BANGLADESH has ranked above India and Pakistan in the World Bank’s Human Capital Index (HCI); which is a new system to rank countries based on how successfully they develop human capital. The ranking also prods governments to invest more effectively in education and healthcare. Students in Bangladesh scored 368 on a scale of 625, with the highest representing advanced attainment. The HCI reflects the productivity as a future worker of a child born today, compared with what it could be if he or she had full healthcare access and complete high-quality education.
As per the World Bank report, Bangladesh ranked 106th among 157 countries that were used by the WB for the list. Sri Lanka topped the list among South Asian countries, with a ranking of 72. A child born in Bangladesh today can reach only 48 percent of their full potential provided they enjoy complete education and full health. In India, a child will be 44 percent productive and in Pakistan 39 percent. According to the report, in Bangladesh, 97 percent of children are likely to survive to the age 5 and about 87 percent of 15-year olds are likely to survive to the age 60. This statistic is a proxy for the range of fatal and non-fatal health outcomes that a child born today would experience as an adult under current conditions.
In Bangladesh, stunting and quality of education holds back a child from achieving their full potential. Experts believe that Bangladesh performed better than India and Pakistan due to growth acceleration and improvement of health and education sector in the past years. Human capital is a key driver of sustainable, inclusive economic growth, but investing in health and education has not gotten the attention it deserves. The study report gives policymakers compelling evidence that delivering better outcomes in children’s health and learning can significantly boost the incomes of people — and of countries – with returns far into the future.
