Romania Ranks 50th Of 169 Countries According To HDI

According to the report "Human Development Index - 2010," Romania is 50th of 169 countries, with a score of 0.767, down since last year's 0.837. The study's methodology was changed for this year's report and now uses new criteria.

Romania ranks among countries with a "high" level of human development, alongside states such as Lithuania, Chile, Argentina, Latvia, Montenegro, Croatia, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Bulgaria, Serbia, Russia, Belarus and Albania. The report says life expectancy in Romania is 73.2 years (up from 72.5 years) and the country's GDP per capita, according to purchasing power parity, is $12,844.

The class of countries with a "very high" level of human development includes Norway, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Ireland, the Netherlands, Canada, Sweden and Germany. Also, 23 of the 27 members of the European Union are at the top of the ranking by HDI (spots 1-42), with only Lithuania (44), Latvia (48), Romania and Bulgaria (58) trailing behind.

The Republic of Moldova is 99th, ranking among countries with a "medium" level of development, alongside China, Thailand, Egypt, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Syria and India. States with "low" human development include Mozambique, Burundi, Niger, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zimbabwe.

Aside from traditional indicators such as life expectancy, GDP per capita, literacy rate and educational attainment, this year's study also considers new criteria indirectly related to development, such as inequality (the uneven distribution of income, healthcare and access to education), gender equality index and poverty level.

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