Indonesia launches its own Human Development Index

Indonesia launches its own Human Development Index

JAKARTA (JP): The Central Bureau of Statistics yesterday
launched Indonesia's own Human Development Index and revealed
that several provinces need serious efforts to accelerate the
progress of their human development programs.

The provinces identified as poor achievers in human
development are Central Sulawesi, Central Java and Yogyakarta.
Other provinces identified as being below average in human
development achievements for the period of 1990 to 1993 are West
Java, East Java, South Kalimantan, and Irian Jaya.

Another province which is causing concern is Lampung. In a
previous report it was considered to have an above average index,
but showed a poor performance for the current assessment,
according to chief of the statistics bureau Sugito.

However, "the change of the ranks neither means an improvement
or deterioration in the country's human development," Sugito
stressed.

The Indonesian Human Development Index was produced by the
statistics bureau with the support of the local office of the
United Nations Development Program (UNDP), which annually
publishes a global Human Development Report (HDR).

This year's international human development report places
Indonesia 102 of the 174 countries surveyed. This means that
Indonesia's human development progress, based on 1993 figures, is
at the medium level.

The first international HDR in 1990 ranked Indonesia 76th
among the 130 countries surveyed.

UNDP resident representative Ravi Rajan admitted during the
launching at the statistics bureau yesterday that ever since
their first issuance, the HDRs always generate a great deal of
interest, debate and even controversy because they challenge
conventional development theories based on economic growth.

He pointed out that the central message of the report is that
economic growth does not automatically lead to human progress.

"Therefore, the HDR advocates that economic growth must be
treated as a means, with the achievement of human well-being as
the ultimate end," Rajan said.

The locally produced report, which compares the achievement of
the country's 27 provinces in terms of human development in 1990
and 1993, comprises almost all indicators utilized for the global
human development index.

Published in both English and Indonesian, the report is a
composite index of achievements in basic human capabilities in
three fundamental dimensions: a long and healthy life, knowledge
and a decent standard of living.

The report is expected to, among other things, help local
administrations address social issues more thoroughly in the
planning and implementation of development programs in their
regions.

Jakarta tops the human development table while East Timor is
at the bottom, below West Nusa Tenggara and Irian Jaya which
occupy the 26th and 25th positions respectively. North Sulawesi
comes second after Jakarta.

In the report, Riau achieved significant progress in human
development, moving up from the seventh place in 1990 to third in
1993.

However, the report revealed that the overall human
development values in the country are relatively low, even for
Jakarta. The capital scored 57 on the O to 100 scale.

In fact, only Jakarta and North Sulawesi achieved HDI values
higher than 50 in 1993, while East Timor's score was 34.5.

Also attending the launching ceremony yesterday were Sugiarto,
chief of the Analysis and Development Bureau, and Edeng
Abdurachman, chief of the Bureau for Population, Family Planning
and Women's Affairs at the National Development Planning Board
(Bappenas). (31)