This is the VOA Special English Development Report.
The United Nations HumanDevelopment Program has released its yearly study on the quality oflife for people around the world. The U-N report was started innineteen-ninety to measure the progress of nations based on thelives of their citizens.
This year’s report lists one-hundred-seventy-three countries. Itis based on the length of time citizens are expected to live, theireducation level and the amount of money they earn. Norway was listedas the country providing the best quality of life for the secondyear. It was followed by Sweden, Canada, Belgium, Australia and theUnited States. The twenty-four countries at the bottom of the listare all in Africa.
The report says many countries in East Asia have made progresssince nineteen-ninety. They include China, Singapore, South Korea,Thailand and Malaysia.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, as many as nine countriesimproved since nineteen-ninety. They include Chile, Costa Rica andPanama. At the same time, many countries in Eastern and CentralEurope and the former Soviet Union lost progress in the quality oflife for their citizens. This was because of problems with economicreforms. They include Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and Tajikistan.
This year’s human development report centered on the issue ofdemocracy. Researchers found that a majority of people live incountries claiming to be democratic. However, civil rights andpolitical freedoms were limited in one-hundred-six nations. Also,the number of voters taking part in elections is decreasing. Inaddition, cheating, wrongdoing and unfair politics have weakened thedemocratic process. In some countries, elected governments have notcarried out democratic reforms. This has led to public opposition tothe government and a return to military rule.
U-N officials say that democratic changes are slow in somecountries. However, the report shows that international developmentgoals set at the start of the twenty-first century can be met. Forthis to happen, they say developing countries need to move quickertoward economic, social and political reforms. And they say richcountries must become more open to trade while increasing aid andother resources.
This VOA Special English Development Report was written by JillMoss.