India ranks 158 out of 195 countries in Human capital rankings says study

Washington, Sep 25: India is being referred to as a relatively young country and its demographic dividend is considered to be it's one of the main booster for economic growth. But, according to a study released by University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) published in the international medical journal Lancet shows that India fares badly in terms of human capital rankings in the world.

Demographic dividend refers to the growth in an economy that is the resultant effect of a change in the age structure of a country's population. The change in age structure is typically brought on by a decline in fertility and mortality rates.

In 2016, India was ranked 158 among 195 countries on the list. Previoosly in the 1990's rankings, India was India was ranked 162. The 1990 rankings have been recalculated with the present study. Though it seems that India has been progressive, it is very negligible.

The rankings are based on four key parameters: life expectancy, years of schooling, learning and functional health. Each of these parameters is based on different indices. One of the factors on which learning ranks are based is performance on international student assessment standards. Health rankings are based on seven indicators - wasting, stunting, anaemia, cognitive impairment, vision loss, hearing loss and incidence of certain infectious diseases. India fares worst in health rankings and best in education rankings.

The study claims that these rankings give us an idea about the number of years a worker can be expected to work at peak productivity levels between the ages of 20 and 64 years. The global average on this count is 13.6 years. For India this value is just 6.5 years. In 1990, the value was just 2.7.

The new human capital study suggested increased spending in healthcare and education. "Nations failing to invest in health and education are at risk of stagnating economies and lower per capita GDP," it said.