Barbados has fallen 14 places in the United Nation’s Development Programme’s Human Development Index (HDI).
However, the drop is not unique to this country, as the report revealed that human development has fallen in 90 per cent of countries, a worrying development which has been largely attributed to a series of overlapping crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the report released yesterday, which accounts for the period 2020 and 2021, Barbados is ranked 70 out of 191 countries and territories, several notches down from the ranking of 56 which was attained in 2019.
Barbados is now the fourth highest ranked in the Caribbean, surpassed by Bahamas, which moved five places to rank 55, Trinidad and Tobago (57) and Grenada (68).
Among the shocks blamed for this sharp dip is the COVID-19 crisis, the war in Ukraine and climate change.
(SC)
