The report was launched today in a ceremony attended by government officials, the diplomatic community, non-governmental organizations, youth and the local press. H.E. Dr. Bassem Awadallah, Minister of Planning deputizing for H.R.H. Princess Basma Bint Talal, and Mr. Ove Bjerregaard, UNDP Resident Representative, a.i, addressed the audience.

Released annually since 1990 the global HDR rates countries according to their Human Development Index (HDI). The HDI is a composite index that measures average achievement in three basic dimesions of human development- a long healthy life (life expectancy), knowledge (adult literacy) and a decent standard of living (GDP per capita). The report also contains data on three other key indices for development measurement: the Human Poverty Index (HPI), the Gender-related Development Index (GDI), and Gender Empowerment Measurement (GEM).

This year, Jordan's HDI rank went down from 88 in 2001 to 99 in 2002, even though its life expectancy, adult literacy, and real GDP per capita have increased. Jordan's HPI is 7 and its GDI is 84. Jordan's decline in its rank is due to the inclusion of 11 new countries in the report. The fact that eight of the eleven countries rank higher than Jordan, places the Hashemite Kingdom in a lower position than previous years. However, the actual score on the index shows a slight improvement.

Beside these indicies, this year's HDR surveys the main tools for measuring political and civil freedoms and their relation to the HDI. Although the report states that there is no automatic link between democracy and development, it emphasizes the need to include these indicators as a human development measure.

The HDR results compliment the finding in the Arab Human Development Report (AHDR) released by the UNDP earlier this month. The AHDR concludes that the Arab region has noticeably reduced poverty, increased life expectancy, and reduced infant mortality. However, the Arab countries' rank remains low in the global HDI. The AHDR attributes the low ranking of the Arab countries to the lack of "political will to invest in Arab capabilities and knowledge, particularly those of Arab women, in good governance, and in strong cooperation between Arab nations."

The HDR 2002 urges a new emphasis on deepening demorcracy at the local, national and international level. It says that this should not focus only on stregthening democratic institutions, but also broad-based political parties, a judiciary that is independent, media that are ethical and professional and free of both state and corporate control, and a vibrant civil society. The report also calls for deepenting democratic practices in international institutions where power is concentrated in the hands of the waelthiest countries. Countries also will need to promote "democratic politics" by supporting the new wave of civic involvement and popular participation.

This report also includes the first-ever country-by-country rating on progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), adopted by the UN General Assembly in September 2000. The MDG are a set of 8 goals to be achieved by the year 2015 towards the achievement of: eradication of extreme poverty and hunger in the world, achievement of universal primary education, promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women, reduction of child mortality, improvement of maternal health, combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases, and environmental sustainability.

Jordan is listed as being "on track" in achieving the Millennium Development Goals of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger and ensuring environmental sustainability, but "lagging" in reducing child mortality.

The Human Development Report concludes that half of the world's population is falling behind the targets proposed by the MDG. The report calls for a joint effort between different parties- civil society and national and international institutions- to work together in finding a solution to overcome this situation.