Geography in the News: UN sees life expectancy, education and income fall

Decades of progress in terms of life expectancy, education and economic prosperity have begun unravelling since the pandemic, a new UN report says.

Since 2020, 90% of countries around the globe have seen their level of development reversed on the UN's Human Development Index, with Covid-19, the war in Ukraine and the impact of climate change playing a major role in this reversal.

The Human Development Index (HDI) has been used since 1990 to measure development. It is a composite measure that combines wealth, health and education data to give an overall view of development. Currently Switzerland is in first place globally with a life expectancy of 84 years, an average of 16.5 years spent in education and median salary of $66,000. Right at the bottom is South Sudan where life expectancy is 55, people spend just 5.5 years in school on average and earn $768 a year.

The majority of countries have seen a drop in figures, particularly in terms of life expectancy, going back to levels seen in 2016 and reversing a 30-year trend of improvements. For example, life expectancy in the USA has decreased by 2 years.

You can read the full article here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/wor...