2013 UN Human Development Index - Rise of the South

Posted by Craig Clarke 
on Mar 15, 2013
 
The 2013 Human Development Report – "The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World" – examines the profound shift in global dynamics driven by the fast-rising new powers of the developing world and its long-term implications for human development.
China has already overtaken Japan as the worlds second biggest economy while lifting hundreds of millions of its people out of poverty. India is reshaping its future with new entrepreneurial creativity and social policy innovation. Brazil is lifting its living standards through expanding international relationships and antipoverty programs that are emulated worldwide.
 
But the "Rise of the South" analyzed in the Report is a much larger phenomenon: Turkey, Mexico, Thailand, South Africa, Indonesia and many other developing nations are also becoming leading actors on the world stage.
 
The top country rankings for 2012 are:
  1. Norway
  2. Australia
  3. United States
  4. Netherlands
  5. Germany
  6. New Zealand
  7. Ireland
  8. Sweden
  9. Switzerland
  10. Japan
  11. Canada
 
Click here to go to UN webpage.
 
 
 
While focusing on the rise of the South and its implications for human development, the 2013 Human Development Report is also about this changing world, driven in large measure by the rise of the South. It examines the progress being made, the challenges arising (some as a result of that very success) and the opportunities emerging for representative global and regional governance.
 
For the first time in 150 years, the combined output of the developing world’s three leading economies—Brazil, China and India—is about equal to the combined GDP of the longstanding industrial powers of the North—Canada, France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom and the United States. This represents a dramatic rebalancing of global economic power: In 1950, Brazil, China and India together represented only 10% of the world economy, while the six traditional economic leaders of the North accounted for more than half. According to projections in the Report, by 2050, Brazil, China and India will together account for 40% of global output (figure 2), far surpassing the projected combined production of today’s Group of Seven bloc.
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