India ranked 62nd on WEF’s Inclusive Development Index 2018

January 23, 2018

India was ranked at 62nd place among emerging economies on Inclusive Development Index (IDI-2018) released by World Economic Forum (WEF).
Norway again remained world’s most inclusive advanced economy, while Lithuania again topped list of emerging economies. India’s position is much below China (26th) and Pakistan (47th).

Inclusive Development Index (IDI)

Inclusive Development Index (IDI) measures progress of 103 economies on three individual pillars – growth and development; inclusion; and inter-generational equity. It has been divided into two parts. The first part covers 29 advanced economies and second 74 emerging economies. The index takes into account the living standards, environmental sustainability and protection of future generations from further indebtedness. The index also has classified countries into five sub-categories in terms of five-year trend of their overall Inclusive Development Growth score — receding, slowly receding, stable, slowly advancing and advancing.

Highlights of IDI-2018

Top 5 advanced economies: Norway followed by Ireland, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Denmark. Only two advanced economies have shown ‘advancing’ trend. Small European economies dominate top of index, with Australia (9) the only non-European economy in the top 10. Of the G7 economies, Germany (12) ranks highest followed by Canada (17), France (18), UK (21), US (23), Japan (24) and Italy (27).
Top-five most inclusive emerging economies: Lithuania, Hungary, Azerbaijan, Latvia and Poland.

BRICS economies: Russia was ranked at 19th, followed by China (26), Brazil (37), India (62) and South Africa (69).
Rich and poor countries alike are struggling to protect future generations, as it cautioned political and business leaders against expecting higher growth to be panacea for social frustrations, including those of younger generations who have shaken politics of many countries in recent years.
India related facts: It was ranked 60th among 79 developing economies in IDI-2017. India was among ten emerging economies with ‘advancing’ trend, despites its low overall score. Of three pillars that make up index, India was ranked 72nd for inclusion, 66th for growth and development and 44th for inter-generational equity. India’s neighbours: China (26th), Nepal (22), Bangladesh (34), Sri Lanka (40) and Pakistan (47th).