Living Standards — Global Case studies
This article deals with the evaluation of selected available indicators of living standards, divided into three groups, namely economic, environmental, and social. We have selected three countries across the world based on high , medium and low income groups — Finland, Costa Rica and Afghanistan — for a comparative narration.
Finland
In Finland, the average household net-adjusted disposable annual income per capita is USD 33,471, more than the OECD average of USD 30,490 . About 72% of people aged between 15–64 years in Finland have a paid job, above the OECD employment average of 66%. Some 74% of men are in paid work, compared with 71% of women. In Finland, 4% of employees work very long hours in paid work, below the OECD average of 10% (with 5% of men working very long hours in paid work compared with 2% of women).
Life expectancy at birth in Finland is around 82 years, one year higher than the OECD average of 81 years. Life expectancy for women is 85 years, compared with 79 years for men. Households, on average, spend 23% of their gross adjusted disposable income on keeping a roof over their heads, above the OECD average of 20%. The average home contains 1.9 rooms / person, more than the OECD average of 1.7 rooms / person. In terms of basic facilities, 99.6% of dwellings in Finland contain private access to an indoor flushing toilet, more than the OECD average of 97%. The percentage of the labor force that has been unemployed for a year or longer is currently at about 1.2% in Finland, slightly lower than the OECD average of 1.3%. Workers facing a high risk of job loss are more vulnerable, especially in countries with smaller social safety nets. In Finland, workers face an expected 2.2% loss of earnings if they become unemployed, much lower than the OECD average of 5.1%.
In Finland, 91% of adults aged 25–64 years have completed upper secondary education, higher than the OECD average of 79%. Since the 1980s, the Finnish system of accountability was redeveloped entirely from the bottom up. Teacher candidates are selected, in part, according to their capacity to convey their belief in the core mission of public education in Finland, which is deeply humanistic as well as civic and economic. The Innolukio initiative encourages creative thinking and entrepreneurship at the general upper secondary school level. After-school activities include weekly exercises, videos, competitions and learning materials to support creativity. These experiences help students gain the knowledge and skills necessary for future work tasks.
Finland has a much lower PM2.5 levels are 5.5 micrograms per cubic meter, than the OECD average of 14 micrograms per cubic meter and lower than the annual guideline limit of 10 micrograms per cubic meter set by the World Health Organization. Access to clean water is fundamental to human well-being. Despite significant progress in OECD countries in reducing water pollution, improvements in freshwater quality are not always easy to discern. In Finland, 97% of people say they are satisfied with water quality, one of the highest rates in the OECD, where the average is 84%.
In Finland, about 88% of people say that they feel safe walking alone at night, more than the OECD average of 74%.The homicide rate (the number of murders per 100000 inhabitants) is a more reliable measure of a country’s safety level because, unlike other crimes, murders are usually always reported to the police. According to the latest OECD data, Finland’s homicide rate is 1.2, lower than the OECD average of 2.6.
Costa Rica
Because Costa Rica enjoys relatively low crime, is neutral, has a relatively high standard and low cost of living so it is gaining a reputation among young people, business people, adventure seekers, and pre-retirees as a must-consider destination. Compared to living in North America, Costa Rica is a much more affordable option. It is not uncommon for many people to have one or more household employees , food & entertainment are inexpensive. The fact that medical care and education are basically free, Costa Rica also has many more positives such as jobs are plentiful, a variety of interesting & fresh foods are abundant and super inexpensive .Additionally, the mild weather in Costa Rica is picture perfect, sunny and warm almost every day, despite rainy season and windy December.
Costa Rica is also home to 5% of the world’s biodiversity, where one can see monkeys, iguanas,macaws, toucans, tree frogs, millions of butterflies, whales, dolphins, sharks, sting rays, sea turtles, exotic fish and much more. Costa Rica’s social and economic progress, centered on trade, well-being and a sustainable use of natural resources, has been remarkable. Costa Rica has higher life expectancy (averaging around 77.7 years as a nation) than the United States even though its per capita income and its health expenditure are small fractions of those in the United States.
Healthcare COSTA RICA -Before 1994, the management of the Costa Rican healthcare sector was shared between the Ministry of Health and the Social Security Administration. In 1994, the government decided to enact a major reform to the healthcare system, switching all preventative, public health, and medical treatment responsibilities from the Ministry of Health to the Social Security Administration(CCSS), centralizing both funding and decision-making in order to improve efficiency. Costa Rica underwent a major healthcare reform starting in the 1990s that greatly expanded access to primary healthcare through its new EBAIS clinics. Costa Rica spends only about $970 per person per year, compared to $1,061 in the rest of the world (measured in US $ of 2014), and 9.3% of GDP, compared to 9.9%.Maternal, infant, and under-five mortality indicators are low and have decreased steadily over the last quarter century. Also, life expectancy in Costa Rica is now nearly five years higher than the rest of Latin America, and almost eight years more than 4 the world average.
