BEIRUT: Lebanon ranked 76th out of 188 countries in the United Nations Human Development Report released Tuesday by the U.N. Development Program.

Lebanon’s Human Development Index value puts the country in the high human development category, and its HDI from 2015 is above the average for countries in its group, and above average for countries in Arab States. In comparison, Jordan and Kuwait, countries that are close to Lebanon in the HDI rank and somewhat in population size, ranked 86th and 51st respectively. Lebanon’s ranking is reflected in an increase in life expectancy at birth of 9.3 years between in 1990 and 2015. Also, mean years of schooling increased by one year and expected years of schooling increased by 1.6 years.

The HDI uses three basic dimensions of human development as a summary measure for human progress: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living. The report overall shows significant progress in human development over the past 25 years, but globally the most marginalized are still being left behind, with one in three people worldwide still living in low levels of human development as measured by the HDI.

“The world has come a long way in rolling back extreme poverty, in improving access to education, health and sanitation, and in expanding possibilities for women and girls,” UNDP Administrator Helen Clark said. “But those gains are a prelude to the next, possibly tougher challenge, to ensure the benefits of global progress reach everyone.”

Lebanon and the Arab region were no exception to the global trend. When Lebanon’s HDI is discounted for inequality, the HDI falls from 0.763 to 0.603, a loss of 21 percent due to inequality in the distribution of the factors that contribute to human development.

One area where Lebanon and the region showed disparity in development is in gender equality. Lebanon ranks 83 out of 159, its results reflecting gender-based inequalities in three dimensions – reproductive health, empowerment and economic activity. The ranking is due to low political and labor market participation – only 3.1 percent of parliamentary seats are held by women and only 23.5 percent of women are in work compared with 70.3 percent of men. Maternal mortality rate and levels of education attained also contribute. In comparison, Jordan and Kuwait are ranked at 111 and 70 respectively.

The region in general showed, among developing regions of the world, the highest youth unemployment rate and the lowest number of primary school-aged children attending school. At the launching UNDP officials called for renewed attention to be paid to creating opportunities for youth, women and girls, people who live in rural areas and those living in conflict zones.

“As this report notes, in order to ensure that no one is left behind, the region needs to focus on those excluded and on actions to dismantle deep-rooted and often unmeasured barriers to development,” said Mourad Wahba, UNDP assistant administrator and regional director for the Arab States Region at the launch of the report.One of the major reasons for the setbacks in the region was attributed to the prevalence and persistence of conflict. 2014 saw the highest number of battle-related deaths since 1989, many from the region and the Syrian crisis and its broader impact has cost close to $35 billion. Refugees are much more vulnerable to barriers to development factors measured by the HDI. The report also noted the effects on education and health care systems of countries hosting large numbers of refugees, Lebanon and Jordan being noted particularly as straining under the presence of Syrian refugees.