Israel rank on the United Nations Human Development Index
for the year 2003

July 22nd, 2004

Dear Friend,

Israel has been ranked number 22 on the just issued United Nations Human Development Index for the year 2003. The report, released July 16, 2004, rates 177 countries' well being based on per-capita income, educational levels, health care and life expectancy. Norway came in at the top spot, the United States ranked 8th, and most of Europe filled out the top twenty, with France at 16. Italy placed 21st, and Hong Kong right below Israel at 23.

Rankings of Arab Countries:
Of the Arab Middle Eastern countries overall, the highest ranked was Bahrain at number 40. Of Israel's closest neighbors, the highest ranked country was Saudi Arabia at 77. Non-oil producing Arab countries place further down on the list, with Lebanon at 80, Jordan at 90, Syria ranked 106 and Egypt at 120. The Palestinian Territories are ranked at 102, right below Iran at 101st.


The Raw Numbers:
Israel's life expectancy is 79.1 years, with the United States at 77.0 France at 78.9 and Jordan 70.9. Adult literacy in Israel is at 95.3 percent of ages 15 and above, and of her total population of close to six and a half million people; over ninety five percent have access to sustainable affordable essential drugs. The number of patents granted to residents per million people is 75 in the year 2000, with many more achieved in the past three years. Saudi Arabia has received no patents. Neither has Jordan. Egypt has received one.

Israel's Outreach to Developing Countries:
Through Israel's Ministry for Foreign Affairs, The Center for International Cooperation, called MASHAV, and in spite of her current economic woes, Israel continues to reach out to developing countries around the world, extending an open hand of friendship and assistance to those countries ranked lowest on the UN's Development Report. Ethiopia (170) and Nigeria (151) realizing that Israel's unique agricultural success in turning desert into cultivated land bodes well for their own needs, work together with Israeli agricultural training and food security experts towards the day when no famine starves their people. In Uganda, (146) with Israel's medical assistance, the AIDS ravaged population has seen how, with proper treatment, it is possible to change AIDS from a deadly illness into a manageable chronic one, increasing survival rates of those infected. In the Philippines, (83) Israeli education specialists work with teachers to provide empowerment training and capacity building, and in Kenya, (148) there is finally a program to educate deaf students, utilizing Israeli methodology.

Drop by drop with it's over two hundred thousand alumni and programs in countries from India (127) to El Salvador (103) to Turkey (88) to Uzbekistan (107) to China, (94) Israel continues to embody the teachings of the Prophet Isaiah, truly being a light unto the nations.

To view the full report visit the UNDP website - http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2004
To view the ranking table: HDR04_PKE_HDI.pdf

Sincerely,

Yariv Ovadia
Consul for Communications and Public Affairs