Dili, January 30, 2020

Timor-Leste has made progress in human development this century, but the benefits of growth have not been shared equally, a new UN report says.

The latest Human Development Report (HDR) by the United Nations Development Programme ranks Timor-Leste 131 out of the 189 countries listed, placing the country among the countries with medium human development category.

Launched by UNDP Resident Representative Tuya Altangerel in Dili on February 4^th the report’s  Human Development Index (HDI)  measures national and regional long term progress  in terms of  a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living.

Timor’s HDI has improved from 0.505 to 0.626 since 2000. However, Timor-Leste’s growth rates lag behind the East Asia and Pacific region (0.741) and the average for other countries in the medium human development group (0.634).

Countries which are somewhat comparable to Timor-Leste are Fiji and the Solomon Islands, which have HDIs ranked 98 and 153 respectively.

 Yet the people of Timor-Leste have not shared equally in the benefits of growth. To overcome misleading averages and hidden details within the overall growth figures, the 2019 HDR includes more detailed indexes such as the Inequality-adjusted HDI (IHDI), Gender Development Index (GDI) and Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI).

When Timor’s HDI is discounted for inequality, it falls to 0.450, a loss of 28.0 percent. This was greater than the 25.9 percent average in other medium income countries.

Women have benefited less than men from development advances in Timor-Leste. The 2018 female HDI is 0.589, in contrast with 0.655 for males, placing Timor among countries with the lowest gender parity rankings. Men on average earn over four thousand dollars per year more than women and receive two more years of schooling.

Globally, the report shows that while the gap in basic living standards is narrowing, with an unprecedented number of people escaping poverty, hunger and disease, the factors needed to thrive have evolved.

A new generation of inequalities has emerged – particularly in enhanced capabilities in areas such as technology, education and the climate crisis. Over 60 percent of Timorese work in agriculture and live in rural areas and face greater risks from climate change.

The UNDP has prioritised assistance to counter these risks through the deployment of $22.4 million in funding from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) beginning in 2020.

Further, the population overall risks falling behind the rapid technological advancements needed to be competitive in the global economy. Technical education and the infrastructure to put it into practice also lag behind regional averages.

The 2019 HDR says solutions in in these new areas go beyond income. Interventions and investment in the future must start before birth and continue across generations, including investments in young children’s learning, health and nutrition and alternatives to a carbon-intensive lifestyle.

The report says inequality’s biggest dangers lie in the degradation of social cohesion and people’s trust in government, institutions and each other. It emphasises that action at the start of the inequality chain is more effective than relying on later interventions.

 “Timor-Leste made some progress in its human development in 2019, and we hope bigger progress can be made in the coming years, and this is doable because when it comes to investment in equality and sustainability, Timor-Leste has a greater advantage over comparable countries with a sovereign wealth fund can be strategically used to invest in human development particularly in key areas such as health, education, and economic empowerment,” says UNDP’s Senior Policy Advisor & Development Economist, Fausto [Nino] Belo Ximenes.

Timor-Leste’s pristine corals and underwater ecosystem also hold great wealth potential. With sufficient and well-planned investment its seas can help diversify the country’s economy, along with other sectors such as agriculture and services.

UNDP Resident Representative Tuya Altangerel reiterated the importance of Timor’s youth.  “While countries in the region such as Japan have an aging population, Timor-Leste has a youth bulge. With the right investments in education and health this can be turned into a ‘youth dividend,’ which puts Timor’s labour force in a more competitive position,” she said.

More detailed statistics on Timor-Leste’s performance in comparison to other middle-income nations can be found in the attached country briefing note. The full 2019 HDR can be accessed here.

For comment please contact Fausto [Nino] Belo Ximenes at fausto.ximenes@undp.org .

Read Tetum version here