Humanity has returned to its pre-pandemic level of developmentNevertheless the record predicted for 2023 hides a gap that is now widening between rich and poor countries, in a fragile world resembling a “tower of paper”, warns the UN.

In 2020 and 2021, for the first time since its creation more than 30 years ago, the human development index, which takes into account life expectancy, education and living standards, had declined for two years in a row and had returned to which was five years ago due to the accumulation of unprecedented crises, including Covid-19.

But since then “we have seen a recovery”, Achim Steiner, head of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), which released this report today, explains to AFP.

Thus, estimates for 2023 predict an all-time high for the index globally, with a return of all its components “above pre-2019 levels”, although Covid and the effects of the war in Ukraine have slowed the previously expected path.

But what appears to be good news hides an unexpected gap between rich and poor countries.

“The first time I saw the results, I asked the team to verify the data,” Pedro Conceição, in charge of the report, told reporters.

“We find that the poorest and most vulnerable sections of our society have been left behind,” while the UN’s 2030 development goals are for no one to be ‘forgotten’, starting “with those who are further behind”. he reported.

And this result is “very worrying” after “20 years in which countries converged in terms of incomes, life expectancy and education?”, insists Achim Scheiner.

Sweden, Norway and Iceland are still at the top of the growth index list. Like them, the rest of the OECD countries regained in 2023 the level of development where they were in 2019.

“Distrust and Polarization”

At the bottom of the ranking, Somalia, South Sudan and the Central African Republic. More than half of the least developed countries have not recovered from the effects of the pandemic, the majority of them on the African continent.

There is also an “extreme group” of countries such as Sudan, Afghanistan or Myanmar where “the combination of the pandemic, fiscal crises and conflicts, sometimes civil wars, have locked them into a situation where recovery is not on the agenda,” he added. Achim Steiner, rejecting “the usual narrative that the world is recovering”.

According to the UNDP, Afghanistan, for example, lost 10 years in terms of human development, and in Ukraine the indicator is at its lowest point since 2004.

At the same time, the deepening divide puts a multipolar world, more divided than ever, at greater risk.

“We live in a richer world than ever before in human history, at least in economic terms (…) But there are more people starving, more poor for ten years. More and more wars around the world, with tens of thousands of refugees Achim Steiner notes. “It’s a more precarious world, turning against itself.”

The report “Breaking the Gridlock: Reimagining cooperation in a polarized world” explores gaps in international cooperation, highlighting a “democratic paradox”.

So, while the majority of the world’s inhabitants say they support democratic values, “populism is on the rise”, “every man for himself” attitudes are returning, and voters are bringing to power leaders who “undermine” this democracy. , says the UNDP, thereby placing humanity at “an unfortunate crossroads” where “mistrust and polarization risk colliding head-on with a sick planet.”

At a time when countries must “work together”, “we are turning our partners, whom we need, into enemies”, complains Achim Steiner.

“We are overspending defense budgets” without funding the fight against “the major risk factors of the 21st century: inequality, climate change, cybercrime, the next pandemic.”