NEW YORK // Arab countries have been some of the world's most successful at raising living standards for their people over the past 40 years, according to a UN report.
Five Arab states ranked among the "top 10 movers" globally in this week's Human Development Report, an annual study from the UN Development Programme that scores countries on health, education and wealth.
Oman was the world leader in gains made since 1970, with better schools and hospitals enabling the Gulf state to outpace even China, which was ranked second. Saudi Arabia (5th), Tunisia (7th), Algeria (9th) and Morocco (10th) also scored high among the 135 countries for which there was comparable data.
Norway (1st), Australia (2nd) and New Zealand (3rd) topped the overall scoreboard and Niger (167th), Democratic Republic of Congo (168th) and Zimbabwe (169th) placed at the bottom, as western countries again led the list while sub-Saharan African nations trailed.
The UAE ranked as the best Arab country to live in, coming 32nd globally. The Emirates fared better than last year, when it came 35th and ranked below Qatar and Kuwait, although researchers said it was difficult to compare scores from different years because the statistics were collected differently.
The progress in Arab nations "is not attributable to oil and gas earnings, as might be assumed", said Jeni Klugman, the main author of the 227-page report. "The high-achieving Arab countries can attribute their success largely to impressive long-term improvements in health and education."
Across 21 Arab states and the Palestinian territories, life expectancy has risen from 51 years in 1970 to 69 years in 2010 and education enrolment has almost doubled from 34 per cent to 64 per cent. Gains were achieved against a backdrop of military activity that was almost three times higher than in other regions, the report said. Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and the Palestinian territories suffered most from instability.
Researchers warned that the Arab region lagged behind on some key indicators, such as labour relations, women's rights, democratic reforms, public empowerment, income equality and the accountability of officials.
The annual report ranks countries according to a Human Development Index, a measure of wellbeing published by the UN for 20 years. It combines individual economic prosperity with education levels and life expectancy.
jreinl@thenational.ae
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
WIDE%20VIEW
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Women’s World T20, Asia Qualifier, in Bangkok
UAE fixtures Mon Nov 20, v China; Tue Nov 21, v Thailand; Thu Nov 23, v Nepal; Fri Nov 24, v Hong Kong; Sun Nov 26, v Malaysia; Mon Nov 27, Final
(The winners will progress to the Global Qualifier)
SPECS
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Director: Kushan Nandy
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Small Victories: The True Story of Faith No More by Adrian Harte
Jawbone Press
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
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More on animal trafficking
Normal People
Sally Rooney, Faber & Faber
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Trivia: Was the voice of three characters in the Emirati animation, Shaabiyat Al Cartoon
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Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
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Three ways to boost your credit score
Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:
1. Make sure you make your payments on time;
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3. Don't max out all your debts: how much you maximise those credit facilities will have an impact. If you have five credit cards and utilise 90 per cent of that credit, it will negatively affect your score.
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
THE BIO:
Favourite holiday destination: Thailand. I go every year and I’m obsessed with the fitness camps there.
Favourite book: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. It’s an amazing story about barefoot running.
Favourite film: A League of their Own. I used to love watching it in my granny’s house when I was seven.
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Voices: How A Great Singer Can Change Your Life
Nick Coleman
Jonathan Cape
Know your cyber adversaries
Cryptojacking: Compromises a device or network to mine cryptocurrencies without an organisation's knowledge.
Distributed denial-of-service: Floods systems, servers or networks with information, effectively blocking them.
Man-in-the-middle attack: Intercepts two-way communication to obtain information, spy on participants or alter the outcome.
Malware: Installs itself in a network when a user clicks on a compromised link or email attachment.
Phishing: Aims to secure personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.
Ransomware: Encrypts user data, denying access and demands a payment to decrypt it.
Spyware: Collects information without the user's knowledge, which is then passed on to bad actors.
Trojans: Create a backdoor into systems, which becomes a point of entry for an attack.
Viruses: Infect applications in a system and replicate themselves as they go, just like their biological counterparts.
Worms: Send copies of themselves to other users or contacts. They don't attack the system, but they overload it.
Zero-day exploit: Exploits a vulnerability in software before a fix is found.
The story of Edge
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.
It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.
Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.
Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab
Chinese Grand Prix schedule (in UAE time)
Friday: First practice - 6am; Second practice - 10am
Saturday: Final practice - 7am; Qualifying - 10am
Sunday: Chinese Grand Prix - 10.10am
