th with an average annual income of $3,900 (compared to $33,100 in the U.S. which ranks 5th). According to this index, Costa Rica is the “richest” Central American nation. But it ranks behind a handful of Latin American countries (including Puerto Rica, Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico, and Chile). Again, all nations need to hear the Gospel - rich and poor - I just think these measures of wealth and prosperity are interesting (and surprising in many instances).