HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT FOR BRAZIL - 1996 |
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT FOR BRAZIL - 1996 |
Introduction The Human Development in Brasil |
Since 1990, the United Nations Development Programme has published a Report on Human Development in the world, in which it attempts to evaluate in each country the stage of development. For this purpose it deals with indicators that are used to evaluate economic development (particularly income) and other indicators capable of measuring some aspects of social development, principally in the fields of education and health, that translate into indicators for schooling and life expectancy at birth. Together, these three indicators—income, schooling and life expectancy at birth—comprise the Human Development Index.
This year, for the first time the Report on Human Development is being released in Brazil, an initiative of PNUD that had the coordination of IPEA—the Applied Economic Research Institute—and the participation of specialists in many areas. It measures the Human Development Index (HDI) by unit of the Federation and the situation in each in the three variables that make up the HDI. The Report also presents a series of tables, graphs and boxes enabling the verification of the situation in many of the components that influence the three variables.
By these criteria, Brazil in 1991 registered a Human Development Index of 0.797 (the maximum is l, the minimum 0), which places it amongst the countries with an intermediate level of human development, but close to the minimum step of countries with a high rate of human development (0.800). This is an index comparable, for example, to that of some countries of Eastern Europe, according to the classification of the last Human Development Report. In this report, the countries with a high HDI had in 1992 an average rate of 0.888; those with an average human development, 0.632; the ones with low rate, 0.403.
According to the report now being released, Rio Grande do Sul State is the unit of the Brazilian Federation with the highest HDI: 0.871, equivalent to that of the Czech Republic. Then comes the Federal District (0.858), São Paulo (0.850), Santa Catarina (0.842), and Rio de Janeiro (0.838). The units with the lowest indices were Paraíba (0.466), Alagoas (0.500), Piauí (0.502), Ceará (0.506) and Maranhão (0.512).
Evaluated by macro-regions, the HDI was as follows: South, 0.844; Southeast, 0.838; Centre-West, 0.826; North, 0.706; and Northeast, 0.548. These figures enable a comparison to be made with those indicated by the international HDR: industrialised countries, 0.916; developing countries taken together, 0.570; less developed countries, 0.377. Average world rate: 0.759.
The Brazilian HDR shows that the country in reality is composed of three sub-countries. In the first are eight units of the Federation with the highest HDI: Rio Grande do Sul, the Federal District, São Paulo, Santa Catarina, Rio de Janeiro, Paraná, Mato Grosso do Sul and Espírito Santo (by order of classification). In the second are seven units of average development: Amazonas, Amapá, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso, Goiânia, Roraima and Rondônia. In the third, ll States: Pará, Acre, Sergipe, Bahia, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Norte, Maranhão, Ceará, Piauí, Alagoas and Paraíba. The nine lowest indices are of the Northeast States. Tocantins was not classified for lack of statistics.
The Report also enabled the classification of units of the Federation according to each of three indicators comprising the HDI. The best rates were:
Life expectancy at birth (years): Roraima (75.8), Rio Grande do Sul (74.6), Amapá (73.0), Espírito Santo (71.4) and Santa Catarina (70.8).
Education: São Paulo (0.86), Rio Grande do Sul (0.84). Federal District (0.83), Rio de Janeiro (0.83) and Santa Catarina (0.82).
Per capita income (converted in dollar by parity of purchasing power): Federal District (10.209), São Paulo (8.896), Rio de Janeiro (6.746), Rio Grande do Sul (5.693) and Paraná (5.205).
The following may be noted:
1. Although it is not in first place in any of the indicators, Rio Grande do Sul State is the unit of the Federation with more balanced indicators -- 2nd place in life expectancy at birth and education, and 4th place in per capita income.
2. The Federal District is the first in per capita income and 3rd in education, but the 6th in life expectancy at birth.
3. São Paulo is the 2nd in income and the lst in education, but its HDI is also affected by the index of life expectancy, which is 11th. It is not much different with Rio de Janeiro, 4th in education and 3rd in per capita income, but 12th in life expectancy at birth.
4. The high index for life expectancy in Roraima (75.8 years, lst place) and Amapá (73 years, 3rd place) is attributed in part to the spatial distribution of its population (a good portion being riverside dwellers, with a high consumption rate of protein—i.e. fish—and carbohydrates—manioc root) and reasonable sanitary conditions due to a reduced population density in each area and to the fact that they are able to get rid of effluents in the river network.
