Comparison of Pakistan and Philippines

When analyzing the gross domestic product (GDP) of Pakistan it becomes strikingly evident that there is another country which is very comparable to Pakistan based on its GDP; this nation, which appears to have a very similar economic orientation to Pakistan, is none other than the Philippines. The gross domestic product (GDP) of a country is the total market value of all the goods and services produced within an economy in a given year. Based on the 2007 statistics provided by the International Monetary Fund, the nominal GDP of Pakistan, calculated in millions of U.S. dollars, was 143,766; giving this country a world rank of 47th out of 179. The nominal GDP of the Philippines, in millions of U.S. dollars, was 144,129; positioning this nation as 46th out of 179. Based on these statistics, economists would most probably conclude that the Philippines and Pakistan are very similar, due to their economic homogeneousness. However, when utilizing other standards of measurement less rigid in their observations than GDP, it becomes unambiguous that the human development of the Philippines is at a much different and more advanced level than that of Pakistan. By analyzing the various U.N. indicators such as the Human Development Index (HDI), the Gender-related Development Index (GDI), the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM), and the Human Poverty Index (HPI); the huge divergence, in terms of human development, between the Philippines and Pakistan is boldly manifested.

The Human Development Index (HDI) is a U.N. indicator combining normalized measures of life expectancy, literacy, and GDP per capita for countries worldwide. The HDI is heralded as the standard means of measuring human development, a concept that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) refers to as the process of widening the options of persons, giving them greater opportunities for education, health care, income, employment, etc. With regards to the Human Development Index (HDI), the UNDP’s “2007-2008 Human Development Report”, indicates that the HDI for Pakistan is .551, which gives the country a rank of 136th out of 177 countries with recordable data. The HDI for the Philippines is recorded at .771, which gives this nation a rank of 90th out of 177 countries with data. By observing these statistics it is evidently clear that there is a large difference between the human development of Pakistan and the Philippines. Where GDP shows a strong economic similarity between these countries, the Human Development Index (HDI) shows a substantial divergence between the societal amelioration between these two nations.

The Gender-related Development Index (GDI) is an indication of the standard of living in a country. This U.N. indicator aims to show the inequalities between men and women in the following areas: life expectancy and health, knowledge and education, and standard of living. Based on the “2007-2008 Human Development Report” the GDI of Pakistan is .525 with its GDI value encompassing 95.3% of its HDI value. This places Pakistan as 152nd out of 156 countries with both HDI and GDI values. The Gender-related Development Index for the Philippines is reported at .768, with its GDI value accounting for 99.7% of its HDI value. Out of the 156 countries with both HDI and GDI values, the Philippines is ranked 26th. By observing the GDI of both Pakistan and the Philippines, a clear distinction is illuminated between the standard of living and the inequalities between men and women in both of these countries.

The Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) is one of the five indicators used by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in its annual Human Development Report, and is utilized as a measure of inequalities between both men’s and women’s opportunities in a country. The GEM classifies inequalities into three principle areas, which are: (1) political participation and decision making, (2) economic participation and administrative involvement, (3) and power over economic resources. Based on the UNDP’s 2007-2008 Report, the GEM of Pakistan is .377, listing it as 82nd out of 93 countries. The Report also records the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) of the Philippines at .590, classifying this nation as 45th out of 93 countries. Although Pakistan and the Philippines are similar in economic production, the large discrepancy between the GEM’s of these nations shows that the inequality between male and female opportunities in Pakistan is rampantly more pervasive