The success story of the Costa Rican healthcare reforms opens up the possibility that this healthcare model could be exported and adopted by other nations globally.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s HDI (Human Development Index) value for 2019 is 0.511 — which put the country in the low human development category — positioning it at 169 out of 189 countries and territories. Between 1990 and 2019, Afghanistan’s HDI value increased from 0.302 to 0.511, an increase of 69.2 %. Between 1990 and 2019, Afghanistan’s life expectancy at birth increased by 14.5 years, mean years of schooling increased by 2.4 years and expected years of schooling increased by 7.6 years. Afghanistan’s GNI per capita decreased by about 10.0 percent between 1990 and 2019.
The 2010 Human Development Report introduced the MPI, which identifies multiple overlapping deprivations suffered by individuals in 3 dimensions: health, education and standard of living. A deprivation score of 33.3 percent is used to distinguish between the poor and non poor. If the deprivation score is 33.3 percent or greater, the household (and everyone in it) is classified as multi dimensionally poor. Individuals with a deprivation score greater than or equal to 20 percent but less than 33.3 percent are classified as vulnerable to multidimensional poverty. Finally, individuals with a deprivation score greater than or equal to 50 percent live in severe multidimensional poverty. The most recent survey data that were publicly available for Afghanistan’s MPI estimation refer to 2015/2016. In Afghanistan, 55.9 percent of the population are multi dimensionally poor while an additional 18.1 percent are classified as vulnerable to multidimensional poverty. The breadth of deprivation in Afghanistan, which is the average deprivation score experienced by people in multidimensional poverty, is 48.6 percent.
The 2010 Human Development Report introduced the GII, which reflects gender-based inequalities in three dimensions — reproductive health, empowerment, and economic activity. Reproductive health is measured by maternal mortality and adolescent birth rates; empowerment is measured by the share of parliamentary seats held by women and attainment in secondary and higher education by each gender; and economic activity is measured by the labour market participation rate for women and men. Afghanistan has a GII value of 0.655, ranking it 157 out of 162 countries in the 2019 index. In Afghanistan, 27.2 percent of parliamentary seats are held by women, and 13.2 percent of adult women have reached at least a secondary level of education compared to 36.9 percent of their male counterparts.
Afghanistan has one of the world’s highest rates of stunting in children under five: 41 percent. The rate of wasting, the extreme manifestation of severe acute malnutrition, in Afghanistan is extremely high: 9.5 per cent. One in three adolescent girls suffers from anemia. The under-nutrition spectrum of Afghanistan, with widespread micronutrient deficiencies, highlights the high prevalence of nutritional disorders, morbidities and mortality, particularly in mothers and children. Though, the nutrition policy framework aims to address nutrition challenges of populations with nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions, most Basic package of health services (BPHS) and Essential package of health services (EPHS) facilities are not able to provide a complete package of nutrition services. Implementation is often constrained by a shortage of human resources, low capacities of the workforce, lack of regular funding, a volatile security situation and a lack of demand for services. Only 42 percent of Afghans have access to safe drinking water, and only 27 percent of the rural population have access to sanitation facilities, resulting in diarrheal disease that claims the lives of an estimated 85,000 Afghan children, under the age of five, annually.
An estimated 3.7 million children are out-of-school in Afghanistan — 60% of them are girls. In some parts of the country, a shortage of schools and insufficient transportation are the main obstacles to education — a long walk to school means fewer children go. Geographical barriers, especially in mountainous areas, also make it hard for children to reach the classroom. Once children do make it, they often receive a lower quality of education because only 48 per cent of their teachers have the minimum academic qualifications (equivalent to an Associate Degree).
The State of Global Air report uses a range of sources to estimate the burden of air pollution. As with many developing countries, and countries affected by conflict, Afghanistan does not have a national air monitoring network. Indeed other data held by the WHO’s Global Urban Ambient Air Pollution Database reveals that the most recent entry for Afghanistan is data from Kabul and Mazar-e Sharif that was provided by a Swedish military study in 2009 — it found very high levels of PM10 and moderately high levels of PM2.5. Heavily reliant on rainfall and snow melt for its rivers and the recharge of aquifers, Afghanistan is on the frontline of climate change and a trend towards lower and more variable precipitation in recent years is expected to strengthen as temperatures rise.
In conclusion, although Finland has been consistently getting top positions in happiness index as well as the standard of living index, the cost of living in Finland is more than 79% of countries in the world. It’s a country which is highly ranked on both satisfaction and depression indexes. While countries like Costa Rica may not have the highest GDP or have strongest economic stance but the country’s biodiversity, educated population and sustainable development methods speak for itself. On the other hand Afghanistan ranks last in the standard of living index, with a meager life expectancy of 44 years and harsh living conditions due to war.
While indexes give us an insight into the country’s stance in different areas, a deeper analysis along with adoption of meaningful policies is needed to contribute to the betterment of it’s present scenario.
References:
· Government, Primary Healthcare, and Standard of Living: Evidence from Costa Rica Luis Diego Granera Vega∗ October 18, 2021
· Exploring why Costa Rica outperforms the United States in life expectancy: A tale of two inequality gradients Luis Rosero-Bixby lrosero@mac.com and William H. Dow Authors Info & Affiliations January 4, 2016 | 113 (5) 1130–1137 | https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1521917112
· https://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/finland/
· https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/finland/gdp-per-capita
· https://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/Country-Profiles/AFG.pdf
