Azernews.Az

BAKU – Azerbaijan has been included in the list of countries with high-level "human development", advancing 34 points in the past five years, a United Nations report on living standards said.

The UN Human Development Report 2010 ranking 169 countries upgraded Azerbaijan to the 67th ranking from the 101st spot in 2005. Thus, the South Caucasus republic was upgraded from the medium-level human development ranking and included in the "high human development" category, alongside Brazil, Turkey and Malaysia.

Since 1995, Azerbaijan’s Human Development Index has increased 27 percent – from 0.563 points to 0.713 points. In 2000-2010, the country has improved by 1.77 points on the average annual growth of the HDI, becoming a leader among the former Soviet republics. The achievement is remarkable as it compares to the figures posted by such world powers as China (1.57 points) and India (1.66 points).

The report is based on such indicators as health, education and income.

Head of the Azerbaijan Presidential Administration, Ramiz Mehdiyev, told the presentation of the UN Development Program (UNDP) report in Baku on Thursday that human development is part of democratic values in society.

"Azerbaijan has chosen its development as a priority," Mehdiyev said.

He noted that the Presidential Administration was working in cooperation with the UN representation in Azerbaijan to improve the country’s human development index by implementing the "Azerbaijan 2050" program.