For the first time, Uganda has been classified as having "medium human development," the UN reported on Wednesday.
"According to [the Human Development Report 2023-2024], Uganda has for the first time moved to the category of 'medium human development'," United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) posted on X.
This is because Uganda has met all the necessary requirements through impressive improvements in the health, education, and income levels of its population.
According to the Human Development Report (HDR), Uganda has made remarkable progress in the Human Development Index (HDI). It has moved up from a global position of 166 in 2022 to 159 in 2024, out of the 193 nations and territories evaluated by the UNDP. The measuring factors include levels of income, health, and education, as well as disparities within the population.
The data also indicated that Uganda's HDI value experienced a significant increase of 67.2%, rising from 0.329 in 1990 to 0.550 in 2022. Moreover, Uganda's life expectancy at birth has improved by 17.2 years, the expected years of schooling have climbed by 5.8 years, and the Gross National Income per capita has increased by approximately 153.1%.
It's worth noting that the country has also entered the lower-middle-income category for the first time, Susan Ngongi Namondo, the UN resident coordinator in Uganda, said at the launch of the HDR at Makerere University in Kampala.
“I also want to inform [you] that Uganda’s transition to the medium human development category aligns with an exciting message that I got a few days ago. The UN committee for Development Policy has announced that Uganda has now fulfilled the criteria for graduation from the least developed country to the lower-middle-income country category for the first time,” Namondo was quoted as saying.
She, however, reportedly cautioned that significantly greater effort would be required to maintain this progress.
The Prime Minister of Uganda, Robinah Nabbanja, echoed Namondo, urging all stakeholders "to work together to address the challenges outlined in the report and facilitate further progress" while "drawing inspiration from the progress Uganda has already achieved" and "remaining firm in the commitment to human development."
Interestingly, the report's top three countries in sub-Saharan Africa are South Africa and Botswana (high Human Development Index), as well as Gabon (medium Human Development Index).
Uganda has also achieved success in other areas. Last week, for example, the UN reported that the number of children dying before reaching the age of five has reached a historic low, falling to 4.9 million in 2022. The organization cited the East African country among eight other nations on the continent where, the rate fell by more than 75%.