Taiwan placed 24th in a global human development index (HDI), ahead of Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong, according to a report released by the Executive Yuan yesterday.
The report by the Cabinet's Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, citing figures from the UN Development Program, showed that Taiwan's HDI is 0.895, down one place from last year's 23rd.
China ranked 105th this year, with an HDI of 0.721.
While Hong Kong came in 27th, Singapore was ranked 29th and South Korea 31st.
Norway leads among the 176 countries surveyed, with an HDI of 0.944. It is followed by Iceland's 0.942 and Sweden's 0.941. The US placed 7th, with an HDI of 0.937. The HDI of the UK is 0.93, placing it 13th.
The HDI is based on four major indicators using data for 2001: life expectancy at birth; the adult literacy rate; combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrollment rate; and GDP per capita.
Taiwan's life expectancy at birth was 75.6 years, 36th in the world, while that of China was 70.6 years, ranking 80th.
Japan is first in this category, with life expectancy of 81.3 years. It is followed by Sweden's 79.9 years and Iceland's 79.6 years.
Life expectancy in Hong Kong is 79.7 years, third in the world. Singapore is ranked 24th, with its life expectancy at 77.8 years. South Korea is ranked 38th, with a life expectancy of 75.2 years.
Taiwan's adult literacy rate is 95.8 percent, 60th in the world. China is 100th, with an adult literacy rate of 85.8 percent.
Japan's literacy rate is 16th, at 99 percent. Hong Kong has a 93.5 percent adult literacy rate, the world's 69th. Singapore's adult literacy rate is 92.5 percent, or 76th. South Korea is 47th, with a literacy rate of 97.9 percent.
Taiwan's combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrollment rate is 93 percent, 14th in the world. China ranked 107th, with 64 percent.
Japan's enrollment rate is the world's 36th, at 83 percent. Hong Kong rate is 63 percent, 116th in the world. Singapore's combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrollment rate is 75 percent, placed at the world's 72nd. South Korea is placed at 18th, with a combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrollment rate of 91 percent.
Australia has the world's highest gross enrollment rate -- recorded at 114 percent. It is followed by Sweden's 113 percent and the UK's 112 percent.
Taiwan's GDP per capita is US$22,155, the world's 22nd. That of China is US$4,020, 103rd in the world.
Japan's GDP per capita is 14th in the world, at US$25,130. Hong Kong's GDP per capita is US$24,850, 15th in the world. Singapore's GDP per capita is US$22,680, ranking 21st. South Korea is 38th, with GDP per capita of US$15,090.
Luxemburg has the world's highest GDP per capita: US$53,780. The US is 2nd, with GDP per capita of US$34,320. It is followed by Iceland's US$29,990.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
New Party Deputy Secretary-General You Chih-pin (游智彬) this morning went to the National Immigration Agency (NIA) to “turn himself in” after being notified that he had failed to provide proof of having renounced his Chinese household registration. He was one of more than 10,000 naturalized Taiwanese citizens from China who were informed by the NIA that their Taiwanese citizenship might be revoked if they fail to provide the proof in three months, people familiar with the matter said. You said he has proof that he had renounced his Chinese household registration and demanded the NIA provide proof that he still had Chinese